Changing customer expectations and scope creep are common challenges in product development. They can cause delays, frustration, and wasted resources if not managed properly. How can you avoid these pitfalls and deliver products that meet your customers' needs and your business goals? Here are some tips to help you cope with these dynamic situations.
The first step to manage changing customer expectations and scope creep is to define the scope of your product clearly and document it in a scope statement. A scope statement should include the product vision, objectives, features, requirements, assumptions, constraints, and deliverables. It should also specify the criteria for acceptance, verification, and validation of the product. A clear scope statement will help you communicate the product scope to your customers, stakeholders, and team members, and set realistic expectations and boundaries.
To effectively manage changing customer expectations and scope creep: 1. Start with a clear initial project scope. 2. Maintain open communication with customers. 3. Establish a formal change control process. 4. Document scope changes and prioritize them. 5. Assess and manage associated risks. 6. Define a scope freeze point. 7. Regularly review and adjust scope as needed. 8. Require formal sign-offs for changes. 9. Estimate and communicate cost implications. 10. Monitor resource allocation and quality. 11. Be transparent about consequences. 12. Maintain thorough documentation. 13. Educate customers on scope impacts. 14. Ensure contractual provisions for changes. 15. Negotiate new terms for extensive changes.
Your product requirements or BRD should clearly define what is and isn’t in scope, as well as who the ultimate decision maker is on changes (and this should be up to the PM, even if they’re influenced by leaders above to make such changes). By establishing boundaries early, you can table conversations or requests for later under the premise that it’s outside of the scope you’ve put in place. You should remain flexible, though, as new data and information comes in. Also, keep a record of those out of scope requests or move them into a backlog so they don’t get left behind forever.
The second step to manage changing customer expectations and scope creep is to involve your customers and stakeholders early and often in the product development process. By engaging them in the discovery, design, and testing phases, you can gather feedback, validate assumptions, and identify risks and opportunities. You can also use agile methods, such as user stories, prototypes, and demos, to elicit and prioritize customer needs and preferences, and deliver incremental value. By involving customers and stakeholders frequently, you can build trust, alignment, and satisfaction, and reduce the chances of major changes or surprises later.
Well-intentioned stakeholders also frequently inject ideas into the backlog. Often based on their personal experiences or industry buzz, these ideas can seem promising. However, without substantial evidence from the user base, these additions risk becoming white elephants—grand in concept but lacking in actual utility. The key is to balance stakeholder enthusiasm with user-centric evidence. The power of an idea isn't in its novelty, but in its potential to resonate with users and fulfill a genuine need. Instead of loading your team with every idea that emerges, it's time to prioritize. Focus on refining that backlog, filtering through stories to identify those backed by tangible evidence of their potential.
Best defence is offence. Be proactive on how you prepare for change (=new customer expectations). 1. Build modular products, with limited interdependencies. 2. Avoid monoliths, go for microservices. 3. Make your first MVP available for real user testing. Important: Use different customer profiles for testing. 4. Do the same for every release thereafter. The above should help you to even welcome change.
The third step to manage changing customer expectations and scope creep is to manage change requests carefully. Change requests are inevitable in product development, as customers and stakeholders may have new ideas, requirements, or feedback that affect the product scope. However, not all change requests are equal, and some may have significant impacts on the product quality, cost, and schedule. Therefore, you need to have a change management process that defines how to handle change requests, such as who can initiate, approve, or reject them, how to assess their impacts and benefits, and how to document and communicate them. You also need to have a change control board that reviews and decides on change requests, and a change log that tracks and reports the changes made.
In the article, it correctly identifies that you need a process for several actions including "assess their impact and benefit." Watch out for this one. If you are executing your project and a scope change request pops up, this is ADDITIONAL work that was not accounted for in your project plan. If you or your team members spend time on assessing the scope change, your project will be delayed. You may need a process to approve delaying the project in favor of the assessment activity of the scope change request, even before you have any idea of its benefit. This can be a deterrent for scope change requests and you can use it to your advantage if your organization has a problem with too many scope change requests.
The fourth step to manage changing customer expectations and scope creep is to monitor and control the scope of your product throughout the product development process. You need to measure the progress and performance of your product against the scope statement and the baseline plan, and identify any deviations or issues. You also need to use tools, such as scope verification, scope validation, and scope creep analysis, to ensure that your product meets the agreed-upon scope and quality standards, and that any changes are justified and authorized. By monitoring and controlling the scope, you can avoid scope creep, or the uncontrolled expansion of the product scope without proper approval or adjustment of the resources and timeline.
The fifth step to manage changing customer expectations and scope creep is to communicate effectively and transparently with your customers, stakeholders, and team members. Communication is vital for ensuring that everyone is on the same page about the product scope, goals, status, and changes, and that any issues or concerns are addressed promptly and collaboratively. You need to establish a communication plan that defines the communication channels, frequency, format, and content, and the roles and responsibilities of the communication participants. You also need to use tools, such as project management software, dashboards, and reports, to share information and updates, and to facilitate feedback and discussion. By communicating effectively and transparently, you can build trust, rapport, and commitment, and minimize misunderstandings and conflicts.
The sixth step to manage changing customer expectations and scope creep is to learn and improve continuously from your product development experience. You need to collect and analyze data, such as customer feedback, metrics, and lessons learned, to evaluate the performance and outcomes of your product, and to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You also need to implement improvements, such as changes, enhancements, or fixes, to your product, processes, or practices, based on the data and insights. By learning and improving continuously, you can increase the value and quality of your product, and adapt to the changing customer expectations and market conditions.
As much as one tries to clearly define the scope of a project, scope creep almost always occurs. Some unexpected events may be hard to predict but, usually, most can be minimized with an open and honest discussion between customer and supplier. While late changes can create stress between the two parties, and internally in both sizes (managers in one side want to keep the cost the same, managers in the other want to charge more), it is the responsibility of the Project Managers to very openly discuss that possibility and use proper techniques to avoid the stress resulting from scope creep. That can pave the way for the acceptance of a higher cost, if that turns out to be the case. After all, a new project should be a partnership, not a war.