Project Scope Management

Mohammad A. Rob

Importance of Good Project Scope Management

Studies found that user involvement, a clear project mission, a clear statement of requirements, and proper planning as being important for project success

Improper project definition and scope is the main reasons projects fail

What is Project Scope Management?

Scope refers to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them

Project scope management includes the processes involved in defining and controlling what is or is not included in the project

The project team and stakeholders must have the same understanding of what products will be produced as a result of a project and what processes will be used in producing them

What is Project Scope Management?

The term scope may refer to:– Product scope: The features and functions that

characterize a product or service– Project scope: The work that must be done to

deliver a product with the specified features and functions

– A project generally results in a single product, but that product may include subsidiary components, with each having its own scope

– Completion of the project scope is measured against the project plan, but completion of the product scope is measured against product requirements

Project Scope Management Processes

There are five processes:– Initiation: beginning a project or continuing to the

next phase– Scope planning: developing a written scope

statement as the basis for future project decisions– Scope definition: subdividing the major project

deliverables into smaller, more manageable components

– Scope verification: formalizing acceptance of the project scope

– Scope change control: controlling changes to project scope

Project Scope Management Processes

Project Scope Management Processes

Project Initiation Process

Initiation is the process of formally authorizing a new project or continuing an existing project to its next phase.

Typically a project is not initiated until a need assessment or feasibility study of the project is completed.

The input to the project initiation is a product description which documents the characteristics of the product or service that the project was undertaken

The output is a project charter which is a document that formally authorizes a project.

Project Initiation: Identifying Potential Projects

Many organizations follow a planning process for selecting IT projects– First develop an IT strategic plan based on the organization’s

overall strategic plan that addresses organizational strengths

and weaknesses, business opportunities and threats, future

trends, projecting needs for new product or services

– Then perform a business area analysis that identifies business

processes that are central to achieving strategic goals

– Then define potential projects, their scope, benefits, and

constraints

– Then select the IT project and assign resources

Project Initiation: Identifying Potential Projects: Weighted Scoring Model

A weighted scoring model is a tool that provides a

systematic process for selecting projects based on many

criteria– First identify criteria important to the project selection process

– Then assign weights (percentages) to each criterion so they add up to 100%

– Then assign scores to each criterion for each project

– Multiply the scores by the weights and get the total weighted scores

The higher the weighted score, the better

Project Initiation: Sample Weighted Scoring Model for Project Selection

Project Initiation: Project Charter

A project charter is a key output of the project initiation process

A project charter is a document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project’s objectives and management

It should include:– The business need that the project to be undertaken

– The product description

Key project stakeholders should sign a project charter to acknowledge agreement on the need and intent of the project

Project Initiation: Project Charter

Key parts of the project charter are:– Projects title and date of authorization– The project manager’s name and contact information– A brief scope statement for the project– A summary of the planned approaches to project

planning– A roles and responsibilities matrix– A sign-off section for signatures of key project

stakeholders– A comments section in which stakeholders can

provide important comments related to the project

Project Initiation: Sample Project Charter

Project Title: Information Technology (IT) Upgrade Project Project Start Date: March 4, 1999 Projected Finish Date:

December 4, 1999 Project Manager: Kim Nguyen, 691-2784, knguyen@abc.com Project Objectives: Upgrade hardware and software for all

employees (approximately 2,000) within 9 months based on new corporate standards. See attached sheet describing the new standards. Upgrades may affect servers and midrange computers as well as network hardware and software. Budgeted $1,000,000 for hardware and software costs and $500,000 for labor costs.

Approach: Update the IT inventory database to determine upgrade needs Develop detailed cost estimate for project and report to CIO Issue a request for quotes to obtain hardware and software• Use internal staff as much as possible to do the planning, analysis, and

installation

Project Initiation: Sample Project Charter (contd.)

Roles and Responsibilities

Project Scope Planning Process

Scope planning is the process of progressively elaborating and documenting the project work (scope) that produces the product of the project.

The main inputs to this process are product description and project charter

The main output is the project scope statement, which forms the basis for an agreement between the project and the project customer by identifying both the project objectives and the project deliverables

Project Scope Planning: Scope Statement

A scope statement provides a documented basis for making

future decisions and for confirming or developing common

understanding of the project scope among stakeholders.

