[growse]

Indeed. Much of the time, "scope creep" is actually just discovering what the requirements actually are. It's not that the requirements change, the requirement likely existed all along - it's just that no-body realised it. Iterating through feedback loops where you build something that meets the original ask, only to refine/change/add/remove things as everybody discovers that what they wanted is not in fact what they wanted is not an unreasable approach.

> I think I've been successful in my career because I've been able to listen to a client's request and then help them figure out what they are actually asking for instead of taking it at face value. That can be easier said than done on an internal team, but it changes the quality of the product and dynamic of the team significantly.

Sometimes you can explore the actual scope by skillfully working with the client before you build anything. Sometimes, however, you can only learn what the actual requirement is by building the wrong thing first.