Customer requirements change; Resources for the project change; The availability of resources change; There are new threats from competitors; New technologies emerge; and/or There are changes in the environment – political, economic or regulatory.

Now, more than ever, change is the only constant―and that isn’t necessarily bad as long as we can be prepared for it and manage it in a way that keeps our projects humming, and not, pardon the pun, creeping along. Here are some ways to keep project creep to a minimum:

Review the Project Agreement

The project objective and the final deliverables. This should be a clear, brief statement of one to three sentences that conveys the desired final outcome. A sure sign of poor project management and project creep is a project objective that changes throughout the life of the project. Another warning sign is an objective that is too hung up on process instead of outcome.

The project boundaries. When the project team will start its work and when the project will be completed, and what the project will and will not cover. Specifying what the project will not cover is a helpful way to stay on track.

Business case. The strategic reasons for completing the project from the perspective of the overall value to the company. If the business case changes, so does the project and it must be relaunched or closed out.

Project priorities. The various constituents involved in the project―sponsor, stakeholders, customers, project managers and project team members―must clearly identify their priorities. “Must have” vs. “Nice to have” is a simple way to prioritize, using the business case as the guidelines. Identify the risks for each “must-have” requirement and get the stakeholders’ approval ... especially the customers’.

Project identity information. The title of the project, the persons creating the project agreement, the date the project agreement was created, and the project sponsor (the person authorizing the project to its completions. The persons creating the project agreement should include a representative customer (or customers).

Meaningful Customer Involvement

Customer involvement is key in avoiding project creep. In the planning process, customers should be brought in who are directly and indirectly affected by this project, who are experts in their field and who can make informed decisions about their processes, their goals and their work. They are the source of information about the business requirements that lead to the project initiation; and their detailed input will prevent inaccurate or vague project agreements and outcomes. They should be walked through the project agreement, understand the risks clearly, specify and sign off on project expectations, and overall be very much a part of the process.

Freeze the Project or Relaunch

At some point, the project must proceed along the planned lines or it will be unrecognizable. Set a time frame after which no changes will be accepted and stick to it. A well planned process, with all stakeholders represented and informed of the deadline, will go a long way to keeping a project on time on target and on budget. When faced with a major change, or a high number of changes over a short time, it is better to close out the project and start again rather than continue with a project that ultimately may not have any internal support, or does not satisfy its business case, its project agreement or its customers and stakeholders.

Document Change Requests

Lastly, make sure there is a formal process for changes or revisions in scope once the project has begun. For very large scale projects, a project change committee (composed of the project sponsor, the project leader and other stakeholders) can analyze the proposed changes and decide whether or not to incorporate them and in what priority. However, a formal process can be as simple as a form that requires the business case for the change for submission to the project leader. An impact analysis with an estimation of the costs and time associated with the change will be helpful in weeding out high vs. low priority changes and will help the sponsor and the project team decide whether or not the proposed change is high or low priority. Often, the very act of preparing a change requisition will eliminate the lower priority changes.

In making changes to the project, team members may refer to the priorities recorded in an earlier stage of the process and look at how that change will affect all the other decisions that were made up to that point and in the future. The changes could span budget, project features, or any other feature. Only by remaining on top of changes can project scope can be avoided.

Of course, some change is inevitable―it’s the nature of business. However, advance planning in the project agreement, early and meaningful customer involvement in the process, closing the project to change and creating a formal change request process will go a long way in keeping a project on target, on time and on budget.

Michelle LaBrosse is the founder Cheetah Learning and an international expert on accelerated learning and project management. In 2006, The Project Management Institute selected Michelle as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in project management in the World, and only one of two women selected from the training and education industry.