Project Scope Management: What is the Scope of a Project
When you’re kicking off a new initiative like building a construction site or any such project, the constructor has to define the boundaries of construction as such. They raise a fence on the site that is called scoping(defining the boundaries). A successful project scope statement is concise and clear. It gives a view of the project to the reader about what all is a part of the project and what is not. Everything that is important to be specific in a project scope statement.
“Help your team stay on target always. Start using ProofHub for project management.”
How to Define the Project Scope
Defining the scope of your project is to know where you are going. It means preparing a detailed description of the requirements of the project, having the project’s vision in focus, and getting down to planning the details of the project. During the whole process, it includes different techniques like focus groups, brainstorming, and mind maps clearly describing what you are supposed to achieve. It helps in discovering the main things of a project:
- Project objectives
- Promotes understanding
- Creates a WBS
- Defines how WBS will be maintained
- Manage expectations
- Defines formal acceptance process
- Tasks and schedule
- Develops quality
These are the key elements of scope management plan. A project having all the above details will protect you from scope creep and baselines. When your project is not properly defined or the outline doesn’t go as planned, it leads to scope creep — the last minute changes to the scope of project. Scope management is a process that follows project scope, which means making sure what work is to be done. This needs to be planned in advance.
Project Scope for Project Managers
The project manager needs to take approval on a clearly articulated scope. They have to consider a scope management plan to gather requirements from all stakeholders. PMI conducts a survey every year, based on the results, only 62% of the projects met the original scope.
Scope creep is increasing to a great extent. A poorly managed scope will definitely affect the project leading to project failure. For every project manager to be successful, they need to achieve the objectives in a project and map out how to get there. It means to be able to understand exactly how to get there in the project. Let’s continue to learn more about the scope.
Aim of Scope Management
- Define
- Develop
- Validate
- Monitor
- Control
A good scope statement includes the following things:
- Overall requirement of the work: This is how you start to build a fence by viewing the requirements and refining the project objectives. Write clearly what the project will build.
- The justification for the project: Get into the details of why the project was initiated.
- Acceptance criteria: Know the main components that must be met for the project to be accepted by clients.
- Milestones: Defining the project size and nature from project launch.
- Constraints: Any risks that a project will face including the physical boundaries.
- Inclusions/Exclusions: What needs to be included or excluded from the project.
The Advantage of Project Scope
Let’s have a look at the advantages of a project scope.
Multiple projects are possible at one time
When you’ve all the details about the project, you’ll be more relieved and can focus on other things (projects). It is possible to have multiple projects at one time. With the entire employee population available to choose from for each team, multiple projects of wide scope are possible at one time.
Knowledge and experience is amplified
Project managers are the one who can bring together teams from across the entire population, thus pooling people with specific knowledge and experience. All the requirements of a project can be done on point with a project team with highly specialized skills. Projects will be done on time as the members will understand each others’ strengths and weakness.
Boosts transparency and accountability
For those who are managing the projects, a project scope will make it easier to understand who will be responsible for what. One can have all the details about who holds responsibility for what tasks and what all tasks have been completed. Also, the teams will enjoy a greater level of transparency. There will be no grudges as everyone will have a good idea of what everyone else does and thus it boosts a sense of harmony among team members.
Identifies risk in a better way
One of the best things about project scope is that it identifies all risks that are ahead of you. You’ll have all the chance to reduce them. Any kind of risks in your project can be eliminated in the initial phase to prevent future threats.
Identify external interfaces
We usually have no control over things that are vulnerable to project. There will be certain serious problems that arise at interfaces technology environments, organizational politics, unusual characteristics, future development plans, and other constraints. But your project scope will protect you from constraints associated with your project.
In the end, your project success depends on the following points:
- Was the project delivered on time?
- Was the project out of budget?
- Were you able to maintain the quality of the project?
- Was your customer satisfied enough?
Conclusion
More than seventy percent of projects fail. Scope management is one big reason. Manage scope to make your project part of the successful thirty percent.
“Looking for a tool to improve team collaboration? Give ProofHub a try now!”
If you liked reading this post, you are surely going to love this as well -
