Beware the SCOPE CREEP!!

Scope creep can be the bane of the freelancer’s (any freelancer’s) existance.
What is it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ia7mad/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Essentially, scope creep refers to the way a project tends to slowly but surely change scope as you undertake it.
You agree to design a basic website for Mr Guy.
Part way through the project, Mr Guy decides a forum would be really cool, can you add that to the website?
Oh! And we’re going to want business cards. You can do that, right?

Slowly slowly, request by request, your project has started to grow like it’s been exposed to comic book radiation, without mention of deadline extensions or pay increases and suddenly you’re wondering if you could maybe quit freelancing and get a nice job working with explosives, for the peace and quiet.

Sounds bad, right?
It needn’t be.
It can actually be an opportunity for more work, and a happier client. Win win!
What might help make it a good opportunity (rather than a never ending nightmare) is keeping these things in mind:

Your client probably isn’t trying to screw you over on this

Sometimes we assume clients know exactly what they’re doing. I mean, we know OUR role in this, don’t they know theirs?
In actual fact, very often a client has never entered into a project with a freelancer before, has no idea how the whole shebang works.
They’re trusting that you do, and with each extra task they add, they’re merely communicating their needs for the project with you.
And actually, communication is good!

The key is to try not to get frustrated.

Don’t view them as demanding or difficult – remember you’re on the same side, working to get the same project done.
They’re just letting you know what they’re thinking.

A lot of the time, a client won’t even realise that what they’re asking actually entails a whole lot more work – after all, chances are if they were industry experts, they’d be doing the work themselves.

Realise they’re just stating their needs, and be genuinely receptive to this.
Respond in a friendly and helpful manner.

Makes your terms clear

If you can do the extra work for the client at no extra cost, you’ve probably just made your client very happy indeed!
However, not everybody can do this. Especially when the scope creep is profound.
I have, for instance, been commissioned to do a portrait and then, a month later, through one request leading to another found myself up to my elbows in php for the same client’s webpage.
So before you drift off into a never ending saga of adjustments and new projects, make the terms of these new requests clear.

With this sort of thing, it’s completely ok to say “Sure, I can make those adjustments. Let’s discuss them in detail so I can understand exactly what you need, and send you an adjusted quote.”
Or to say you’re happy to tackle the new suggestions, and here’s the adjusted deadline, changed to provide time to complete the extra tasks. How does that suit you?

If other deadlines make accepting more work impossible, you can politely say no, you can’t meet the new requests. Or, as I’ve done in the past, even make suggestions for breaking the project up into parts.
I could, for instance, get the website up and running by the originally agreed upon date, meet my other commitments, then get to work on the business card in a month’s time when the other projects are done.

This is a really great opportunity for increased work and a happier client, so long as you make terms clear as soon as changes come up, so that both of you know where the project is going and what the expect.

You’re the professional – act like it

I think a mistake we often make as freelancers is leaning on the client to take control and steer the project.
I fully believe this is our responsibility, and that if the client wanted the nightmare of dealing with the nitty gritty, they’d do it themselves.

This isn’t to say that you should boss your client around, or ignore what they have to say – listening is VITAL – but I see it like this:

If I take my car to a mechanic, I expect to hand my car over to him and have him do whatever needs to be done.
I don’t know the details of what needs to happen, where he’ll start first or what bits he’ll test or what tools he’ll use. I just trust that he’s a professional that knows what he’s doing, and when my car comes back it’ll be in tip-top shape.
Let’s imagine then that my mechanic finds my brakes need replacing – something not budgeted for in the original service cost.
He tells me that he’s found they’re worn, they need replacing, it’ll cost $120.
“Yes” I say “I can afford $120, please go ahead and replace my brakes. Thanks for letting me know they needed it”.

Imagine then, the nightmare it’d be if my mechanic took my car, had a look and came back to me for direction all the time.
“Do you want me to check tyre pressure?”
“Should I open the hood?”
“Do you want the washer fluid topped up?”
“Should I look at the engine?”
“Do you want the breaks replaced?”
And then, if he expected me to make an offer of how much I think I would like to pay to have the breaks replaced.

The first mechanic, having listened to me and understood that I wanted my car looked at, inspired confidence by just getting on with the job, and upon finding that some extra work ahd to be done, made it clear and simple what that would involve and cost.

Clients want to feel that same confidence in us.
Clients expect that, as professionals, we will make everything they need to know crystal clear to them, including sending bills, updated quotes, adjusted deadlines, etc.
Don’t force them to have to try to guess at what the terms of the project might be – it’s unfair to both of you.
It’s your job to spell it out, and doing so means you both know what page you’re on, and inspires confidence in the client-freelancer relationship on both sides.

Avoid excessive scope creep by asking the right questions the first time around

In most projects, there’s often a small amount of scope creep no matter what you do, but by making sure you ask enough questions and pay enough attention to your client right at the very start, often you can avoid huge project changes by getting it right the first time.

Don’t just listen to what information your client offers you, ask them further questions about their needs, then make suggestions and ask for their thoughts.
Do your very best to make sure you’re understanding exactly what needs to be done from the start, and you cut down on what will surprise you part way through.

Know when to say “no”

A very small precentage of clients aren’t going to be happy no matter how much extra time or effort you give their projects.
These are those rare times where you have to realise you can’t win, and end the relationship.

For the most part, both you and your client can avoid the scope creep and find a workload that keeps you both happy through good communication right from the start.

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Tags: art, Art and illustration, Clients, work