Rescoping

Rescoping is the act of redefining the scope of a project, program, study, or initiative in response to new information, constraints, or shifting strategic priorities. It involves adjusting objectives, deliverables, timelines, and resources and is typically a deliberate management decision rather than a gradual change. It differs from scope creep, which refers to uncontrolled expansion of scope without formal approval.

In formal project management, rescoping is carried out through a change-control process. Drivers may include technical feasibility, budget changes, stakeholder input, regulatory requirements, or market conditions. The process usually includes identifying impacts on cost, schedule, and quality; evaluating options; obtaining stakeholder approval; updating the project baseline (scope statement, milestones, and resource plan); and communicating revised plans to the team. Risk assessment should accompany the updated scope to identify new or altered risks and mitigation strategies.

Outcomes of rescoping can range from narrowing objectives to deliver a viable minimum set of outcomes, to expanding scope when opportunities justify additional investment. Potential challenges include rework, morale impact, contractual implications, and the need to align sponsors and customers around a revised direction.

Examples span fields: in research, endpoints or hypotheses may be adjusted; in software development, feature sets may be defined differently; in public policy, program boundaries or geographic reach can be redefined.

Terminology varies; some sources use rescoping or re-scoping interchangeably, but the core idea is a purposeful realignment of scope rather than unintended expansion.