Project Scope

One of the more challenging in planning a project is the delivery of a solid project scope.  This is the statement that defines the boundaries of the project. It should state what will be done during the project, and cover items which will not be included. Each of the steps is outlined as part of stage 1 in Delivering a Project, which can be reviewed on this website. Scope is often referred to as a Statement of Work, essentially a document of understanding between the two parties involved, you and your customer. This document is the foundation for all work to follow. It is critical that the scope is correct, and should be socialised with all parties involved, to ensure an understanding of the projects deliverables.

 

Beginning a project on the right foot is paramount, and so is staying on track. It is no secret that scope can change during the course of a project, commonly referred to as “scope creep”, normally we don’t know how or when this will happen, but don’t be surprised if it does. Detecting that change and deciding how to accommodate it in the project plan are major challenges for all project managers. An area a project could run into trouble is normally at the very beginning, at times it could be difficult to understand or decipher what is being asked of us and the project by the customer. An essential skill a project manager should have is “Good Listening Skills”

 

Good listening skills are important for two reasons; it enables us to define exactly what the request is and what kind of response is appropriate. At this time I would ask my customer to email me with exact details of their request, a record of what is being asked from them, this is outside of the Statement of Work, and a good reference point once the Statement of Work is written.   It ensures that you as the project manager who is responsible for the project have an understanding of the customers’ requirements before quality time is spent on the writing the document. Essentially what you are delivering with the Statement of Work is a condition of satisfaction.

 

The Statement of Work should cover the following essential elements, such as project deliverables, the proposed solution, and each team’s roles and responsibly must be clearly covered, what are the high level projects milestones, during large scale projects, milestones are used for progressive payments. The project dependencies must be outlined, high level risks and their associated mitigation, the assumptions of the parties involved, this would also include the involvement of any third parties. Does the project have any exclusion, the cost of the project; establish how the work is to be accepted, and the overall project acceptance criteria. How will you know if the project is successfully completed if you have not established this guideline? It is also important to include any Bill of Materials at this time, a high level design and establish the budget internally, ensure you have sufficient funds to run the project.

 

This has been a broad overview of project scope covering some of the core features required, you have documented the project through the Statement of Work and received signoff from the customer to proceed. Once this has occurred you are in a position to commence developing the detailed project plan.