How do I stop scope creep?

Write down what is included and what is not, before the work starts, and use a written change process for everything else.

Scope creep rarely starts as a big request. It starts with "while you're at it, could you just…" — which is reasonable once and corrosive by the fifth time.

Three practical defenses:

1. A scope document listing exclusions as explicitly as inclusions, and specifying quantities: how many revision rounds, how many pages, how many hours.
2. A change process everyone agreed to at kickoff: anything outside scope gets quoted in writing and approved before work continues.
3. A phrase you are comfortable saying: "Happy to do that — it's outside what we agreed, so let me send you a quick price and we'll add it."

Being clear early is friendlier than being resentful later. The Scope-of-Work Template Outline covers the structure.