What is scope creep?
Scope creep is what happens when new work, tasks, or requirements get added to a plan that has already been agreed upon, enlarging the scale of the project at hand. This term also applies when new ideas, features, or designs make their way into a project that weren't part of the original plan.
Some scope creep is inevitable in any project. The challenge is that too much puts a strain on your often less-flexible budget and resources. How you balance flexibility with scope creep is key to a successful project and product.
What's wrong with scope creep?
You may think "adding new features isn't so bad," but increasing the scope of your project after your plan has already been finalized can have a huge impact on your project and organization. Scope creep:
- Increases the time and cost (resources) needed to complete a project
- Can point to a problem with the initial scoping of the project
- Burdens developers or team members with more work as they reprioritize existing tasks to take on the new requests
- Often requires additional support and resources to market, sell, and support any new features or ideas
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