1. Project Charter Scope Example

A statement of work, sometimes called a scope of work or SOW, can make a great construction contract even better. A well-written statement of work is clear, complete, logical, and concise so it can be understood by both the contractor and the construction manager responsible for the administrative portion of the contract. The SOW describes in detail what is expected from the contractor and is used as a measuring tool for the construction manager to ensure the project deliverables are met.

Oct 17, 2016  However, every well defined project boundary represents a slightly more bulletproof project. The minimum length of a scope statement is that which reduces the primary risks to the project. For example, stating that your project is to “build a fence” will. Review this example of a project scope and learn from this project planning sample. Ways to construct scope statements, let's look at a couple of examples. On the software project scope statement example, you will see what goes in it, what you will put in Work. All in all, your goal is to define tangible deliverables.

Basic Elements

A scope of work describes all of the work to be done on a project, who is responsible for completing the work, how the work must be performed (techniques used), and what materials will be used. As part of this description, a SOW typically:

• Identifies the contractor's responsibilities
• Defines contract objectives and project requirements
• Provides enough details to estimate labor costs
• Includes a contracting method and the payment schedule
• Outlines standards, regulation, and special contract requirements
• Explains all related tasks, duties, and limitations required to obtain expected results in accordance with the project goal

Wording

A statement of work must be clear enough to allow for only one interpretation. Clear wording is key to minimizing the risk of claims, litigation, and other related problems. A SOW should avoid ambiguous phrasing and must identify the project deliverables and its objectives. If an action is mandatory, the statement of work should use the words shall or must. In most cases, a SOW does not include the cost of products or services that a contractor is contracted to provide.

A statement of work also can include drawings, photographs, and other visual elements to provide clarity and prevent confusion. Visuals are highly recommended if any of the wording in a SOW may be open to more than one interpretation or possible misunderstanding.

Basic Components

A statement of work should have the following components:

• Project Overview:A brief statement describing the business needs and a short summary of the project description
• Project Deliverables: Expected goals and targetsthat must be achieved through the project, including information that will help a contractor in understanding the project's requirements
• Project Scope: Budget and technical data—the quantifiable goals set forth under the construction contract; may be divided into two parts:
  a. Technical considerations: specific techniques or methodologies relevant to the contractor's performance and how it will be measured
  b. Tasks: specific requests and tasks that are needed to satisfy project objectives, with detailed milestones and results that should be obtained from these tasks

• Project Schedule: Summarizes the project schedule, including all related tasks so the contractor can deliver on time; should contain all important delivery dates, time restrictions, and the expected project duration
• Project Management: Describes the primary functions of the project administration, including how payments will be issued, processes for changes and change control, specific contract terms and legal requirements, phasing or stages of the project, project limitations, time management, and general contract administration.

In project management, you will find many important concepts needed to complete the project successfully. Among these terms and concepts, project scope and product scope stands out.

Projects are undertaken to deliver a product. It will be difficult to achieve your objective if you don’t understand the project and product scope. These are the most widely used terms in project management.

Project scope depends entirely on the product scope, and without a better understanding of the product scope, one cannot define the project scope; you must have a solid understanding of the product scope and project scope to complete your project successfully.

These are the most important concepts in project management. I noticed that many professionals don’t understand these terms and use them synonymously.

A few days ago, while searching on the internet, I saw a similar question posted in a PMP forum.

Someone was asking to clarify the difference between project scope and product scope.

Many people reply to these. Some of their replies were incomplete, and a few of them were vague. Most importantly, everybody was fighting to prove their opinions.

This is one of the main disadvantages of a forum: you cannot identify the correct answer. It is also quite possible that you may accept any wrong answer that resonates with your thinking.

Forums are good for reading lessons learned and other stories, but not good for getting your technical doubts clarified.

None of the answers meet the participants’ expectations, and honestly, the query was left unanswered.

This is the main reason I decided to write a blog post on project scope and product scope.

Okay, let’s get started.

Before starting the discussion, I will like to define the terms: product, project, and scope.

What is a Product?

The PMBOK Guide sixth edition defined a product as an artifact, a quantifiable, and can either be an end item in itself or a component item. Additional words for products are materials and goods.

In other words, a product is defined as a substance or article produced during a natural, chemical, or manufacturing process.

You can characterize a product in many ways such as physical properties and chemical properties.

For example, if the computer is the product, its characteristics will be its processor, screen size, memory, and hard disk, etc.

What is a Project?

According to the PMBOK Guide, “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.”

You can conclude from the above definition that the nature of the project is temporary, and it is undertaken to produce a unique output; for example, a product, service, or a result.

The first point says the nature of the project is temporary. This means that once you deliver the deliverables (output of the project), your project won’t exist anymore because you’ve achieved your objective.

The second point says that the project produces an output. Projects are undertaken to produce a particular output; it can be tangible or intangible.

What is Scope?

The word scope is not always used as a standalone term; it is used as a suffix or a prefix of any other term.

A scope can be defined as the range, detail, or a boundary of a term it is attached to.

If used with the term product, it means the details of the product, also with the project, then it means the details of the project.

