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. T ...

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 * Cinema ...

, 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 an ...

, 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 environm ...

in most projects. Most

megaproject A megaproject is an extremely large-scale investment project. According to the ''Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management'', "Megaprojects are large-scale, complex ventures that typically cost $1 billion or more, take many years to develop and ...

s fall victim to scope creep (see '' Megaprojects and Risk''). Scope creep often results in

cost overrun A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...

. A "value for free" strategy is difficult to counteract and remains a difficult challenge for even the most experienced project managers.

References

{{Reflist Project management