Veja como você pode gerenciar o aumento do escopo em projetos Agile.

Managing scope creep in Agile projects is akin to taming a burgeoning beast. Here are some effective strategies: ✔️ Conduct frequent reviews: Regularly assess project progress during daily stand-ups or sprint retrospectives to detect early signs of scope creep and implement timely adjustments. ✔️ Prioritize with determination: Assess and arrange project tasks by their contribution to the project's goals, concentrating on the most critical tasks to prevent scope creep. ✔️ Establish a clear "done" criterion: Clearly define the completion criteria for each task, including acceptance standards, to ensure a common understanding among team members, thereby minimizing scope creep.

Defining scope is the single biggest cause of scope creep. If you *really* have to define scope, tough. Better to define it as abstractly as possible in such cases. Better yet, define a vision for the product and define scope incrementally as you learn better what would be most valuable in meeting that goal. If you need agility, you are saying you know scope will change. Embrace that, don't fight it. If you don't need agility that's another matter, but that debate doesn't belong under the heading "Agile Methodologies".

Defining scope is essential to managing scope creep in Agile projects. Clear and concise scope definitions at the start of each sprint help set expectations and boundaries. Regularly revisiting and refining the scope through sprint reviews and backlog grooming ensures that any changes are deliberate and aligned with project goals. By maintaining a well-defined scope and prioritizing tasks effectively, Agile teams can prevent scope creep, stay focused on delivering value, and adapt to changes without jeopardizing the project's overall objectives.

In Agile, while we establish scope, budget, and time baselines, the methodology inherently allows for embracing changes. ❎ Scope creep isn't an issue as long as changes stay within these baselines. If changes exceed the baselines, they can still be adapted through adjustments. Here’s how to handle changes in Agile: 1. Analyze Impact: Assess how changes affect the scope, budget, and timelines. 2. Inform stakeholders about impacts on timelines or costs. 3. Change Log: Document the change in the change log. 4. Seek approval from the Change Advisory Board (CAB). 5. Implementation: Implement the approved changes. ✔️ Note: Mandatory changes, such as compliance-related updates, should be implemented urgently.

The best way to handle it is 1. Always maintain a clear and prioritized backlog. 2. Implement strict change control processes, requiring any scope changes to be evaluated and approved by the product owner. 3. Identify the impact of scope creep on other ticket(s). 4. Inform the stakeholders of the delay and for what reasons. Reach out to them again informing the new go-live date post-next sprint planning. I like to share the sprint backlog with all the stakeholders before the sprint starts to set the expectations for the next 2 weeks and to avoid scope creep. However, do remember, with time, priorities change for many reasons making scope creep inevitable. How we handle it makes a difference.

Engaging stakeholders is crucial for managing scope creep in Agile projects. 🛠️ Regular updates and review meetings ensure transparency and foster a collaborative environment. By involving stakeholders in decision-making, you create a shared vision and collective accountability, which minimizes misunderstandings and aligns everyone towards common goals. This proactive approach not only mitigates risks but also enhances project success through continuous feedback and adaptation. 🚀

In my experience, I have facilitated a discussion with the Product Owner along with the team members and Scrum Master to have a "lightweight scope management working agreements" as follows. Any backlog item or urgent items (P1 bugs etc. or customer escalations) that was brought by PO in the mid of the sprint, team has to negotiate that with the PO. 3 possible scenarios. 1. Team has to stretch a little once in a while to accommodate the critical changes to build the trust of PO or Business. However, this MUST not become a norm. 2. Team to convince the PO to wait for the next sprint to take the new item 3. Team to negotiate with the PO to push back few items (to prod backlog) of similar size of the new item being pushed into current sprint.

Agile permits changes as long as they align with the defined baselines. If changes exceed these limits, they can still be accommodated through adjustments. ✅ Communicate the potential changes to stakeholders, highlighting any adjustments in the timeline or cost. ✅ Document the change in the change log for transparency and tracking. ✅ Present the change to the Change Advisory Board (CAB) for approval. ✅ Once approved, proceed with implementing the changes.

