Understanding Project Scope

A scope statement or Statement of Work documents your project’s scope and defines the specific tasks, key stakeholders, milestones, deadlines, and other information that are required to make the project successful.

Clearly defining and documenting the scope of a project helps your team account for all of the work that needs to be completed so that you can accurately estimate costs and set a thorough project management plan. This also protects your team from scope creep throughout the project lifecycle so that you can deliver against what you’ve promised to the client.

It all starts with asking the right questions to understand the full scope of the project. The more you know ahead of time, the better. Oftentimes, the client won’t entirely know what or how to provide you with all the information you need to determine the project’s cost. In these cases, you’ll need to lean on your past experiences to drive the conversation and uncover exactly what the client is expecting from your services. Does the client also require a rebrand or increased social engagement? How will you measure success? What does success look like to the client?

Asking these questions will enable your team to understand the specific tasks that will need to be completed and identify potential risks that may impact project delivery. The information you gather while setting project scope will vary depending on your specific industry or project. However, putting together a standard list of questions that will guide your discovery sessions with the client is imperative.

• What is the overall goal or objective for the project?
• What is the project deadline?
• Are there any key milestone dates?
• Who are the key project stakeholders, the decision makers?
• What are the risks that might impact delivering the project on time?

The answer to some of these questions will help reveal important information to help you better plan your resources and prepare your cost estimate.

Secondly, clearly communicating what is not included in the scope of the project is equally important. Different stakeholders will have different assumptions about the deliverables that may be included in the project. For example, if your project is implementing software into an existing system, the client may expect that training and offering ongoing support is part of the service offering whereas your cost estimate only accounts for the service to end immediately following the implementation. Specifying what deliverables are out of scope will prevent misunderstandings that may cause unpleasant surprises down the road. Ensuring that you and your clients are on the same page before starting the project will reduce the amount of scope creep and will allow you to accurately estimate the cost of the project.

Setting project scope is often the first step in creating an accurate cost estimate. Not only are estimates essential to winning new business, but they also determine your project budget, your job schedule, and how you manage your resources.