Scope Management

---
name: Scope Management
description: Define and defend what is in scope.
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# Scope Management

Scope creep is the default cause of project failure. It happens not through grand decisions but through a thousand small "just one more thing" additions, each too small to fight over.

## Define scope
- **In-scope** — explicit, specific deliverables. "A checkout flow supporting cards and PayPal."
- **Out-of-scope** — explicitly named. "Crypto, BNPL, and recurring billing — deferred to phase 2." This list is what prevents creep; people accept the deferral when it's written down.
- **Acceptance criteria** — what "done" means, measurable. Without it, scope is opinion.

## Defend scope
- **Change control.** Every addition goes through a documented decision: what does it cost (time, money, risk), and what comes off to make room? Trade-offs make additions conscious.
- **The "no" that's a "later".** Most scope pushback is really a priority question. Move it to a backlog rather than reject it outright.