Three myths about scope creep

This is cheap to get right at the start and expensive to retrofit. A few things about scope creep that get repeated more often than they get checked.

Clear scope protects the client at least as much as it protects the agency. It is worth deciding this deliberately rather than inheriting whatever the last person set up.

“It only matters for big sites”

Small additions compound into missed deadlines. Getting it slightly wrong is survivable. Ignoring it entirely is not. It rarely shows up as a line item, which is exactly why it slips.

“We can deal with it after launch”

Sometimes true, usually expensive. That sounds obvious written down. It is still the thing most often skipped.

“Our platform handles it”

Say yes to the change and honest about the cost. That sounds obvious written down. It is still the thing most often skipped. It is the sort of thing that looks like polish right up until it costs you an enquiry.

How to tell if yours is fine

Strategy work is mostly deciding what not to do, and writing it down so it stays decided. Three things worth confirming about scope creep before you move on:

• Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
• Small additions compound into missed deadlines — and you know whether that is true here
• There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped

None of this needs a rewrite. Most of it is a morning's work once someone decides to do it.