How to Develop a Scope Statement

Effective scope statements are the cornerstone of a successful project.

A scope statement is the foundation for a successful project plan. Scope statements identify the core deliverables and exclusions of a major project, setting the expectations that shape the project's budget, time line and resource needs. A well-defined scope statement identifies the major stakeholders in the project and sets clear boundaries as to what falls inside and outside of the project; as such, it is one of the most important planning documents within a project's management system.

Instructions

1. Identify the strategy that makes this project significant. Explore customer requirements and state the business needs that the project will satisfy.

2. Explain the project's major deliverables. Detail the final product or solution that the project is intended to create. Be specific.

3. List the project objectives. These are the criteria that allow judgement about the project's success, including quality benchmarks, a financial return-on-investment or customer satisfaction metrics.

4. Disclose any assumptions, constraints or risks that affect the project. For example, does success depend on getting a certain number of labor hours out of different departments? List any variables that affect whether the project will be successfully closed.

5. Incorporate a change-management and communication plan. Although change-management and communication plans are often separate planning documents for a larger project, providing a working summary within a scope document helps to set baseline expectations among stakeholders.

6. Circulate the draft scope statement to affected business leaders for review and input before obtaining the final sign-off. Consensus among affected parties helps to make project management more effective.

Tips & Warnings

• Get support for the scope and its exclusions from everyone who will be affected by the project--it takes just one key stakeholder to oppose the project to lead to disharmony and potential project failure.

• Avoid the temptation to over-promise and under-deliver. Project managers who write ambitious scope statements but fail to deliver the final product will suffer serious reputation problems that can jeopardize the success of any future projects he will manage. Being honest up-front will ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding the final deliverables.

References

• Project Magazine: Writing a Scope Statement
• Value Management Partners: Writing a Scope of Work

Resources

• Microsoft: Scope Statement Template for Microsoft Word