It should include

– Project justification: the business need of the project

– Project’s product: a brief summary of the product description

– Project deliverables: A list of major project deliverables or

summary-level sub-products

– Project objectives: a statement of what determines project

success quantified in terms of cost, schedule, and quality

Project Scope Definition Process

Scope definition involves subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components

Good project definition can– help improve the accuracy of cost, duration, and resource

estimates– define a baseline for performance measurement and control– aids in clear responsibility assignments

Poor project definition leads to a higher cost due to changes in project rhythm, increased time, lower productivity, and poor worker morale

Project Scope Definition

The main input to the scope definition process is the scope statement.

The main output to the scope definition is the work breakdown structure (WBS), an outcome-oriented grouping of project components that organizes and defines the total scope of the project

The work that is not in the WBS is outside of the scope of the project

Project Scope Definition: The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

A WBS is a foundation document in project management because it provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, and changes

It is often depicted as a task-oriented family tree of activities. Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed description of the project deliverables

It is usually organized around project products or by phases

It can either be developed as an organizational chart or in a tabular form, which can help people visualize the whole project and all of its main parts

Project Scope Definition:

Sample Intranet WBS Organized by Product

Project Scope Definition: Sample Intranet WBS Organized by Phase

Project Scope Definition: Intranet WBS in Tabular Form

1.0 Concept1.1 Evaluate current systems1.2 Define Requirements

1.2.1 Define user requirements1.2.2 Define content requirements1.2.3 Define system requirements1.2.4 Define server owner requirements

1.3 Define specific functionality1.4 Define risks and risk management approach1.5 Develop project plan1.6 Brief web development team

2.0 Web Site Design3.0 Web Site Development4.0 Roll Out5.0 Support

Project Scope Definition: Intranet WBS and Gantt Chart in Microsoft Project

Project Scope Definition: Approaches to Developing WBSs

Using guidelines: Some organizations, like the U.S. Department of Defense, provide guidelines for preparing WBSs, which includes cost estimates for each task in the summary and detailed level. Contractor’s follow this guideline.

The analogy approach: It often helps to review WBSs of similar projects performed before.

The top-down approach: Start with the largest items of the project and keep breaking them down

The bottoms-up approach: Start with the detailed tasks and roll them up

Basic Principles for Creating WBSs1. A unit of work should appear at only one place in the WBS.

2. The work content of a WBS item is the sum of the WBS items below it.

3. A WBS item is the responsibility of only one individual, even though many people may be working on it.

4. The WBS must be consistent with the way in which work is actually going to be performed; it should serve the project team first and other purposes only if practical.

5. Project team members should be involved in developing the WBS to ensure consistency and buy-in.

6. Each WBS item must be documented to ensure accurate understanding of the scope of work included and not included in that item.

7. The WBS must be a flexible tool to accommodate inevitable changes while properly maintaining control of the work content in the project according to the scope statement.

Scope Verification and Scope Change Control Processes

It is very difficult to create a good scope statement and

WBS for a project

It is even more difficult to verify project scope and

minimize scope changes

Many IT projects suffer from scope creep - the

tendency for project scope to keep getting bigger and

bigger

Many IT projects fail due to scope problems and creep

Thus it is very important to verify the project scope and

develop a process for controlling scope changes

Scope Verification Process

Scope verification involves formal acceptance of the

project scope by the stakeholders. It requires reviewing

deliverables and work results to ensure that all were

completed correctly and satisfactorily

Input: stakeholders review documents that are created

earlier, which include work results (deliverables),

product specification (from SDLC), work breakdown

structure, and project plan.

The output is formal acceptance

Scope Change Control Processes

Scope change control is concerned with – influencing the factors that create scope changes to ensure that

changes are agreed upon– determining that a scope change has occurred– managing the actual change when and if they occur

The main inputs to the scope change control are WBS, and change requests

The output is scope changes, which is any modification to the agreed-upon project scope as defined by the approved WBS

Scope changes often require adjustment of cost, time, quality, and other project objectives

Scope Change Control: Factors Causing IT Project Problems

Scope Change Control: Suggestions for Improving User Input

Insist that all projects have a sponsor from the user organization

Make all documents available to stakeholders including project charter, scope statement, and work breakdown structure

Have users on the project team. They provide excellent input all the time. Co-locate users with the developers for better communication

Have regular meetings. Many IT project fail due to lack of meetings

Deliver something to project users and sponsor on a regular basis

Scope Change Control: Suggestions for Reducing Incomplete and Changing Requirements

Develop and follow a requirements management process

Employ techniques such as prototyping, use case modeling, and Joint Application Design to thoroughly understand user requirements

Put all requirements in writing and keep them currentCreate a requirements management databaseProvide adequate testingUse a process for reviewing requested changes from a

systems perspectiveEmphasize completion dates