Scope creep is a process failure, not a client personality type.
Three lines of defence
- SOW with explicit exclusions and change process.
- Delivery queue visible to client (requests logged, not absorbed silently).
- Weekly review of out-of-scope log, decide bill, defer, or absorb with leadership sign-off.
Language for clients
"Happy to do that, I'll send a change order so we can slot it without hurting the current timeline."
Use this as a working checklist inside your team first. When the same steps repeat every week and spreadsheets start breaking, that is usually the moment to scope one workflow, one user group, one measurable outcome and a fixed handover plan as an owned system. See the relevant Standen service · More guides · SaaS ops audit.