Scope creep
Also called feature creep, requirements creep.
The slow growth of what a project must deliver, without a matching change to its time or budget.
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What it is.
Scope creep rarely arrives as one big request. It is a small extra field, one more report, "while you are in there", a stakeholder who joins late with new needs. Each looks harmless. Together they can add weeks.
It is different from a planned change. A change request adds scope on purpose, with its cost and date agreed. Creep adds scope without anyone deciding to.
Why it matters
Creep is one of the most common reasons software projects run late and over budget. On a fixed-price contract contract it causes disputes. On time and materials it quietly raises the bill. In both cases the original goal gets diluted.
In a product build
In a milestone-based build, each new request is checked against the agreed milestone scope. If it is new, it goes into the backlog or a change request instead of the current milestone.
Common mistakes.
- 01
Saying yes in a meeting and never writing it down.
- 02
Treating every change as creep. Learning is good; the problem is unmanaged change.
- 03
No single person on the buyer side who can say no or decide trade-offs.
Work it out with a tool.
Related terms.
- Change requestA written request to change the agreed scope of a project, with its effect on cost and timeline agreed before work starts.
- Statement of work (SOW)The document that sets out what a supplier will deliver, by when, for how much, and how the work will be accepted.
- Backlog (product backlog)The ordered list of everything still to be built or fixed in a product, with the most important work at the top.
- Fixed-price contractA contract where the price for an agreed scope is set up front.
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