Scope Management
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP
Scope management is a key project management activity because it assures stakeholders that the project will achieve the deliverables as defined in the approved scope statement and statement of work.
For this discussion, scope can refer to either: 1) The features and functions that are to be included in the product or service, or 2) the work that must be done in order to deliver or produce the product with the specified features and functions.
Unmanaged scope changes are called scope creep. Frequently clients, stakeholders and team members believe that small changes to project deliverables have little or no impact to the overall project success. Managers may demand changes, other stakeholders may make informal requests, or team members just add or ignore requirements for their own convenience. However small or insignificant these changes may seem to be, all changes potentially impact the overall project schedule, budget, resource requirements, or quality and may result in failure to achieve the desired project results if not properly managed.
Project scope management is a group of processes that are required to be sure that the project includes ALL the work required, and ONLY the work required to complete the project.
Good scope management begins with a clear and unambiguous description of the project deliverables. The tendency is to focus on what the project will create or produce. To be complete, however, the scope statement should also describe what is not included in the project. This sets a boundary or fence around the project and prevents gold-plating or adding of capabilities or features not described in the scope or statement of work.
Scope control begins with identifying and influencing the factors that create scope changes to be sure that when changes occur, no matter how insignificant, are agreed upon and managed. The control system includes the change request forms, tracking systems and approvals for authorizing the changes.
During the project planning phase, the project manager should establish the change control system and clearly define the procedures for changing project scope. Such a formal configuration management system assures that requested changes to the project scope are thoroughly considered and documented before they are processed through the integrated change control process.
The project manger may employ tools such as variance analysis to measure the impacts to the project and should be prepared to make changes to various project documents, budgets, and schedules when a change is approved for implementation. The project manager should also be prepared to recommend and implement corrective actions to bring the expected future project performance in line with the project management plan and project scope statement.
Scope management is more than defining and planning a project. It anticipates changes and provides the tools to manage and implement the changes when they are approved. It also considers the potential impacts to the schedule, budget, resource requirements, and quality when evaluating change requests.
In summary, active project scope management is required for project success. Without it, you are putting your project at risk and may be headed down the road to trouble.
About the Author: Ray Myers is a PMP certified project manager with over 2o years experience planning and managing technology projects.
Copyright © 2009 Ray Myers, Jr. – All rights reserved
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