One of the most common problems in project management is how to avoid scope creep.  Scope creep generally happens when new features or expansion of some kind is added to product designs or a project outcome that has already been approved, without providing equivalent increases in budget, time or other resources.

As it’s unrealistic to think that nothing will change so what you want to strive for is managed and controlled change on your project.   For that you need a straightforward change control process. To be clear, since we can expect there to be a degree of scope creep in most projects, it is important to make sure there’s a well-defined process to identify changes, report or take in change requests management process in part of your project.

If you need a starting point to pull together a straightforward change control process SmartSheet has several different and free change management templates – so don’t worry, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Click here and you’ll see the following templates, all of which you can download, free.  Change Management Template, Change Proposal Template, Change Management Communications Plan Template, Change Management Log Template, Change Impact Assessment Template, Organizational Change Management Plan Template, Change Request Template, Change Management Process Template, Change Management Policy Template.   I have no relationship of any kind with SmartSheet, just sharing knowledge of a free and helpful resource to handle scope creep!     – Prof. Dr. Te Wu, the founder Project Management training firm PMO Advisory is among the few people in the world certified in Project (PMP), Program (PgMP), Portfolio (PfMP), and Risk Management (PMI-RMP).