One of the most terrifying, frustrating, and overwhelming possibilities in a project with a client is Scope Creep.
Scope Creep:
When a client continually asks for “a little bit more” in the process of a project, until you are performing 3-5 times the amount of work you were contracted and paid for.
It’s more than just annoying, it costs you in a number of different ways! There are boundaries that can be set to protect you and your company from Scope Creep, but understanding how it happens is a big key to preventing it.
Scope Creep’s Origin Stories
The origin story is where something starts, and there are few different key spots that Scope Creep starts.
Projects Dragging On
When you allow a project to drag on for too long, you open the door for Scope Creep to begin.
No one likes to be pushy, and no one likes to be pushed around. So timelines are often neglected in an effort to be amiable. However, you have to be clear about timelines for a few reasons. First, if your timeline is six weeks and it ends up taking 8-12, you’ve just doubled the amount of time you’re spending on the project.
But the bigger issue is that when you have a longer period of time, your brain has more time to find things that could be changed (whether you’re looking for them or not!). Often, those things don’t necessarily need to be changed! Yes, you should have some time built in on the back end to review everything and make sure it’s what you want it to be. However…
If you’re just spending tons of time looking at a project, your brain will come up with more and more ideas for change whether that change is necessary or not. Often, you’ll think of an idea and end up reverting to the original after applying it because the idea really wasn’t as good as your brain thought it was going to be. Now you’ve spent three times the originally planned time, once to set it up, once to change it, once to change it back.
Extended timelines are one of the biggest places that Scope Creep starts to crawl in.
Volunteering for More Work
This is the second biggest place that Scope Creep sneaks in. And I’m not talking about a 5 minute project that is a little added bonus you’re going to surprise your client with.
This is when you’re trying to be nice and make a really great impression, so you volunteer to take on additional work without charging for it. Which sounds nice in theory…
The problem is that once you’ve taken on work free of charge for a client once, you’ve just told the client that your time doesn’t matter: it sets an expectation of that happening every time. It’s in human nature to look at and pattern life after habits, and the first experience lays the groundwork for future habits. So if you let them think they can push more onto your plate than they are paying for the first time, they’ll naturally assume they can do it again. It’s not a great way to start a working relationship.
If you really want to be able to help a client, I suggest saying that you’ll see what you can do. That way you have an out if it turns into a big project, and you’re not laying an expectation for free work.
Unclear Parameters Up Front
Along the same lines as volunteering extra work is a lack of clear parameters from the get-go.
When there isn’t a clear definition of exactly what the project or work entails up front, a fuzziness and blurring of the lines of what is paid and what is unpaid begins to occur. That is where Scope Creep sneaks in. Without clarity of roles, boundaries, and parameters, clients can shift more and more work onto your plate without you getting paid for it. And further, without clarity up front, creating that clarity down the line often ends up with damaged business relationships.
Scope Creep’s Results
These are all the reasons that you should do everything you can to avoid Scope Creep.
Frustration
Frustration is one of the most regular results of Scope Creep.