Depending on the deliverable at hand managing scope can be easy or hard. If there is a signed contract that is well written in understandable language whereby all parties agree on the deliverable then scope management in theory should be easy.

If, however, there is no contract or an ambiguous contract, and all parties have different interpretations of the deliverable then scope will be hard to manage. Either way a project manager needs to manage scope and ultimately get all parties to agree what is in scope and what is out of scope. See below for some important points.

• Document and list all in scope deliverables.

• Document and list all out of scope deliverables.

• Document and list all free of charge (FOC) deliverables.

• Document and list all in scope deliverables that require bespoke development that incur a charge or are deemed FOC.

• Manage the costs of all bespoke work to remain within agreed project budgets.

• Always reconcile all in scope / out of scope / FOC work against a signed contract if available.

• Do not over commit on extra bespoke work that will delay go live dates unless agreed by the senior stakeholders and / or project sponsors.

• As a project manager do not put yourself in a position where you know new deliverables will delay the project and result in you being deemed responsible.

• As a vendor (whether internal or external) do not let the client bully or coerce you into delivering requirements that you know are not achievable and not in scope.

• Scope creep is when new requirements find their way into the project that are out of scope – avoid this from happening by using your project management skills to communicate concisely that no out of scope or new requirements are allowed.

• The exception is if the senior stakeholders agree to this – this may happen due to more revenue being achieved / done to maintain existing client relationships / no deemed effect on project timelines, etc.

• Time, cost and quality need to be managed appropriately and effectively in all projects and being on top of scope creep is essential for this to happen.

• The requirements & scope management run hand in hand – requirements should be noted as in scope / out of scope.

• It is important to manage out of scope requirements and note whether they will be delivered in a separate project / a future phase of the same project / in a separate development cycle / or not delivered at all.

• If the out-of-scope requirements will be delivered in the future then it is important to note if any known in-house systems / applications will be used or will 3rd party systems be needed?

• So, remember eradicate scope creep unless agreed by senior stakeholders & document all requirements that are deemed in scope and out of scope via excel, JIRA or whatever system your organisation uses.