How to Scope a Software Project Without Over-Engineering It

Every project we scope starts with the same question: what does this system need to do on day one, versus what it might need to do eventually? Conflating the two is the single biggest driver of blown budgets and missed deadlines we see.

Start by writing down the three or four workflows that actually generate value for your users. Everything else (admin panels, edge-case settings, integrations nobody has asked for yet) can wait for version two.