Transcript:

Course Objectives

Along with defining what a scope of work is and why it is important for a project, the board of directors should develop an understanding of a scope of work that emcompasses these three learning objectives:

• • 1. You will learn about the importance of involving stakeholders in development of a scope of work and the management of their expectations.

    2. You will also learn about the importance of managing and documenting changes from the start of the project.

    3. Finally, you will learn how to use information from the scope of work document to develop a work breakdown structure of the project deliverables.

Defining Scope of Work

The Scope of Work for a project is defined as “a written document that defines the work that will be completed by the end of the project, specifying the deliverables of the project" Darnall, R., & Preston, J. M. (2018).

What is the purpose of this document? Why is it important?

• • The scope of work is essential for outlining both the purpose of the project and the needs of the stakeholders, as well as working to manage their expectations. It is also important for the project team itself to understand the work breakdown structure of the deliverables that are outlined.

A Brief Introduction

The video shown here is a quick overview of the scope of work for a project, how you as stakeholders may need to be involved, and how it is used and made by the project manager and their team.

What is Included in a Scope of Work Document?

One of the first tasks done in the scope of work is developing the purpose of the project, specifically through outlining SMART goals and objectives. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. This can be used as a guideline when creating objectives for the project.

Another important component is outlining specific project deliverables.

• • Project deliverables are what the stakeholders expect at the end of a project. These can include both the unique product or service that the project should render, and the documents and reports completed throughout the project

Additionally, the scope of work is where the general project constraints, assumptions critical success factors, and resource requirements (such as materials, labor, cost, and time) are clarified

• The scope of work provides an outline of the process and procedures that should be used for managing potential changes made later to the scope of work for the project

  • This includes topics such as the authorization of changes, change orders, and managing the effects of changes on the budget and timeline of the project.

Finally, establishing a work breakdown structure (WBS) to clearly outline and provide detail for all project deliverables is essential to include in the scope of work document.

• • The Work Breakdown Structure is a detailed outline that encompasses all of the project deliverables.

Stakeholder Involvement

Stakeholder involvement is vital in the development of the project scope. Later in this course, you will learn more about the importance of stakeholder involvement but from the more in depth viewpoint in the Decision Making module.

• Stakeholders can provide essential information for the development of a project’s scope, including knowledge about the requirements, deadlines, goals, and expectations for the project.

One of the major roles a board member will have as a stakeholder, is helping to define the critical success factors for a project. These are the major expectations that the project team MUST accomplish for the project to be considered successful.

• Finally, it is important for stakeholders to refer back to this document later in the project to compare the current progress to those original objectives established in the scope of work. This is an efficient way to manage expectations throughout the course of the project.

Managing and Documenting Change

The scope of work for a project is a great place to first start thinking about how the project team and stakeholders should manage and document changes that may occur throughout the project. This is also a topic that will be discussed in more detail in the Decision Making module.

Managing and documenting change is vital to the success of a project because it works to prevent scope creep.

• Scope creep is a trend on projects where there is incremental expansion of the project scope which goes undocumented This can lead to delays, additional costs, and more set backs for the project.

This part of the scope of work also:

• • Clarifies changes for stakeholders as well as their impact on other tasks for project team members and

  • Clarifies necessary adjustments to the budget, schedule, and project plan in order to sustain the initial objectives and critical success factors.

Processes to Manage Change

Here are some processes that can be outlined in the scope of work document as ways to manage changes for a project:

• • Designating an authority to authorize and implement change orders. This would probably be you as a board member of the client organization

  • Establishing a process of submitting and reviewing change requests as they come in from the project team or external contractors.

  • Implementing a change management system such as a task or change tracking system to help track and document changes to the project scope. An example of this would be the history feature provided in a Google doc

Work Breakdown Structure

The final component of the project scope that we will review in this module is the work breakdown structure or WBS. The WBS provides a detailed outline or chart of all the project deliverables that have been presented in the scope of work document.

• • This is a tool used to make the overall work of a project more manageable as well as integrate information about the scope, cost, resources and schedule.

Example of a WBS

Here is an example of a deliverable based work breakdown structure.