How should you address scope creep?

How should you address scope creep?

• A. Allow changes freely
• B. Implement formal change control, validate with stakeholders, re-baseline, adjust resources and timeline
• C. Ignore stakeholder input
• D. Remove change control

Answer: (B)

Scope creep shows up when work expands beyond what was agreed, usually without a formal process to review and approve those changes. The right approach is to put in place a formal change-control process. This means proposing changes gets evaluated for impact on scope, schedule, budget, and risks; stakeholders validate the proposed change; once approved, the plan is re-baselined and resources and timelines are adjusted accordingly. This keeps the project aligned with its approved goals and constraints and prevents uncontrolled, cascading changes. Why the other options aren’t suitable: allowing changes freely leads to chaos and missed deadlines because there’s no mechanism to assess or approve impacts; ignoring stakeholder input omits essential validation and buy-in; removing change control eliminates the structured process needed to manage and document changes.

Scope creep shows up when work expands beyond what was agreed, usually without a formal process to review and approve those changes. The right approach is to put in place a formal change-control process. This means proposing changes gets evaluated for impact on scope, schedule, budget, and risks; stakeholders validate the proposed change; once approved, the plan is re-baselined and resources and timelines are adjusted accordingly. This keeps the project aligned with its approved goals and constraints and prevents uncontrolled, cascading changes.

Why the other options aren’t suitable: allowing changes freely leads to chaos and missed deadlines because there’s no mechanism to assess or approve impacts; ignoring stakeholder input omits essential validation and buy-in; removing change control eliminates the structured process needed to manage and document changes.