FG-0514 Scope Lock
Description
Mid-execution ideas get captured and deferred, never integrated into the active sprint. The human will have ideas during building. The agent will see opportunities for improvement. Both are correct to notice them and wrong to act on them. Scope Lock separates the creative impulse from the execution discipline: every idea gets written down, tagged for later, and kept out of the current work. The sprint stays clean.
Implementation
Maintain a scratchpad or backlog file where mid-sprint ideas are captured with timestamps and context. When an idea surfaces during execution, write it to the backlog immediately, then return to the current task without discussion. Agents should flag scope creep the same way they flag test failures. Schedule dedicated creative sessions where backlog items are reviewed, refined, and scoped for future sprints.
Success Indicators
- Sprint scope does not grow after the plan is set
- Ideas are captured reliably and reviewed in dedicated sessions
- Agents flag scope expansion attempts without being asked
- Backlog items that survive review become well-scoped tasks, not vague aspirations
Failure Modes
- Idea suppression: treating scope lock as 'no new ideas allowed' instead of 'new ideas go here, not there'
- Backlog neglect: capturing ideas but never reviewing them, eroding trust in the system
- Scope creep through the back door: small additions that individually seem harmless but collectively double the sprint
- Rigid enforcement on trivial changes: applying scope lock to a five-minute fix that genuinely belongs in the current task
Sub-Methods 3
Every mid-sprint idea is written to a dedicated backlog file with a timestamp, the context that sparked it, and a deferral tag. The capture must take under sixty seconds. If it takes longer, you are evaluating the idea, not capturing it. Capture now, evaluate later.
Agents actively monitor for scope expansion during execution. When the human proposes a new feature, enhancement, or improvement during a sprint, the agent responds with acknowledgment and deferral: captured to backlog, continuing with current task. The agent does not evaluate whether the idea is good enough to break scope. All ideas break scope equally.
Schedule dedicated sessions for reviewing the backlog. These are not sprints. They are design meetings where captured ideas are evaluated, refined, combined, or discarded. The separation between capturing and evaluating is the mechanism that makes Scope Lock work. Ideas that seemed urgent during a sprint often look different when reviewed with full context.