What Is Scope Creep and How Can I Avoid It? [Video]

Before we can explain how to avoid scope creep in your projects, we need to understand what project scope and scope creep are.

What Is the Scope of a Project?

In simple terms, the term project scope refers to all the work required to complete a project. You can use a work breakdown structure (WBS) to help you identify the individual project tasks, activities and deliverables. Then you’ll need a scope statement, which is a project planning document where you define the scope of your project.

What Is Scope Creep in Project Management?

Scope creep is what happens when changes are made to the project scope without any control procedure like change requests. Those changes also affect the project schedule, budget, costs and resource allocation and might compromise the completion of milestones and goals. Scope creep is one of the most common project management risks.

Generally, scope creep occurs when new project requirements are added by project clients or other stakeholders after the project execution …