Signs it is time to revisit project scoping

Most teams know this matters. Fewer have decided who owns it. A few signals that project scoping is due some attention.

The projects that go badly are rarely the ones with the hardest technical problems. It rarely shows up as a line item, which is exactly why it slips.

The signals

• Nobody can say when it was last reviewed
• The answer depends on who you ask
• Vague scope is the root of most budget disputes
• Write down what is explicitly out of scope

Where to start

Assumptions should be recorded, not held in someone's head. Small and consistent beats large and occasional here. Check it against what you would want a competitor's site to get wrong.

What this looks like day to day

Clear scope protects the client at least as much as it protects the agency. Three things worth confirming about project scoping before you move on:

• Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
• Assumptions should be recorded, not held in someone's head — and you know whether that is true here
• There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped

Worth checking on your own setup before it becomes someone else's problem to fix.