Engaging stakeholders is crucial for managing scope creep in Agile projects. By involving stakeholders early and regularly, teams can ensure that project goals and priorities are clearly understood and aligned. Frequent communication and feedback loops help identify and address changes in scope promptly, preventing unexpected expansions. This collaborative approach fosters transparency and accountability, allowing teams to make informed decisions and maintain focus on delivering the highest value features within the agreed timeline and budget.

I might suggest that you not reprioritize work that is in progress: either finish it or abandon and excise it. Prioritizing and reprioritizing is best used to answer the question "what is the most important thing that our application does not do at this time." That is a question to ask often. Many times after the 3rd or 5th slice of a feature is delivered that feature stops being the most important thing. Also, realize that reprioritization is the cause of much unpredictability. How can anyone estimate when something will be done when it might be shuffled to the bottom of the list at any time?

I have coached or mentored teams particularly the Product Owner (or Scrum Master to educate/coach the Product Owner) to mercilessly prioritize all the product items. This is where regular Product Backlog refinement sessions have helped my teams to have a very healthy product backlog. And they can consume or pull some of them during Sprint planning events effectively. The meaning of healthy, here is that backlog items are prioritized (with whatever appropriate techniques), sized with story points, refined with sufficient details such as scope of the item with Acceptance Criteria and dependencies.

The MoSCoW method is the most popular prioritization technique, and is not limited to an Agile environment. It may seem hard at first glance. One of the common mistakes is to do it on your own. Use the benefits of working with the Scrum Team and take the MoSCoW activity for the next Planning Meeting. Prioritization should be a collaborative activity involving different stakeholders; when sorting, check the need, timing, costs, etc. MoSCoW is a prioritization scheme, search it. Also learn about Story Points.

Agile teams can manage scope creep effectively, ensuring that changes add value without compromising the project's overall objectives. This balance between flexibility and control is key to successful Agile project management. 📌 Some changes, like compliance-related adjustments, must be implemented urgently regardless of baselines. For other changes there are different methods as MosCow & Keno ▶️ MoSCoW Method: Must Have: Essential changes that are critical to project success. Should Have: Important changes that are not critical but add significant value. Could Have: Beneficial changes that can be included if time and resources permit. Won't Have: Changes that are not necessary for the current iteration.

To manage scope creep in Agile projects, it is crucial to prioritize rigorously. By clearly defining and continuously reassessing priorities, teams can focus on the most valuable tasks and prevent the project from expanding beyond its original goals. Regularly updated product backlogs and strict adherence to sprint plans help maintain this focus. Engaging stakeholders in prioritization discussions ensures alignment and minimizes the risk of unplanned changes. This disciplined approach keeps the project on track, delivering high-quality results within the expected timeframe.

In Agile,🔔 the Change Advisory Board (CAB) reviews and approves changes. While Agile welcomes changes, each must be reviewed before implementation. ☀️ Consider these factors: 1. Impact on Baseline: Assess how the change affects scope, budget, and timeline. 2. Urgency: Determine if the change is urgent, such as compliance requirements. 3. Value Addition: Evaluate the benefits the change brings to the project. 4. Team Skills: Ensure the team has the necessary skills to implement the change. By reviewing these factors, the CAB ensures that changes are beneficial and feasible before implementation.

Agile methodologies were designed to, among other things, embrace the changes that will eventually occur throughout the execution of the project. Scope rigidity can lead to misalignment with the Product Owner and at the same time generate discontent. Still, it is necessary to analyze the impacts that each change will bring to the project in terms of finance, deadline, acquisitions, risks, workforce and skills.

Being open to change and welcoming it as an opportunity for improvement. Agile teams are flexible and adapt quickly to changing requirements and circumstances. Continuous Delivery: Regularly delivering working software or products, providing value to customers early and often. Change is not feared but embraced in Agile. All Agile teams actively welcome change for several compelling reasons: Adaptability Spurs Innovation: Change fuels a culture of innovation and creative problem-solving. Customer-Centricity: Agile teams prioritize responding to evolving customer needs.

