Which statement best defines scope creep in project management?

• A. The uncontrolled expansion to product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources.
• B. A planned increase in the project budget to cover inflation.
• C. A deliberate reduction of requirements to meet a deadline.
• D. The risk of delaying milestones due to resource constraints.

Answer: (A)

Scope creep happens when the project grows beyond what was originally agreed, without changing the timeline, budget, or resources to accommodate those additions. It usually starts with extra features or new requirements being added after work has begun, and a lack of a formal change-control process to re-baseline the plan. Because the plan isn’t adjusted, the project ends up delivering more than planned while still under the same constraints, often causing overruns and delays.

The statement that describes uncontrolled expansion of the scope without adjusting time, cost, or resources matches this idea precisely. The other scenarios describe budgeting for inflation, trimming requirements to meet a deadline, or delays due to resource limits—none of which capture the idea of scope increasing without corresponding changes to the project plan.