09/16/2026
Listen to how most initiatives get introduced.
"We're implementing the new platform."
"We're rolling out the tool."
"We're standing up the system."
Every one of those names a solution. Not one of them names a problem.
Here's a test I use. Write down what the project is solving in one sentence. If that sentence contains the name of a tool, a system, or a vendor — you haven't defined the problem yet. You've defined the purchase.
The gap between those two things is where scope creep lives.
Try it on something you're running right now. Does your sentence survive?