“Really, the interesting thing to me about limiting scope is that it tends to focus the work on the most important things like discovery, messaging / brand, copy, layout, etc. It shifts the focus away from the tech / features, and towards the essentials.”

Yeah, that’s what intrigues me about the idea. It seems to bring things into focus on a given project in a way they never were before.

You’re right though — there’s always going to be the issue of doing too little for a client, or finding later on that their needs have changed. But I find that being upfront as soon as possible and amending the contract works very well for both parites.

Really, the interesting thing to me about limiting scope is that it tends to focus the work on the most important things like discovery, messaging / brand, copy, layout, etc. It shifts the focus away from the tech / features, and towards the essentials.

I’ve tried to scope down projects in the past and often run into the problem where clients try to feature-creep their projects once the process has started (usually, the don’t even know they’re doing it). It frustrates both parties as I try to keep them on track with the original plan, or remind them that changes will take more time/money.