Anticlue

Defining Project Scope

Let’s face it, defining what project scope means is critical. We have all been in the meetings where two or three people leave with different impressions of the discussion. Creating a project scope statement is a key way to ensure everyone is on the same page. The Project Scope Statement defines the project scope and what needs to be accomplished to meet the project’s objectives.
The five inputs to defining project scope are:

1. Organizational process assets – Organizational process assets provide information about standards that the company has already set in place—standards that are likely to be applied to every project. This information is re-used when creating the Project Scope Statement.
2. Project Charter – The project charter authorizes the existence of the project. It outlines the project objectives, which project managers need to detail further in the Project Scope Statement.
3. Preliminary Project Scope Statement – The Preliminary Project Scope Statement provides a description of the major project deliverables, project objectives, project assumptions, project constraints, and a statement of work.
4. Project Scope Management Plan – The Project Scope Management Plan provides a description of how the stated project objectives will be developed within the detailed Project Scope Statement.
5. Approved change requests – Change request which are agreed-upon and documented amendments to project scope. Approved change requests will ultimately be added to the Project Scope Statement.

There are several tools and techniques used to developing a detailed Project Scope Statement.

• Product analysis - Project managers use product analysis to improve their understanding of the project's product. Product analysis is important to scope planning because it helps project managers determine how the product is made.
• Alternatives identification - When creating a Project Scope Statement, project managers use alternatives identification to produce different ways of approaching project tasks. Lateral thinking and brainstorming are two examples of alternatives identification.
• Expert judgment - To make informed decisions, project managers use their own expert judgment and the expert judgment of others who have advanced skills or previous experience. These experts help project managers make decisions when developing the Project Scope Statement.
• Stakeholder analysis - Project managers use stakeholder analysis to identify the potential people, groups, and institutions that may affect or be affected by the project. After identifying the stakeholders, the importance of key people that may significantly influence the project's success is assessed.

After putting the effort in one earns to view the outputs, the outputs of the Scope Definition process are as follows:

• Detailed Project Scope Statement – The detailed project scope statement is the description of the project scope, major deliverables, project objectives, project assumptions, project constraints, and a statement of work. It provides a documented basis for making future project decisions.
• Requested changes - A requested change is a formally documented change request that is submitted for approval to the Integrated Change Control process.
• Project Scope Management Plan updates – Project scope management plan updates are contained within or is a part of the subsidiary plan of the Project Management Plan. It describes how the project scope will be defined, verified, and controlled, and how the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) will be created and defined.

The detailed Project Scope Statement and the updated Project Scope Management Plan, as well as approved change requests, will be used as inputs for one of the most important items produced as part of the Planning Process Group—the Work Breakdown Structure.