Even the best-planned projects can and will encounter problems; it’s inevitable. From inflation causing costs to rise, sick employees pushing tasks beyond deadlines, under-the-table change requests and supply chain issues delaying the delivery of materials, you, as a project manager, must be prepared to handle all of this in stride. If you’re not prepared, scope creep, or out-of-control budgets and deadlines, will become a major issue.
In this guide, I will explain what scope creep is, why it occurs and how you can prevent it from happening. In addition, I’ll share some real-world examples of scope creep and will provide you with information on project management software that can help you plan and control all aspects of your project without breaking a sweat.
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What is Scope Creep?
Scope creep is a term used to describe a project that has uncontrolled due dates, deadlines and budgets after the project has begun. Scope creep is harmful to the health of a project and should be avoided at all costs by using skills such as communication, planning, problem-solving and collaboration. Still, even using these skills, a 2023 report conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI) showed that 28% of projects still experienced scope creep.
If, after you have implemented your risk management plan and have tried to minimize the number of changes to the project going forward, you still cannot get it under control, the project will be at risk of failure, which is not good for anyone involved in the project.
Why Does Scope Creep Occur?
There are numerous reasons why scope creep occurs, but it generally comes down to a few usual suspects, which include poor planning, underdefined project scopes and a lack of communication. Below, I’ll go into each of these and a few more in detail so that you can better understand how they lead to scope creep.
- Underdefined project scope. Not producing a detailed project plan is like walking into a dark cave without a light source. If you fail to create a well-defined project scope that covers all aspects of a project, from tasks to resources and finances to the final goal, you’ll have a bad time.
- Poor project management practices. Not using tried and true project management processes will cause headaches. Make sure the team, clients and key stakeholders understand what project management methodology will be utilized. Define roles and responsibilities using RACI charts, hold regular meetings, including reviews, so that the project can be discussed, and be sure to develop S.M.A.R.T. goals and objectives and key results (OKRs) so that you can align the team and track results.
- Lack of communication. Communication is the key to success when it comes to projects. If you’re not holding regular meetings, either in-person or remotely, and if you’re not utilizing text, chat and video messaging features in the best project management software, your team will quickly become unaligned, due dates will be missed and your finance manager will see the failed budget and likely cry in the corner of the room.
- The inability to say no. As a project manager or scrum master, you cannot be afraid to say no to clients and stakeholders. I have seen external team members ask for a small change here and there so many times without using the proper change request channel. These small changes, when they’re not accounted for, will cause scope creep to occur quickly. Enforce the use of proper channels and make the word “no” your best friend. After all, you have a project scope to stick to.
- Poor resource management. The problem with resource management is that it is not always something you can control. For example, supply chain issues and rising costs can cause hardships during a project. However, you can control some resources, such as team members and their workload capacities. To keep scope creep at bay, ensure your risk management plan includes different suppliers in case of supply chain woes, and don’t over- or underutilize employees.
How To Manage Scope Creep
Now that you know what scope creep is, it’s time to take a look at how to manage it so your project doesn’t spiral out of control. Of course, there are many ways to manage scope creep, but the items listed below are the ones you should really focus on.
Define the Project Scope and Monitor Against the Baseline
The best way to combat scope creep is to develop a robust project scope before the project begins. The project scope is the project’s master document that lists all tasks, milestones, deliverables, due dates, budgets, required resources, team members, roles and responsibilities and more. This document must be approved by all parties before work on the project begins. If you fail to create a solid plan that aligns your team with the clients’ and stakeholders’ desires, you can quickly run into problems.
With the scope in place and the project underway, you can manage and monitor the project and how it is going against its baseline. The baseline is what you laid out in the scope; it’s the benchmark. If you’re using some of the best task management software and notice that due dates are slipping, go to the baseline to see where things have gone wrong. As a project manager, you cannot afford to rush through creating a project scope. Set the timeline as well as the budget, define everything and get all clients and stakeholders to sign off on it.
Monitor Budgets, Resources and Due Dates
I briefly touched on this in the above section, but it is worth mentioning multiple times that you must monitor how your project is progressing daily. The second you take your eye off the ball, things will start slipping through the cracks. It’s not enough to just know the milestones, due dates, budgets and required resources, you must monitor all of them constantly so you can redirect efforts when problems arise.
Dashboards, such as those found in the best Gantt chart software and the best free project management software, allow you to customize views that show workload capacities, due dates, budgets, upcoming tasks, calendars and other key performance indicators (KPIs).
When asked about KPIs, Matthew Oleniuk, a project risk advisor at The Risk Insider, a risk management consultancy firm, said, “When there’s no baseline, people go soft. Without reliable data on what ‘normal’ looks like, teams default to vague or ultraconservative KPIs— not because they’re lazy, but because they don’t want to be wrong. Instead of investing in due diligence to build a credible baseline, they create ‘nice-to-have’ metrics with no bite.”
My recommendation is to take the time to configure a dashboard in your chosen software that puts the most important project metrics that you have defined in your baseline front and center. Doing this will allow you to be proactive and spot problems and bottlenecks before scope creep takes hold.
Use Your Risk Management Plan
A risk management plan is just as important as the project scope, simply because no project in the history of humankind has ever been pulled off without a hitch. Somewhere, somehow, something will go wrong, and without a plan to deal with it, you’re in trouble. The risk management plan should be made with the project scope. It should list all risks (problems) that could arise, from sick employees to poor supply chains, changing markets and any potential pushbacks. It should also state how you will deal with the problems.
