Scope creep is the gradual, uncontrolled growth of a project's requirements after it has started, without matching changes to time, budget or resources.
It usually happens one small request at a time: "can it also export to Excel?" Each addition seems reasonable, but together they push deadlines and exhaust the team.
How to prevent it
- Agree scope and acceptance criteria up front.
- Put new requests in the backlog instead of the current sprint.
- Make trade offs explicit: adding something means removing or delaying something else.