Table of Contents
Project Scoping
Project Scoping – Well, Define Project Scoping is a necessity to ensure the success of your project. Without it, no matter how efficient, practical, and hard you work, you won’t succeed in your project.
How to define Project Scoping?
Here, the define project scoping cannot be overestimated because the project will not achieve the desired outcomes without a well-documented and agreed-upon vision. The course of scope development requires a thorough organization and a series of steps:
Scope planning
Scope definition
[Scope documentation]
[Scope change management]
1. Scope planning
Determining the proper project scope is the responsibility of the project manager as part of the planning phase.
After the project manager establishes these things, the following steps involve clarifying all the project aspects included and not included (in scope/out of range).
Start and stop process steps upon which projects are based.
Areas, Products, Geographic regions upon which the project will or will not focus.
The Customers & Stakeholders the project is likely to impact. Classify which business functions should be included in the scope (i.e., Human Resources, Finance, Manufacturing, Information Technology, Customer Service, etc.).
Here Information Technology Systems and existing capital infrastructure will be used or excluded.
Timeframes, with expected project completion and improvements realization dates and when impacts will begin to be noticeable.
Assumption and Constraints on staff engagement, percentage of time working versus time dedicated to the project, budgetary requirements.
The Business Processes that are covered in the scope or identify the business processes that will not be in the range.
2. Scope Definition
Identify Stakeholders
Stakeholders should be accounted for before the defining requirements. It helps to identify the right people for the project and determines the best way to manage their expectations.
A project manager needs to know who will be involved in the project, who is close to the process, and who will have the power to make decisions. These stakeholders include project champions or sponsors, process owners.
The Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), managers, and day-to-day operations, staff. The project manager can use the stakeholder register or matrix to identify project stakeholders that provide detailed information on the project requirements.
Collect and define requirements
It involves working with the identified project stakeholders and sponsor to understand their needs. Without significant what the customer and users need or want, project success cannot be achieved.
Here project manager may utilize interviews, focus groups, workshops, group decision-making, and comments to help with the requirements gathering. It all originates together in requirement documentation as an output.
Consider Project Drivers
Many outside influences can affect the project. In addition to familiar drivers such as information technology systems, other drivers could be regulatory, law, or standards. In the present business world, security and safety are raising concerns. Therefore, they should be considered in the project scope definition. Each driver must be identified as attention to these is essential in any project.
3. Scope Documentation
Project Scope Statement
The project scope statement document provides a detailed justification for the project purpose. It labels project deliverables, objectives, and what needs to be done to accomplish those deliverables.
The project scope also helps as a “source of truth” for the project scope to establish a mutual understanding among the stakeholders. It is also a way to uphold expectations for any exclusion or out-of-scope items. Most highly, the review and approval record is documenting in the document.
An extra benefit of the scope statement is that it enables the project team to stay on track with planning, guides through the execution phase, and lays out a ground base for any changes or additional work that can be included (in scope) or excluded (out of range).
Writing the Project Scope Statement
The project scope document must include all the essential information about the projects included and excluded. Here Project Scope Statement Template can be used to help the project manager to capture scope details.
The key elements should include but not be limited to:
Objectives
Deliverables
Milestones
Requirements
Assumptions
Risks
Review and Approval