BUS605: Strategic Project Management

The project's scope is the work to be completed. A specific section of the project charter should clarify not only what will be produced or delivered by the project team, but what will not be part of the project's scope. This distinction is important for two reasons. First, it provides the foundation for developing the project plan's schedule and cost estimates. Changes to the project's scope will impact the project's schedule and budget – that is, if resources are fixed, expanding the amount of work you have to complete will take more time and money. Therefore, the creation of additional work for the project team will extend the project's schedule and invariably increase the cost of the project. Formal procedures must be in place to control and manage the project's scope. Secondly, it is important for the project manager to manage the expectations of the project sponsor and the project team. By making the project's scope explicit as to what is and what is not to be delivered, the likelihood of confusion and misunderstanding is reduced.

For example, the project team and several users may have several discussions regarding the scope of a project. One user may suggest that the system should allow for the download of reports to a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA). After discussing this idea in depth, management may decide that the cost and time to add this wireless PDA capability would not be in the organization's best interest. In this case, it would be a good idea to state explicitly in the project charter that wireless PDA capability will not be part of the project's scope. Although you may be clear on this issue, others may still have different expectations. The project's scope should, therefore, define key deliverables and/or high-level descriptions of the information system's functionality. The details of the system's features and functionality will, however, be determined later in the systems development life cycle when the project team conducts an information requirements analysis.

At this point, a first attempt is made to define the project's scope and is based on information provided by the project sponsor. Only enough detail is needed to plan the project so that estimates for the project schedule and budget can be defined. This may include a high-level view of the project and product deliverables and the criteria for their acceptance by the project sponsor. Detailed system requirements will be specified later on during the execution phase of the project when the SDLC is carried out.

The scope defined in the project charter can take the form of a narrative description of the products or services produced by the project. This narrative is often called the statement of work (SOW). The SOW can be developed by the project sponsor or by interviewing key stakeholders conducted by the project team.