In my experience, I have coached or mentored team members (especially the Scrum Master) display 2 Scrum Values, Courage and Openness, whenever there is a scope creep is about to happen in the middle of the sprint. This has resulted in building solid relationship with the Product Owner. As far as Continuous Delivery is concerned, teams have demonstrated the piece of working software (highly prioritized functionalities) during the Sprint Reviews. And all the scope creep situations that occurred in the sprint and all other conflicts were discussed in the Sprint Retros.

In Agile, delivering value to stakeholders quickly is key. For example, John wants to lose weight using an Agile approach: ✔️ Daily Stand-ups: John meets with his coach daily to discuss progress and address challenges. For instance, if John feels pain (Impediment) , his coach suggests stretching exercises. ✔️ Sprint Review: Every two weeks, John measures his weight (Incremental) to evaluate progress, allowing adjustments to his plan. ✔️ Sprint Retrospective: John and his coach review the past two weeks, providing feedback and planning improvements. 👉 Key points: - John gets continuous feedback and adjustments, keeping him motivated and on track. - If John's weight doesn't change, he and his coach can quickly take corrective actions.

In the Sprint Retros, we discuss on all the scope creep situations and ensure that every member, Scrum Master and Product Owner participate actively how to improve things going forward. For eg: do better backlog refinements sessions, improve on size estimations, better collaboration among members to deliver some critical functionalities that PO (or Biz) wants it urgently (I mean REALLY occasionally stretching to build the rapport and trust with PO or Biz stakeholders). If need be, revisit the working agreements and/or document the learnings and bring action items to closure so that we can manage the scope changes within its limits.

Agile retrospectives provide a crucial opportunity to review and refine processes during a sprint. By identifying issues and areas for improvement, teams can correct errors and reinforce successful practices. This process involves introspection and self-analysis, enhancing team performance and fostering a self-managed team dynamic. The Scrum Master facilitates these meetings, ensuring productive discussions and actionable outcomes, leading to continuous improvement and greater team efficiency.

We don't live in an ideal world, to say agile teams work only 40 hours per week. So, sometimes, (especially when the agile/Scrum team formed newly) teams stretch a little (occasionally) to build the trust with the PO or Product manager or Biz stakeholders. This does not mean that stretching becomes a norm. Conflict resolution and displaying behaviors of living by Scrum values (Openness, Focus, Respect, Commitment and Courage) has helped my coachee's (teams) to manage these scope change/creep situations.

In agile projects, change requests are typically handled in the following way: The change request is submitted to the product owner. The product owner assesses the change request and determines its impact on the project. If the change request is significant, it is added to the product backlog.

Agile embraces change. Scrope creep is an "uncontrolled" change in the project requirement. It's difficult to comprehend how these concepts work together, "uncontrolled" being the keyword. So straightforward way to manage scope creep is to properly control the changes. Following are a few steps to manage change well so that the changes are not sneaked in resulting in scope creep Identify the entry points of changes in the system. For example, the "Description" section of a product backlog item(PBI). Put good traceability /alerts in the system to prevent changes from sneaking in. For example, make the Description read only after the work is started. Utilise tools like the Burndown chart to spot the scope creep and take corrective actions.

✅ To effectively manage scope creep in Agile projects, it’s crucial to understand the project goals thoroughly. This requires 🤝collaboration with various stakeholders to comprehend their business needs. Conducting interviews, surveys, focus groups, and brainstorming sessions can provide deeper insights. Reviewing historical data from similar projects also aids in better understanding. ✅ Engage with peers and experts to gain diverse perspectives and solutions, helping identify potential risks and future changes. By anticipating these changes, surprises are minimized, and the team is better prepared. ❇️ Embrace changes as part of the Agile methodology, ensuring adaptability and continuous improvement throughout the project

It is critical to continuously improve. Frequent retrospectives give the team a special place to consider their procedures, pinpoint areas for development, and make adjustments. The team is able to improve productivity over time by continuously improving their methods thanks to this feedback loop, which cultivates a culture of learning and adaptation.