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Speke's Hinged Tortoise (Kinixys spekii)

Slow moving, but it adds up.

Scope creep is the gradual increase of scope without formal change control. It generally occurs because the change seems too small to matter or isn't even recognized as an addition to the approved requirements.

Scope creep is a major cause of project delays. By increasing the complexity of the project it can also create other problems. And since these changes are not being reviewed formally, even if they are helpful where suggested, they may interfere with other parts of the project.

Another problem with uncontrolled scope creep is that it can add to the workload without proper evaluation of which additional ideas are more important. One of the advantages of a well-run agile project is that the value of new suggestions is regularly compared to the existing set. And initial ideas, which are no longer valuable or necessary, can be retired.

Related: control scope, change management

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