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Feb 4
Discussion clients, contracts, Design, development, graphic design, scope creep, web development 2 Comments
No, it’s not some guy hanging out on the corner by the local teen center or playground. It’s the changes that occur in a project’s scope and it happens in web development & graphic design more times than we care to admit. Everyone that works in web development and in graphic design has experienced it if there was a change that came down the pipe and it wasn’t on your list of things to do.
What exactly defines scope creep? To me, it’s a problem where something has been overlooked or passed through into the project that is outside of the originally documented scope of project. Why does scope creep happen? I think because a client or a middleman is asking something of you, the developer, that was not part of the original scope. The client may be looking for something that is free. “Hey, could you throw in…” or they ask for a particular feature not originally discussed.
No matter what the case may be or the point of view we have, scope creep is a part of development. How do we keep it under control?
I, for one, outline everything in a contract. If there is something that is not covered in the original contract, then there is a clause, that if there are changes that need to be made, then there will not only be an extra fee, but there will be an additional fee added. It’s the nature of the business, we’re all going to run into scope creep no matter how hard we try. Sometimes we let the little things slide, I do.
So, what are your stories of scope creep? How do you avoid or keep it to a dull roar? What are your thoughts about it and how to avoid it?
Nov 13, 2009 @ 16:45:45
Good comments. Agree totally. We try to cover specific client requests and outline things the client doesn’t address that may be more technical concerns in the initial proposal. The contract is gets much more detailed. We are starting to add more specifications, especially what browsers are supported. We are small and this is the midwest, but the need to guard against scope creep has become apparent, so this is a timely article for sure.
Nov 13, 2009 @ 20:01:09
Thanks, glad you liked it! Scope creep kills the smaller firms I think. A smaller firm can’t live doing pro bono work, I worked at a firm that thought they could live doing free work/updates. It didn’t help the cause, for sure. Anyway, scope creep kills and regardless of firm size, it’s a huge pain in the ass.