Understanding Scope Creep in Projects

Scope creep is the unplanned expansion of project scope beyond initial parameters, often leading to financial overruns and delays. Effective management involves clear communication, structured change control, and monitoring to maintain alignment with original objectives.

Introduction

In terms of challenges for project managers, productivity software has one significant hurdle to overcome: scope creep. This term describes the out-of-control expansion of a project’s initial parameters—those agreed upon at the project’s onset. As outlined by the Project Management Institute, more than half of all projects encounter this phenomenon. When these changes begin, they seem harmless enough, amounting to slight variations from the project’s stated goals. But when they accumulate, they lead to some rather serious consequences: hitting the cash-register hard with an overrunning budget and/or an exorbitant time spent on task (which is basically hitting the cash-register two times, once when you start and then again when you finish!).

Envision launching a project with explicit objectives and a well-outlined scheme of things. Then, as the work progresses, it begins to take on a life of its own, with new features and requirements that are not carefully thought through and that cause the project to deviate from its original intent. Indeed, it might be said that in such cases, we are not just erecting a new building but are also—and perhaps primarily—engaged in the work of revitalizing a neighborhood.

The software industry isn’t the only one that suffers from scope creep. High-profile projects, like the baggage system at the Denver International Airport, have had to confront scope creep head-on and learned some very expensive lessons about the dire need for effective scope management.

Tip

Clearly defining project parameters early can prevent costly overruns.

For project managers, knowing what scope creep is and how to manage it effectively is essential. Otherwise, projects can easily veer off in the wrong direction and end up late and over budget—if they finish at all. If clear communication with project stakeholders about the nature of the project’s demands is not happening, then scope creep can become inevitable. When project managers take the time to ensure up front that formal change control processes are in place and functioning, then the project can remain on track and finished demands can satisfy the stakeholders.

Why does scope creep happen?

An all-too-common obstacle for software project managers is something called scope creep. What is it? Just what the term says: uncontrolled expansion of a project’s goals. Picture the rubber band in the hands of someone who can’t resist stretching it as far as it will go. It’s not far-fetched to think that the advances of the past few decades in technologies for productivity software have also contributed to this problem. What some see as progress—more functionality, more capabilities—others see as inviting the project to grow in a way that is ultimately harmful.

One main cause of scope creep is expanding project boundaries. A project team may find itself gradually incorporating tasks, features, and requirements (that weren’t in the original project plan) into the project. This incorporation often occurs because the team gives itself optimistic estimates of how much time, money, and labor the new additions will actually require. Another reason for these additions is the tendency to include “gold plating,” where unnecessary enhancements are made to what the team believes is the final product. Both of these causes for growth in project size and requirements not only tax resources but also lead to delays and increased costs.

Fact

Gold plating can subtly increase project costs and create delays despite initial small scope changes.

Another cause of scope creep is stakeholder influence. Stakeholders, including both internal team members and external clients, can have a significant effect on a project’s final outcome. They may introduce changes that were not part of the original agreement. When measured individually, their requests might seem quite minor—certainly not enough to justify a formal change control process. But when taken together, these requests for “just a little more” can significantly stretch the project’s key components—the timeframe, budget, and resources—yet remain inside the project’s figurative tent, as they are all requested by stakeholders.

The occurrence of scope creep is heavily influenced by internal miscommunication. Project teams often suffer poor communication channels—among members and with stakeholders. As a result, they misunderstand what the projects are supposed to accomplish, in what amount of time, and in what form. And then, of course, they base their work on the misunderstandings. To combat this unfortunate situation, many experts recommend that teams in poor communication situations work really hard at maintaining open communication. It is of utmost importance that the members of a project team and the stakeholders with whom it needs to interact know the fundamental business of the project.

At core, the growing project boundaries, unwavering stakeholder impact, and poor internal communication blend to drive scope creep. That blend is something we can manage with neater project boundaries, clearer stakeholder influence, and better internal communication. It may seem like a lot of work for a project manager, but in fact, it’s akin to good project management. And we do have to address these three factors if we don’t want our projects to run into trouble.

How to manage project scope

A project manager must carefully oversee the scope of a project, especially in the case of software productivity projects. The scope can stretch rapidly with the demands of a competitive marketplace and the almost endless needs of clients who want their projects to evolve and improve. To keep the scope from stretching, it is vital to set clear parameters for the project and to communicate discipline effectively throughout the organization.

“Some project managers get by with a simple routine of watching and listening, paying attention to project teams at the same times they have scheduled for paying attention to themselves.”

A vital part of keeping a project on its planned path is the vigilant monitoring of project status. This means watching how well the project proceeds, or fails to do so, compared to the initial plan. It necessitates the identification of any deviations and, hopefully, their rectification before they become something more serious.

Tip

Regular status checks and using tools like Gantt charts can preempt scope deviations.

Variance analysis is a good analytical tool. It is one of the few necessary tools a project manager should use. It helps you identify the difference between actual project performance and planned project performance. By doing a variance analysis, you can see the impact of a change, if there was one, on resources and timelines. The analysis also tells you if you’re actually “on target” to finish the project within budget and on time. Most importantly, the decision to use or not use a variance analysis can have a big impact on the financial side of things^2.

Managing change requests could be viewed as the most important aspect of controlling scope creep. A project manager cannot eliminate change, but he or she can attempt to control it. Hence, the more formal and structured the method used for evaluating and approving changes, the less likely it is to allow unjustified changes (or “scope creep”) to occur while enabling necessary adjustments to be made to the project. On the other hand, if a project manager is too strict with change control, he or she could prevent necessary adjustments from being made. In effect, project leaders must find a balance between too much and too little control^3.

