InfoWave Knowledgeware

Project Scope Management is the process required to deliver work required within the boundaries of the work requested. Project Scope management is basically defining and controlling the what is included and what is not included in the project. The following are elements of Project Scope Management.

Scope Planning – creating a project scope management plan that documents how the project scope will be defined, verified, controlled, and how the work breakdown structure (WBS) will be created and defined.

Scope Definition – developing a detailed project scope write-up as the basis for future project decisions.

Create WBS – dividing / subdividing the major project deliverables and project work into smaller, more manageable tasks.

Scope Verification – formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables.

Scope Control – controlling changes to the project scope.

These processes interact with each other and with processes in the other Knowledge Areas as well. Each process can involve effort from one or more persons or groups of persons, based on the needs of the project. Each process occurs at least once in every project and occurs in one or more project phases, if the project is divided into phases. Although the processes are presented here as discrete components with well-defined interfaces, in practice they can overlap and interact in ways not detailed here.

In the project context, the term scope can refer to:

• Product scope – The features and functions that characterize a product, service, or result
• Project scope – The work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions

These project scope management processes, and their associated tools and techniques, vary by application area, are usually defined as part of the project life cycle, and are documented in the project scope management plan. The approved detailed project scope statement and its associated WBS and WBS dictionary are the scope baseline for the project.

A project generally results in a single product, but that product can include subsidiary components, each with its own separate, but interdependent, product scope. For example, a new telephone system would generally include four subsidiary components – hardware, software, training, and implementation.

Completion of the project scope is measured against the project management plan, the project scope statement, and its associated WBS and WBS dictionary, but completion of the product scope is measured against the product requirements. Project scope management needs to be well integrated with the other Knowledge Area processes, so that the work of the project will result in delivery of the specified product scope.