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When the word "project scope" is mentioned, it includes two things. One is the physical document that defines a project, describes the outcomes, and identifies who has oversight in the project; otherwise known as the project scope document. The second focuses on the goals and results of the project.
Once a project manager is assigned to a project, the first step they should take is the creation of a project scope document. Then the details of the project scope can be communicated to project members and stakeholders.
But what goes into a project scope document? Typically, this document answers the following questions: who, what, when, why, and how. This is often called a business case.
| Project Scope Document | |
|---|---|
| WHO |
Who are the stakeholders for the project? Who will have decision making authority? |
| WHAT |
What are the deliverables of the project? What are the stakeholders' expectations and requirements for event planning? What are the risks associated with our project? |
| WHEN |
When will the project be complete? When will each phase be complete? When will employees be able to plan events using our new software? |
| WHY |
Why is the project being initiated? Why will we benefit from this project? |
| HOW |
How will the project be managed? How will the project manager handle the work? |
IN CONTEXT
An organization launches a project to create event planning software. You are the project manager and must create a project scope document. A few specific questions that may be asked in order to help guide the document, may be:
If your stakeholders communicate clear requirements, you will likely choose a phase-based development process to ensure each stage is delivered on time.
- 1. Who in the organization will determine the requirements?
- 2. What is the deliverable? Software to manage events? Software to plan events? Both?
- 3. When will employees be able to plan events using our new software?
- 4. Why is the project being initiated? To increase event attendance in the organization because notifications are being sent too late?
- 5. How will the project be managed? Phase-based or iterative development?
The individual pieces of a scope can be outlined in a flow diagram.
Note how the five scope questions are answered during the development of each element:
In some organizations, a project charter will also be created prior to the project scope.
While all projects should have a scope document, not all projects will have a charter. It's up to the organization whether a charter is necessary. If a project does have a charter and the scope document, the charter is always created first.
Without a charter though, there still needs to be a formal method to kick off the project, and grant authority to the project manager. This could be a meeting between the key principles, or even something as simple as a document or email informing the project manager that they can begin.
Source: This work is adapted from Sophia author Jeff Carroll.
