Scope creep and change requests
You will be able to: Recognise scope creep and where it comes from; Run a change control process; Price and decide changes using contingency.
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Scope creep is the slow addition of work with no change to time or money. Nobody decides it; it happens in small yeses. The cure is a simple change process that is applied to everything, including small things and including requests from the sponsor.
Where it comes from
- Requirements that were never written down precisely.
- Clients seeing the system and thinking of new things (this is natural).
- Key users asking for 'just one more column'.
- Consultants who like to say yes.
The change control process
- Capture the request in writing: who, what, why, urgency.
- Classify it: clarification of existing scope, defect, or change.
- Assess impact: effort, cost, schedule, risk, and effect on other parts of the design.
- Decide: the project sponsor approves, rejects or postpones.
- Record in the change log and update the blueprint, scripts and training if needed.
- Do the work only after written approval.
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| CR number | CR-02 |
| Request | Add a second approval step for invoices above AED 200,000 |
| Requested by | Owner |
| Class | Change |
| Impact | 0.25 day configuration, 0.25 day retest |
| Cost | AED 600 at AED 1,200 a day |
| Decision | Approved, using contingency |
How to say it
Say yes with a price, not no with a lecture: 'We can do that. It is about a day and a half and would move go-live by two days. Shall I log it?' If the request needs a feature Zeyto does not have, record it as a custom request: you will pass it to Zeyto, you cannot promise a date, and here is a workaround for go-live.
Practise in the demo
- Write a change request for a new report, with effort, cost and decision fields.
- Calculate the contingency left if three changes of 0.5, 1 and 1.25 days are approved against 4.2 days.
- Open https://demo.zeyto.app/demo-app/ and sign in with the demo login. This is a public demo with sample data, so nothing you do there affects a real business.
Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.
- Scope creep is unpriced additions; the cure is written change control for everything.
- Assess impact on effort, cost, schedule and other deliverables before approval.
- Say yes with a price, and treat product gaps as requests with no promised date.
Check yourself
5 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.