Scope Change Request Writer

Scope creep kills margin quietly, one small favor at a time, because saying "sure, we can add that" feels easier than raising a change order. This skill turns an out-of-scope request into a clear, professional change request that protects the fee and the relationship at once. Handled well, a change request is not friction; it shows the client you take their request seriously enough to plan and price it, and it keeps the original engagement profitable.

1. The original scope and fee basis.
2. The new request, in the client's words.
3. The estimated effort and cost of the new work.
4. The impact on the current timeline and any dependencies.
5. The relationship context and how the request came in.

Open by acknowledging the request positively so the change request reads as service, not obstruction. State plainly why it falls outside the current scope, referencing the original agreement without being adversarial. Quantify the impact: the added effort, the added fee, and the effect on the existing timeline. Offer a clear path to yes: approve and proceed, defer to a later phase, or adjust the request to fit the current scope. Make approval a single, easy action with a named approver and a date, so the work does not start on a verbal maybe. Keep the tone collaborative; the goal is a signed change, not a won argument.

ALWAYS use:

# Change Request: [Client] | [Engagement] | CR-[number]
## The request (in the client's words)
## Why it is a change (relative to agreed scope)
## Impact (added effort | added fee | timeline effect)
## Options (proceed now | defer to phase 2 | adjust to fit)
## Recommendation
## Approval needed (approver, date, how to confirm)

• Absorbing the work silently to avoid an awkward conversation.
• Framing the change as the client's fault instead of a normal event.
• Starting the work before written approval.
• Leaving the fee or timeline impact vague.

When a consulting client asks to add two extra workshops to a fixed-fee engagement, the change request acknowledges the request, notes the workshops were not in the original scope, prices them at a stated fee with a one-week timeline impact, offers to run them now or fold them into a phase two, and asks the sponsor to approve by reply so scheduling can begin.