Scope Creep Businesses that perform services or carry out projects for clients generally come to an agreement with their clients about the extent or scope of a project before beginning the project. However, as a project progresses, clients may ask for more than the business originally expected to provide, and the scope of the project may grow larger than intended. This phenomenon is known as scope creep, and it can cause conflict between businesses and their clients. Scope creep is especially common when the terms or conditions of the initial agreement are not clearly defined, and a client may expect more than the business had planned to provide.