# 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.

## 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 (/blog/design-feedback-rounds, /help/widget-table); compare a desk’s real time with its estimate (/help/desk-status-time).