As soon as a problem occurs, reference your risk management plan. If you’re having vendor issues, reach out to a secondary vendor you previously identified. If an employee is unable to work, look at your plan to see who you had waiting in the wings. The quicker you can take care of the problem, the more likely you are to keep things on track and ward off scope creep. Fortunately, many of the best enterprise project management software solutions offer robust risk management tools.
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Change Requests and Pushback
Change requests are what get many projects into a pickle. It is so easy for a client, a key stakeholder or even a team member to suggest a change to the project off record, and if you’re not careful, those small, insignificant jobs can turn into a headache. Define a change request process and ensure everyone sticks to it. Whether you demand a Post-it note be slid under your office door or a change request form be submitted through project management software, own it and enforce it.
The second part of managing change requests is learning how to say no and not being afraid to push back against client and stakeholder demands. Remember, you all created and signed off on the project scope with well-defined budgets, milestones and due dates. Use that to remind everyone of the project’s goal. If you know a request is really off the wall, say no, and offer an alternative that won’t destroy the project’s bottom line or delivery date.
Real-World Examples of Scope Creep
So you can get a better understanding of just how serious scope creep can be, I will share some of the biggest project disasters below. Take heed, learn from the mistakes of those before you and pray that your projects don’t end up years late and billions of dollars over budget like these ones did.
Denver International Airport
One of the most high-profile project disasters in recent times is the building of Denver International Airport. This project left such a mark that the U.S. Government Accountability Office wrote a report on it. In all, the Denver International Airport opening date was delayed four times due to repeated changes to the project scope and design changes to a high-tech baggage handling system.
The airport was originally due to open in October 1993, but didn’t open its doors until late February 1995, 16 months later than planned. On top of this, project leaders underestimated construction costs by $1 billion. It was determined that the failure to listen to experts on the complexity of the automated baggage handling system led to the delay in opening.
Sydney Opera House
One of the world’s most iconic buildings caused countless headaches for project managers and construction experts during its construction. Originally, the Australian opera house was to open just four years after ground was broken, but due to bad management, poor project and resource planning, and a lack of communication, it took 14 years for the stylish building to be built. In addition, the original budget of $7 million AUD ballooned to $102 million AUD. It’s safe to say that this project really went down under.
Boston’s Big Dig
The Big Dig in Boston will long go down as one of the most mismanaged projects in history. Formally known as the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, the idea was to reroute the elevated Central Artery of I-93 into the O’Neill tunnel.
Due to continued community and stakeholder demands, including the extension of I-90 to Logan International Airport, trying to keep the city center of Boston open for business, underestimation of complexity and poor project planning, scope creep took over. Inflation, poor ground assessments and expanded scopes also contributed to the problems. Mitigation efforts to ensure that all residents of Boston received fair treatment required 1,500 separate contracts and were the cause of more than a fourth of the project’s budget.
The Big Dig, which started in 1982 and was initially budgeted to cost $2.56 billion with a completion date of 1998, ended up costing $14.8 billion and wasn’t finished until 2007.
The Best Project Management Software
One of the best things you can do as a business owner or a project manager is to arm yourself with software that can help you manage simple and complex projects. However, it’s not always easy to pick the right software. Still, there’s no need to panic. We spend countless hours researching and testing project management software so we can help lead you in the right direction. Below are the three best project management software solutions for most teams.
- ClickUp. With a generous free plan, affordable paid plans, robust collaboration tools and everything needed to plan and organize tasks and projects, ClickUp is the best software for most teams, whether using agile frameworks or traditional project management methods. You can learn more in our full ClickUp review.
- Monday.com. If you’re new to project management, look no further than Monday.com. You’ll find dozens of ready-to-use project templates, intuitive workflow management features, tools to create work breakdown structures and more. Learn more in our full Monday.com review.
- Teamwork.com. If you manage multiple complex projects and need robust project and finance planning tools, Teamwork.com is for you. Not only does it make planning projects easy, but it also offers a free plan, and its paid plans won’t break the bank. You can learn more in our full Teamwork.com review.
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Hubspot
Yes
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Zoom, Slack, Google Workspace, QuickBooks and more
The Bottom Line
Scope creep is very real, and if you don’t plan properly, it can quickly derail a project. You must do everything within your power to align your team and ensure that everyone understands the project’s deadlines, milestones, resource requirements, finances and processes involved. You must also create a sound risk mitigation plan so you can nip problems in the bud immediately. If you follow the advice in this guide and use tried and true project management techniques, you’ll have a better chance of keeping scope creep at bay.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why does scope creep happen?
Scope creep can happen for several reasons, but more often than not, it occurs due to poor planning, a lack of a risk management plan, inferior change request plans and a lack of communication.
How can scope creep be prevented?
Scope creep can be prevented by developing a solid project scope before the project begins and ensuring that everyone, from team members to clients and key stakeholders, are aligned.
What are some examples of scope creep?
Examples of scope creep include the Denver International Airport debacle, the Sydney Opera house fiasco and the problem Boston had with the Big Dig, all of which ended up many millions, and even billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.
What are the consequences of scope creep?
The consequences of scope creep include being over budget, behind on due dates and milestones and, if things get bad enough, complete project failure.
How does scope creep affect project management?
Scope creep can affect projects in many ways, including being behind schedule and over budget. In addition, in an effort to catch up, the quality of work produced by your team can also decrease.
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