At the core of scope management lies effective communication. It’s simply not possible to manage a project’s scope successfully if you’re only managing it in half of the project’s required dimensions; that is, you’re managing it “upward and downward,” but not satisfactorily “outward.” And when I say you’re not managing it “outward,” I mean you’re not managing it satisfactorily with your project’s external stakeholders. Those external folks—especially the ones with lots of authority (and/or lots of money)—need to be closely managed if you’re going to manage scope effectively and prevent anything close to a battlefield scene from happening at the end of your project’s timeline^4.

Implementing these strategies not only helps reduce the risks related to scope creep but also guarantees that client productivity software projects are successful in the ways that count: They’re completed within the planned budget and schedule, and they meet the client’s needs.

Examples of scope creep

For project managers working with productivity software, grasping the concept of scope creep is vital. Two significant examples can serve to spotlight the dangers of letting changes go unchecked: the launch of a retail product and the attempt to automate baggage handling at Denver International Airport.

Retail Product Launch

Picture a retail product with a clear goal, a well-planned budget, and a set timeline. It seems to be on track until stakeholders start wanting more — and different — stuff. What kind of stuff? All kinds, really. They want the advertising to be more integrated into the product, with lots of neat ideas for how that’ll work. Or they want the advertising to play with the product in the kind of softly humorous way the best ads do. Or they have some other kind of great idea that needs to be worked into the project to be neat and make sense. With all these demands, the neat little project we started with becomes a big, messy, complicated thing that eats up lots more resources to keep it going. And we’re burning “lots more” time and “lots more” money. It’s a case of feature creep, with the project ballooning in complexity and consuming more resources than planned.

DIA Baggage Automation Project

The Denver International Airport serves as a classic example of scope creep at its worst. The baggage handling system at DIA was designed to be state-of-the-art but suffered catastrophic budget and timeline overruns due to over 2,000 design changes. Despite warnings, decision-makers ignored what was obviously a failure to prioritize the parts of the system that were most crucial to its viability. Yet when it was all said and done, the cost had risen so high and the timeline had stretched out so far that the question being asked wasn’t, “Can the system be made to work?” Instead, the question on people’s minds was, “Why do we have to pay for all this unrecoverable wasted effort?”

Example

Denver International Airport is a prime instance revealing the pitfalls of lackluster change management.

These two instances highlight some core concepts: the necessity for unequivocal communication, the prudence of managing stakeholder expectations in a way that makes them feel fully engaged and yet ensures that the primary project team members remain the decision-makers, and the absolute must of having a change control process that works. A scope management plan is a whole lot more than a narrowly focused document that just tells someone when to stop and when to go. It serves as a defense against what might be described colloquially as “business for the business’s sake.”

Keep scope creep at bay with Any.do

Keeping a project’s scope under control can be quite a task for project managers. It’s an area where Any.do can help. It is, after all, productivity software.

Tip

Utilize tools like Any.do’s Gantt charts for visual planning and effective project management.

Any.do is particularly helpful in this regard because it offers tools for creating Gantt charts. A Gantt chart is a visual representation of a project’s timeline. It allows project managers to see at a glance not just the overall project schedule but also how various tasks fit into that schedule, especially where dependencies are involved. That is, a Gantt chart will clearly show which tasks have to be completed before others can start and which tasks can (and must) proceed in parallel.

Any.do’s Kanban boards simplify task management to the point of being almost effortless. They enable a project manager and any number of team members to see right away what work items need attention, what is in progress, and what has recently been completed—all done easily, and without much brainpower being expended to maintain that state of “seeing all.” Kanban board management can also be done in a way that observes work item priority, both in a day-to-day and an up-to-week view.

It’s vital to have up-to-the-minute reports to catch early warning signs of scope creep. Any.do offers these vital insights. With these insights, teams can continuously monitor their progress and make decisions in real time. When project managers have access to current data, they can address necessary changes and quickly realign project objectives when unapproved changes are at risk of being slipped in. Obviously, this openness with stakeholders carries a lot of weight when it’s very likely that something will change over the course of a project.

These characteristics come together to create a potent and effective scope management plan that ensures not only that the client is satisfied with the end product but also that the project team is able to maintain control over the product and project. Any.do has features that help project managers ensure that projects aren’t going off track, that everyone involved knows what’s going on, and that all participants are working together in a friendly and productive way—essentially, project components that make for project success.

Further reading

If you want to deepen your comprehension of scope creep, there are many excellent resources and tools to consider. These can enrich your project management know-how, allowing you to lead projects toward success and away from the all-too-frequent pitfalls of scope creep.

Fact

The Project Management Institute provides comprehensive resources to tackle scope creep effectively.

Their guides provide a framework that can be used to create a change management plan that works for you and document in a way that ensures the right people are kept in the loop. And when it comes to keeping organized with everything from tasks to timelines, Any.do has got your back. Their project management platform can almost certainly ease your way through change and keep you documented and organized.

To examine actual instances more closely, one could look at case studies of high-profile project failures, like the baggage system at the Denver International Airport and Boston’s Big Dig. These two projects are often discussed together because they were both major undertakings that went significantly over budget and took far longer to complete than originally anticipated. In both cases, not nearly enough stakeholder communication was taking place. When necessary communication isn’t happening, how can it be a surprise when decision-making isn’t happening either?

Think about using a daily planner to keep a neat and tidy visualization of your project timelines and goals. Looking at the project scope with stakeholders at regular intervals can reduce the number of unwanted changes that sometimes plague projects. It is best to have a small group of committed stakeholders conversing with you to ensure clear and concise communication and, therefore, project focus.

Lastly, using feedback loops within your team, on platforms like Any.do, can help you catch potential problems before they become full-blown scope creep. Incorporating tools like Any.do’s reminders and calendar features allows you to navigate scope creep successfully and bring projects to fruition as originally envisioned.