Scope creep (also called requirement creep, or kitchen sink syndrome) in
project management
Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...
refers to changes, continuous or uncontrolled growth in a
project
A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal.
An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...
’s
scope
Scope or scopes may refer to:
People with the surname
* Jamie Scope (born 1986), English footballer
* John T. Scopes (1900–1970), central figure in the Scopes Trial regarding the teaching of evolution
Arts, media, and entertainment
* Cinem ...
, at any point after the project begins.
This can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is generally considered harmful.
It is related to but distinct from
feature creep
Feature creep is the excessive ongoing expansion or addition of new features in a product, especially in computer software, video games and consumer and business electronics. These extra features go beyond the basic function of the product and ...
, because feature creep refers to features, and scope creep refers to the whole project.
Common causes
Poorly defined project scope
Ineffective project management communication between a client and the project manager is a leading effect of project scope creep. An assignment that is not understood correctly will turn out to be completely different from clients vision. With that being said clients can also be to blame as they may not see a clear vision of what they want.
Failure to capture all requirements
Properly defining project scope requires thorough investigation by the project manager during the initial planning phase of a project. Failure to gather all information from all relevant stakeholders is a common reason for incomplete scope statements and missing requirements, which can frequently and easily lead to scope creep later in the project. It is essential that everyone on the team understands the project requirements thoroughly -- and that the project sponsor and relevant stakeholders have signed off on those requirements -- before execution of the project begins.
Lack of project management practices
Adoptions and adhering to project management practices and project management processes are confirmed methods of preventing scope creep from dismantling the project.
Addition of unnecessary features
Sometimes project teams tend to start adding additional features in order to impress the client. This may not work and tend to cause more work for such project and throw off the scope.
The communication gap between project stakeholders
Another huge cause of scope creep is the communication gap between the stakeholders. Clients may not respond quickly enough to the project managers causing the project to run into a bottleneck.
These aspects can affect the operational efficiencies of companies, especially when involved in long-term relationships.
Scope creep is a
risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...
in most projects. Most
megaprojects fall victim to scope creep (see ''
Megaprojects and Risk
''Megaprojects and Risk: An Anatomy of Ambition'' is a 2003 book by Bent Flyvbjerg, Nils Bruzelius, and Werner Rothengatter, published by Cambridge University Press. According to chief economist and director of transportation policy at Infrastruc ...
''). Scope creep often results in
cost overrun. A "value for free" strategy is difficult to counteract and remains a difficult challenge for even the most experienced project managers.
See also
*
Anti-pattern
*
Cost overrun
*
Scope (project management)
In project management, scope is the defined features and functions of a product, or the scope of work needed to finish a project. Scope involves getting information required to start a project, including the features the product needs to meet its s ...
*
Planning poker
Planning poker, also called Scrum poker, is a consensus-based, gamified technique for estimating, mostly used for timeboxing in '' Agile principles''. In planning poker, members of the group make estimates by playing numbered cards face-down t ...
*
Escalation of commitment
*
Instruction creep
Instruction creep or rule creep occurs when instructions or rules accumulate over time until they are unmanageable or inappropriate. It is a type of scope creep. The accumulation of bureaucratic requirements results in overly complex procedures ...
*
Mission creep
Mission creep is the gradual or incremental expansion of an intervention, project or mission, beyond its original scope, focus or goals, a ratchet effect spawned by initial success. Mission creep is usually considered undesirable due to how each su ...
* ''
The Mythical Man-Month''
*
Second-system effect
*
Software bloat
Software bloat is a process whereby successive versions of a computer program become perceptibly slower, use more memory, disk space or processing power, or have higher hardware requirements than the previous version, while making only dubious use ...
References
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Project management