SCOPE DEFINITION

The preparation of a detailed project scope statement builds upon the major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints that are documented in the preliminary project scope statement (Section 4.2) during initiation, and is critical to project success. During

planning, the project scope is described with greater specificity because more information about the project is known. The assumptions and constraints are examined for

completeness, with additional assumptions and constraints added as necessary. The project team and other stakeholders, who have additional insight into the project scope statement, can perform and prepare the analysis.

5.2.1 Scope Definition: Inputs

Described in Section 4.1. If charters or preliminary scope statements are not used in a performing organization, comparable information needs to be acquired or developed and then used to develop the detailed project scope statement.

.2 Project Scope Management Plan Described in Section 5.1.

.3 Organizational Process Assets Described in Section 4.1.

.4 Approved Change Requests

Approved change requests (Section 4.6) can trigger a change to project quality, scope, cost, or schedule. Change requests are often identified while the work of the project is ongoing, and can occur in many forms: oral or written, direct or indirect, externally or internally initiated, legally or contractually mandated, or optional.

5.2.2 Scope Definition: Tools and Techniques

Each application area has one or more generally accepted methods for translating project objectives into tangible deliverables. Product analysis includes techniques such as

product breakdown, systems analysis/engineering, value engineering, value analysis, and functional analysis.

.2 Alternatives Identification

Identifying alternatives is a technique used to generate different approaches to the work of the project. A variety of general management techniques are often used here, the most common of which are brainstorming and lateral thinking.

.3 Expert Judgment

Each application area has experts who can be used to define the project scope statement.

5.2.3 Scope Definition: Outputs

The project scope statement describes, in detail, the project’s deliverables and the work required to create those deliverables. The scope statement also provides a common understanding among all project stakeholders, describes the project’s major objectives, enables the team to perform more detailed planning, guides the teams’ work during execution, and provides the baseline for evaluating whether client requests for changes or additional work fall within or outside the project’s boundaries. The detailed scope

statement includes, either directly or by reference to other documents:

• Project and Scope Objectives. These objectives include the measurable success criteria of the project. Projects may have a wide variety of business, cost,

schedule, technical and quality objectives. Project objectives can also include cost, schedule, and quality targets. Project objectives need to have an attribute such as cost, a metric such as United States dollars, and an absolute or relative value such as less than 1.5 million. Unqualified objectives such as customer satisfaction entail high risk to successful accomplishment.

• Product Scope Description. This section describes the characteristics of the product, service or result that the project was undertaken to create. The

requirements will generally have less detail in early phases, and more detail in later phases as the product characteristics are progressively elaborated. While the form and substance of the requirements will vary, it should always provide sufficient detail to support later project planning.

• Project Boundaries. Boundaries explicitly define what’s included in and excluded from the project.

• Project Deliverables. Deliverables include both the outputs that comprise the product of the project, as well as ancillary outputs such as project management reports and documentation. Depending on the project scope statement, the deliverables may be described at a summary level or in great detail.

• Product Acceptance Criteria. This section defines the process for accepting product deliverables.

• Project Constraints. This section describes and lists the specific constraints associated with the scope and can limit the team’s options. For example, a predefined budget or any imposed dates (schedule milestones) that are issued by the customer or organization should be included. When a project is performed under contract, contractual provisions will generally be constraints. The

constraints listed in the project scope statement are typically more numerous and more detailed than the constraints listed in the project charter.

• Project Assumptions. This section describes and lists the specific assumptions associated with the scope, and the potential impact of those assumptions if they prove to be false. Project teams frequently identify, document and validate assumptions as part of their planning process. The assumptions listed in the project scope statement are typically more numerous and more detailed than the assumptions listed in the project charter.

• Initial Project Organization. The members of the team, as well as stakeholders, are identified. The organization of the project is also documented in this section.

• Initial Defined Risks. This section includes the known risks.

• Schedule Milestones. The customer or organization can impose dates on the project team. These dates can be considered as schedule milestones, and should be addressed in this section or addressed as a constraint.

• Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate. The project’s cost estimate includes the project costs, resources and durations, and is usually preceded by a modifier. The cost estimate includes some indication of accuracy, such as order-of-magnitude or conceptual (Section 7.1).

• Project Configuration Management Requirements. This section describes the level of configuration management and change control to be implemented on the project.

• Approval Requirements. This section includes approval requirements that can be mandated by any stakeholder. Approval requirements can be applied to project objectives, deliverables and work.

.2 Project Management Plan (Updates)

The project management plan should be updated to include changes to the scope management plan that result from changes to the scope definition process. Requested changes (additions, modification, revisions) to the project management plan and its subsidiary plans are processed through integrated change control (Section 4.6).