According to the PMBOK Guide, the scope is the sum of the products, services, and results to be provided as a project.

This PMBOK definition is a little complex, and you may not be able to understand it at first. But, at the end of this blog post, you won’t have any problem deciphering it.

Product Scope

In short, product scope is about the product details. Product scope defines what the product will look like, how will it work, its features, etc.

According to the PMBOK Guide 5th edition, product scope is the features and functions that characterize a product, service or result.

For example, if the product is a bridge, the product scope might be its length, width, load strength, etc.

If the product is a cell phone, its product scope will be its screen size, battery backup, processor speed, camera type, memory, etc.

How to Determine the Product Scope

To determine the product scope is not always a difficult task. If you get a project through a contract, the product scope is always attached to the contract document.

However, if your organization initiates the project, you will have to define the product scope.

In this case, you meet with all the stakeholders to find their expectations and requirements regarding the final product. Once the requirement and expectations are finalized, you get them signed by stakeholders and then forward them for approval

This is an important step towards successful completion of your project.

If any of the requirements is omitted, your project may not be completed successfully, because, adding requirements near the end of the project may be very costly.

You should determine the product scope before preparing the project scope because to draft a project scope you must have a clearly defined product scope.

The product scope is what binds you and your organization to the user. You should make every effort to get these specifications clear and complete. Otherwise, you might face significant issues in the later stages of the project.

A slight change in the product scope can cost you a lot more money than an initial change in the project scope statement.

Project Scope

The project scope is all about the project. It defines the requirements of the product and the work required to create the product. It also defines what is in and out of the scope, which helps you avoid scope creep.

According to the PMBOK Guide sixth edition, project scope is the work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.

The project scope statement explains the results of the project and along with the constraints and assumptions. It helps in achieving the product scope. Project scope is also known as scope statement or statement of the work.

For instance, if you are given a project to construct a bridge, in this case, the project scope will provide insight into how to build the bridge. It gives you all the required information to build the bridge.

In this case, project scope defines what exactly you need to construct the bridge. Nothing else/more/further.

How to Determine the Project Scope

Determining the project scope depends on many factors.

For example, if you receive a firm fixed price contract, the client will give you a well-defined product description, which helps you in developing the project scope statement. In this case, you won’t have to worry too much about the project scope.

Let’s consider another case.

Your organization initiates a project, and you are the project manager.

In this case, you may have to build the project scope statement from scratch. You contact relevant stakeholders to collect the requirements and compile them, and then get them approved by the management.

Likewise, there might be many cases to determine the project scope, such as the client asking you to do everything on their behalf and they will help in determining their requirements.

A well-written scope statement makes the life of a project manager much more comfortable, and the project will be completed with fewer obstacles. Project scope is an agreement between you and the client or your organization.

Project scope binds you and your project team to your organization; therefore, it should be very lucid and clear. This document must be a detailed one and completed at the early stage of the project. An effective scope statement is necessary to guide a project to successful completion.

Project Charter Scope Example

Determining the project scope is the first step in establishing the project’s schedule, budget, and resource allocation. Project management plans come in after the project scope is defined.

I hope now that you understand product scope and project scope.

Now it is time to explain these concepts to you with our trademark school building example.

A Real World Example of Project Scope and Product Scope

You get a project to construct a school building. The client gives you his requirements, such as the size of the school building, number of rooms, details of the playground, number of toilets, paint color, etc.

Npc sprites available for roof. Several sprites in had this. Examples include main characters in Non-Human and French Baker. People in the world certainly couldn't keep still.

You start working on the project. You estimate the budget, develop the plan, and create the schedule.

After developing and approving the plan, you gather the team and move on to the execution phase. You bring workers to the site and start constructing the school building. You complete the school building and then verify with the client whether the school building is as per his requirements.

Once the client is satisfied with his requirements, you hand the school building over to him, get the final payment, and the project is closed.

In the above example, there are two parts. In the first part, the client asks you to make a school building for him and gives you his requirements (characteristics). The school building is the “product,” and his requirements are the “scope.” Therefore, what he gave you is the “product scope.”

In the second part, you work to construct the school building within the specified time and budget and meet all the client’s requirements. Lastly, you deliver the product to the client. In this part, the work you have done to construct the school building is the “project scope.”

The Difference Between Project Scope and Product Scope

These are a few differences between project scope and product scope:

• Project scope is the work that delivers the product.
• Project scope refers to everything that needs to be done to get the product delivered, while the product scope includes features, functions, and characteristics of the product.
• Product scope is oriented towards the “what” part (functional requirements), while project scope is oriented towards the “how” part (work related).
• An example of project scope is constructing a bridge, while its product scope might be its technical specifications such as length, width, amount of load it has to withstand, etc.

Summary

You must have a proper understanding of product and project scope before you start preparing for the PMP exam. These are fundamental terms, and you must understand these fundamental concepts. To complete the project, you must achieve these two scopes successfully. Product scope is the characteristics of the product, and the project scope includes all the work you will do to make the product.

This post was all about project scope and product scope. This is where I end my discussion for this blog post. If you have something to share, you can go through the comments section.