The thing about scope creep…

The thing about scope creep…is it going away when you have clear outcomes.

Scope creep is a boogeyman for data teams. It’s a constant point of fear and tension between stakeholders and data teams.

Fear that they will move the goalposts.

Fear that they will sneak more work into the project.

Tension because you will push back on their ask.

Tension because you don’t know who to trust.

Scope creep goes away when both the data team and the business team have the same desired outcome.

When that’s the case…

no one is trying to do as little work as possible.

no one is trying to sneak in their own agenda.

everyone agrees on the goal and will do what it takes to get there.

everyone agrees even if the scope changes the goal won’t.

Instead of spending hours in training seminars learning how to manage scope creep, instead try this.

Get really clear on what the goal is.

And you might find that the boogeyman you feared

isn’t that scary.

Sawyer

from The Data Shop​