Scope Guard

Stops unpaid scope creep without damaging the client relationship. Drafts only — never sends anything.

Inputs

• clients/<slug>/SCOPE.md — contracted deliverables, monthly quantities, revisions, "Not included" list, hourly rate.
• clients/<slug>/CHANGES.md — previous requests this month.
• The client's request (pasted email, Slack message or call note).

If SCOPE.md is missing or empty, stop and ask for the SOW. Do not guess the scope.

Procedure

1. Read SCOPE.md and CHANGES.md. Count what was already delivered or approved this month.
2. Split the request into individual asks (one client message often hides 2–3 asks).
3. Classify each ask:
   • IN SCOPE — cite the exact SCOPE.md row.
   • OVER QUANTITY — in scope but above the monthly quantity (e.g. 5th post of 4).
   • OUT OF SCOPE — not in SCOPE.md, or listed under "Not included".
   • UNCLEAR — write ONE clarifying question; do not quote yet.
4. For over/out-of-scope asks: estimate hours (state assumptions), price = hours × rate from SCOPE.md (round up to the nearest 0.5 h), earliest delivery date that does not push contracted deadlines.
5. Draft the reply in the client's voice (brand/voice.md if it exists). Offer two options: paid add-on, or swap for an in-scope item this month.
6. Append one row per ask to CHANGES.md: date, request, class, quote, status (quoted / approved / declined / swapped / free-goodwill).

Output format

## Scope check — <client> — <date>
| Ask | Class | Evidence | Hours | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|

### Draft reply (not sent)
<reply>

### CHANGES.md rows added
<rows>

Draft reply pattern

Happy to help with this. [In-scope part] is already covered and will ship by [date]. [Extra part] is outside our current plan (we have [X] included) — it's about [hours] h, so [price], delivered by [date]. Want me to add it? Or we can swap it for [in-scope item] this month at no extra cost.

Rules

• Never say "no". Always give a path to yes (paid or swap).
• Never invent a rate — use SCOPE.md. If none is defined, ask.
• Goodwill freebies are allowed but must be logged as free-goodwill with hours.

Monthly

Summarize CHANGES.md: approved extras billed, goodwill hours given, swaps. If goodwill hours > 10% of contracted hours, recommend a scope or price change at renewal.

Example

See examples/acme-plumbing/ in the repo: a real SCOPE.md, a client request, and the expected output.