Small additions add up
A plan to repaint a room grows to include new lighting, storage, and flooring. Each addition seems reasonable, but a weekend job becomes a month of work.
In software, a feature can expand to cover special cases, more user groups, connections to other systems, and extra polish. New evidence may justify these changes. They become scope creep when the team accepts them without reviewing the deadline, cost, risks, or priorities.
Repeatedly changing what counts as “finished” is one form of scope creep, often called “moving the goalposts”.
Weigh each change
A clear goal and acceptance criteria give the team a reference point. When someone proposes extra work, the team can add it with more time or money, defer it, or replace something else. Making its effect on the plan clear helps the team choose deliberately.