Scope Shock
When the client wants everything
Kurosawa Digital, 23rd floor conference room. The kickoff wrap-up is winding down when Director Kudo strolls in, coffee in hand, tie loosened — the picture of a man with "just a few thoughts."
Director Kudo (工藤部長) "Don't let me interrupt. I just wanted to say — the board is very excited about this. Strategically, this could redefine how we engage retail partners. I trust the team to figure out the details."
→ Director Kudo is a stakeholder (an individual or group that may affect or be affected by the project) with significant authority. His language — outcomes without specifics — is a classic executive communication pattern.
Ren (蓮) "Thanks, Director Kudo. We've got the charter locked down, so we're in good shape to—"
Director Kudo (工藤部長) "Oh, one thing. The board mentioned social sharing. If users could post their XR experiences directly to social media — that would be huge. And maybe a gamification layer? Badges, leaderboards. Shouldn't be that hard, right?"
→ Casual scope additions from a senior stakeholder are one of the most common sources of uncontrolled expansion in projects. Each "small idea" carries schedule, cost, and resource implications.
Ren (蓮) "I mean — those are cool ideas, but we just baselined the scope in the charter. Adding social and gamification would blow past our Week 12 milestone."
Saki (咲希) "Director Kudo, those are excellent suggestions. I've noted them for the backlog. When we reach the next phase gate, we can evaluate them against the approved deliverables and assess the impact on timeline and budget."
→ Saki demonstrates diplomatic stakeholder management — acknowledging the request without committing to it. She channels the suggestion into an existing process rather than fighting it directly.
Director Kudo (工藤部長) "Perfect. I knew I could count on you both. Let's be strategic about the timing." He leaves as casually as he arrived.
Ren (蓮) "Did he just… add two features and leave? How is that not a problem?"
Saki (咲希) "It's only a problem if you let it become one. You manage the project. He's the sponsor (the person or group providing resources and support). His job is to want more. Your job is to protect the plan."
→ The project manager (the person responsible for leading the project team and achieving objectives) must balance stakeholder expectations with project constraints — a skill that defines the role.
Ren (蓮) "Okay, but how did you do that? He walked in ready to double our scope, and you just… redirected him. Like it was nothing."
Saki gathers her papers. "Practice," she says, without looking up. Ren watches her leave and realizes he might have something to learn from all those printed documents after all.
Ren (蓮) "We shipped the prototype without anyone signing off on it. The client loved it, but Saki asked me which phase gate we used. I didn't have an answer."
→ Project lifecycle & phases (Unit 1): Skipping phase gates means there's no formal checkpoint to confirm readiness — even when things go well, the lack of structure creates invisible risk.
Ren (蓮) "A vendor asked what our project boundaries were. I almost made something up on the spot — then remembered we have a charter with the scope written down."
→ Stakeholder identification & analysis (Unit 3): Knowing your stakeholders includes vendors and external parties. The charter serves as the single source of truth when questions arise about what's in and out of scope.