Scientific Definition
Projects gradually expand beyond their original goals.
Plain-English Definition
Projects gradually expand beyond their original goals.
Feynman Explanation
The project was small. Then it had feelings. Then it had features.
Core Principle
Projects gradually expand beyond their original goals.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Projects gradually expand beyond their original goals.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Scope creep is the default state of projects.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
The project was small. Then it had feelings. Then it had features.
Examples
- A simple website redesign grows into a full platform rebuild.
- Scope creep is the default state of projects.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Lock scope with change-control processes and visible costs.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Lock scope with change-control processes and visible costs.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
A single constraint limits the throughput of an entire system.
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
Adding people to a late project makes it later.
A substance that speeds up a reaction without being consumed.
Nonlinear systems are highly sensitive to initial conditions.
Inputs combine under conditions to produce new outputs — sometimes irreversibly.
Software architecture mirrors org structure.
Working together has a cost that scales with the number of people.
The threshold at which a system becomes self-sustaining.