Before the tech world settled on the term “scope creep,” I had my own name for it: the Colombo Effect.
For anyone born in the 21st century, allow me to explain. Colombo was an American detective series – and its genius was in the title character himself. He’d shuffle around a crime scene looking completely dishevelled, seemingly baffled, apparently out of his depth. You’d almost feel sorry for him. Then, just as he was leaving – just as the suspect thought they were safe – he’d turn around, one finger raised, and say those four words:
Just one more thing…
That, right there, is a developer’s life.
It happens at every stage. Discovery? “Just one more thing.” Development? “Just one more thing.” The client review period – which, and this is a law of nature, always happens about 24 hours before the site is due to go live? “Just one more thing.” Final sign-off? You already know.
Every. Single. Effing. Time.
Now, if you’re a lone developer, two screens, a decent coffee, and a few hours to spare – this is annoying, but manageable. You push back. You say “that’s outside the original brief.” You renegotiate. You are, in short, a functioning adult with leverage.
But if you’re an agency? Especially one with something resembling desperation written in large letters above the door?
The conversation goes a little differently.
Yes sir. No sir. Absolutely, great point sir. We’d be happy to include that. Yes, the deadline is still very much in effect. Not a problem at all. And yes ma’am, I will take this project plan, roll it up and shove it up my arse sideways, thank you for your honest feedback. So, same time next week?
And there it is. That’s where scope creep actually comes from. Not from difficult clients – clients will always push, that’s just human nature. It comes from the side of the table that won’t push back. The side that needs the work too much to protect the brief. The side that says yes, and yes, and yes again, and then works nights to honour a deadline that was already too tight before the “just one more things” started landing.
Scope creep is usually framed as a project management problem. A process failure. Something to be solved with better contracts and clearer discovery phases.
And yes, those things help.
But let’s be honest about the root cause: it thrives wherever there’s a power imbalance, and it absolutely feasts on desperation.
Colombo always got his man in the end. In agency life, the “just one more thing” never stops – and everyone in the room knows it, and nobody says so out loud.
Rinse and fucking repeat.
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