How do you manage expectations with senior stakeholders during project scope changes?

1. Keep senior stakeholders transperant about the upcoming changes, 2. Validate the change request against scope or requirement baseline. 2. Consolidate the client side change requests, assess them preparing a list & categorizing them in terms of client business impact, priority, efforts and cost involved, complexity/technical feasibility and dependencies. 3. Review the change requests with senior stakeholders, or change control board with above details to decide on MVP or acceptable changes. 4. Get client approval on acceptable changes or cost, schedule associated with. 5. To move on, get senior Stakeholders or change control board approval on the Budget, resources to initiate the change. 6. Communicate new targets to senior stakeholders.

Scope changes are an almost inevitable fact of most projects. Except in the most trivial of cases it is impossible to have a complete picture of everything at the start of a project and this becomes truer the longer a project is expected to run. This goes to say that scope changes are unlikely to be a surprise to anyone so there is no reason to shy away from communicating them at the earliest indication. Frame each such change with the rationale for why it is necessary, its impact to the budget and the timeline, and the benefit of its inclusion. This will give senior stakeholders the relevant context to evaluate the merits of such a change and give them an opportunity to prevent its inclusion should they think it not sufficiently "worth it"

Clearly communicate the rationale for scope changes, emphasizing the impact on project objectives. Involve senior stakeholders early in the decision-making process to ensure alignment and buy-in. Regularly update them on progress and any further implications to maintain transparency and trust.

Transparency from start to end. Identify and communicate ALL the Pros/Cons, and make sure EVERYONE involved, understands the risks. And lastly, early notification to ALL stakeholders holders of ANY CHANGES, it helps maintain the overall confidence.

Frame your questions in a way that directly relates to their expertise. This increases the likelihood of getting feedback that is both actionable and aligned with the overall project vision. Example: “Given your experience with similar initiatives, do you foresee any strategic risks or opportunities we should be considering?”

"Every Plan is a good one until the first shot is fired" Carl Van Clausewitz In my experience, preparing the senior stakeholders before and during a project that changes will happen and emphasising how we adapt and manage the risks will determine our success.