How prevalent is scope creep in your organization?

Our reader poll today asks: How prevalent is scope creep in your organization?

– Not at all. We manage scope very tightly and effectively: 4.27%
– A little. We occasionally face scope creep but it’s not too bad: 20.22%
– Moderate. We get scope right about half the time: 28.54%
– A lot. More often than not we increase scope: 32.51%
– Rampant. Scope has little meaning or rigor for us: 14.16%

Scope is out of control: More than 45% are reporting a pretty big problem where there’s either a lot of creep or that creep is rampant. Your job as a leader isn’t to manage the project itself — your job is to keep it under control. I’ve previously discussed managing scope in this post, and it includes guidance on setting clear boundaries, expanding scope in controlled steps and rigorously managing priorities. If you do so, you have a much better chance of keeping your project on track and meeting its objectives.

Do you agree with these poll results?  Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.