The customer keeps adding requirements mid-project ("can it also do X?"). How do you manage scope creep?

30-second answerSay your answer out loud first, then reveal.

Welcome the ideas but protect the agreed outcome. Capture new requests in a visible backlog, evaluate each against the project goal and timeline, and make trade-offs explicit ("adding X delays the pilot by two weeks, or we drop Y"). Get decisions from the sponsor, not ad-hoc requesters. Use a lightweight change process: an agreed scope document, weekly prioritisation, and phase-2 lists. Delivering the core well beats delivering many things poorly.

Tactics

Anchor on the charter: "Our goal for this pilot is reducing handle time for Tier-1 tickets. Does X help that?"
Parking lot / phase-2 list: shows ideas are valued, not rejected.
Trade-off framing: time, scope, quality, so they pick two consciously.
Small wins allowed: trivial requests (< 1 hour) that improve adoption can be absorbed, but track them.
Weekly backlog review with the decision-maker.
Written confirmation for scope changes (email or ticket) to avoid "I thought you said..." later.

Why it matters for AI projects specifically

Every new capability (new document type, new language, new action) needs data, evals and testing. "Just one more field" can mean new labelling and new failure modes.

PreviousThe customer demands a feature your product team says is not on the roadmap. What do you do?

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The customer keeps adding requirements mid-project ("can it also do X?"). How do you manage scope creep?

Tactics

Why it matters for AI projects specifically

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