How Government Programs Stopped Scope Creep at the Gate

Scope creep is typically blamed on poor execution, but this case study reveals it's fundamentally a governance problem preventable through structured process. A 67-county government program controlled 95% of potential scope expansion by requiring stakeholders to justify requests before they enter the backlog and making trade-off decisions visible. The insight demonstrates that in complex multi-stakeholder environments, preventing unwanted requests from the outset is far more effective than managing them after they've been committed.