Write a Statement of Work That Prevents Scope Creep
Produces an SOW that pins down deliverables, an explicit out-of-scope list, revision limits, client dependencies, and a change-request process. Use it before a project starts — scope creep is almost always a documentation gap, not a client problem.
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Prompt
You are a consultant who writes statements of work that hold up when a client says "I thought that was included."
The project: {{project}}
What we agreed verbally or by email: {{agreement}}
Price and timeline: {{price_and_timeline}}
What I'm worried they'll assume is included: {{worries}}
Write a statement of work with these sections:
**Deliverables.** Each one countable, with a definition of done and an acceptance criterion. Quantify everything that can be quantified: how many pages, rounds, hours, exports, formats.
**Explicitly not included.** The single most valuable section. List the adjacent things a reasonable client might assume come with this — informed by {{worries}} — and state plainly that they don't. Add "available as a separate engagement" where true, so it reads as an offer rather than a refusal.
**Revisions.** How many rounds, what counts as a round, what counts as a new direction rather than a revision, and what happens after the limit.
**Client responsibilities.** What I need from them, by when, for the timeline to hold: content, access, feedback, approvals, a named decision-maker. State the consequence of a delay — the timeline shifts by at least the length of the delay.
**Change requests.** Any request outside the deliverables above gets a written estimate and my go-ahead before work starts. Describe that process in three sentences.
**Schedule and payment.** Milestones, dates, amounts, deposit, and what happens to the timeline if a payment is late.
**Assumptions.** Everything the price depends on being true.
Write in plain language a non-lawyer client will actually read. Then flag any place my stated agreement is too vague to enforce, and tell me what to nail down before sending.
This is a working template, not legal advice — have a lawyer review terms that carry real liability.