Plexii glossary
Scope creep
Unapproved growth in a project’s work, deliverables or requirements after its scope was agreed.
What it means
Definition and the distinction that matters: an approved change to scope is a change, unapproved growth is creep. Client-work examples (extra revision rounds, ‘while you’re at it’ requests), and the containment tools: a statement of work, agreed rounds, a simple change log with a decision per request.
The term is most useful as a shared description. It does not remove the need to look at the actual task, evidence or constraint in front of you.
A practical example
A two-round design project receives a request for a third concept and a landing page. The request enters a change log before work begins.
Put it into practice
- Name the concrete situation before applying the label. Scope creep is useful only when it changes a choice, boundary or next action.
- Make the state visible: write the owner, time, source or stopping condition down instead of relying on memory.
- Review what happened. Keep the part that reduced ambiguity and change the part that added ceremony without helping the work.
How it relates to Plexii
keep the brief beside the work and turn feedback into a numbered change list per round in a Table (design feedback rounds, widget table); compare a desk’s real time with its estimate (desk status time).