What is “Requirement Scope Creep”?
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Suppose you have started a project. So before doing that you will be sensible enough to plan each aspect of it before starting the project but unfortunately your project stretches far beyond its original vision, what do you call this situation?
This is called "Scope Creep" or "Requirement Creep". It is one of the biggest cause of project failure. Scope Creep dose not occur suddenly instead it occurs slowly. Generally it starts with a small change request. Then you have to make minor readjustment of the project scope. Then again this same condition repeat itself, then again you have to make readjustments of the project scope. You will come to a position where your project has deviated from your original vision but the budget and the deadlines are still the same. This always-to-avoid condition is called Requirement Scope Creep. It can also be defined as the continuous and incremental changes that lead to an uncontrolled and unauthorized growth in the project's scope.
Managing scope is a headache when your clients do not know exactly what they want but as the project starts, they get an idea of their requirements and because of their changing requirements, scope creep comes into the play. Few causes of Scope Creep can be summarized as no stakeholder involvement, no scope for management process in place, poorly defined project scope, absence of uniform process for collecting requirements etc. However Scope Creep is not completely unavoidable. By involving sponsors in scope planning, defining scope based on WBS, creating change in management plan, creating sponsor-focused communication plans , Requirement Scope Creep can be avoided or minimised.