If you re trying to improve your business and want to get people on board for success, be specific about how life will change after the improvement. Your employees are your customers. Put your projections in writing. It gives people something to focus on, helps set realistic expectations, and provides you with CYA material if your need it later on. In the consulting profession there is a bogeyman in any major project that is taken on, especially if the job will be done for a fixed price.
Scope creep is where goals, outcomes, and directives change during the course of the project.
Stuff begins to be included in your scope that was never intended to be there. I ve seen scores of projects go bad due to scope creep because the changes in focus were handled with a handshake a verbal commitment. The consultant didn t put in writing what the new deliverables were and he didn t relate how this change would affect the overall price of the project. Ultimately, the customer is always right, so even if the consultant delivers, he ends up doing extra work pro bono. During any implementation of major significance at a company, changes in scope are inevitable as you go along.