Start of the project
Although not formally part of the project management process, every
project starts by the identification of a need which provides for
improvement or change through the introduction of a new approach,
product or system.
More often than not, these needs are the result of
poor performance in a specific area or the demand for a higher level of
efficiency or competitiveness.
The scope of a project tells us what the project is about. It defines
what is included in the project and also what is excluded from the
project.
We can therefore say that the scope is a definition of the end
result or mission of the project. Usually a product or service is
delivered for yourself or a client/customer.
Poorly defined scope consequences
A poorly defined scope is one of the main causes of project failures.
If the project does not satisfy the real needs of a customer it is
doomed to fail. An incomplete scope will not cover all the needs and
issues to be addressed. It is therefore imperative that the scope should
be developed under the direction of the project manager and the
customer. The expected results should be described in a specific
tangible and measurable way. The scope definition is a document that will be published and used by
the project owner and project participants for planning and measuring
project success.
Scope checklist
• Project requirements
• Project objectives
• Deliverables
• Stakeholder expectations
• Criteria of acceptance
• Costs
• Milestones
• Limits and exclusions
• Risks
Project requirements
Requirements are the demands and obligations that a project must
meet. There are two types of requirements namely product requirements or
features and process or function requirements.
Product requirements describe the characteristics of
the deliverables.
If you were building a house most of the requirements
would be product based.
This might include the floor coverage, number
of rooms, roof construction, type of floor, energy requirements, color
of the walls etc.
Process requirements or functions Process
requirements describe how people interact with a product and how a
product interacts with other products.
For example, when you discuss how
data gets moved and how business transactions flow from one point to
another, you are describing process requirements.
Functional
requirements are those things the product must do. This is determined by
examining the work that has to be performed.
Project objectives
The major goal of a project is to satisfy a customer’s need. A
project have a specific and defined objective e.g. to build a new two
story house or to develop a new software trading package at a specific
defined time.
Other objectives describe the cost and quality and
performance. Objectives should be agreed to and defined before the
project starts.
A project objective should be written so that it can be evaluated at
the conclusion of a project to see whether it was achieved.
A technique
to achieve this is to write SMART objectives. – Specific, Measurable,
Attainable/Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
Objectives are important for several reasons:
- Objectives outline the business terms and once approved, they
represent an agreement between the project manager and the project
sponsor (and other major stakeholders) on the main purpose of the
project.
- The approved objectives represent an agreement between the project
manager and other major stakeholders on the main purpose of the project.
- Objectives help to frame the project and to determine deliverables needed to achieve the objectives.
Deliverables
Deliverables are the specific outputs over the life of a project.
List the major deliverables. What will be on the table that there is not
now?
A deliverable is a tangible verifiable work product. Describe the
metrics and attributes of the deliverables. List the major mile stones.
Stakeholder expectations
No matter how careful you perform the needs analysis there will
always be a margin of errors, omissions and mistakes in identifying the
needs.
What the client wants may not be within the investment reach of
the project. It is therefore imperative to manage stakeholder needs
carefully.
For commercial projects the agreement of
criteria of acceptance is very important to ensure that payment for the project will take place.
Costs
We need a forecast of what the project is going to cost in order to
determine whether the project will be feasible and to budget for the
project.
Project stakeholders prefer accurate cost and time estimates
but this must be tempered with the inherent uncertainty in many
projects.
Cost time and budget estimates are the foundation for control.
They serve as the standard for comparison of actual and plan throughout
the life cycle of the project.
The level of the project
The nature, complexity, size and extent of projects differ greatly.
To define the scope of a small ordinary project is relatively easy and
simple. It can be done in a matter of a few hours.
On the other hand to
prepare the scope of large civil, mechanical or IT project could take
from weeks to months. A large complex scope development will go through
several stages of development.
In some industries they first develop a
high level scope as part of the project charter and later a low level
detailed scope.
A high level work breakdown will first be done for big
projects. However the end result of a scope should be to clearly define
the intended end result of the project in enough detail that is required
to plan the project properly.
Constraints
Project constraints impede or delay activities. Constraints must
therefore be considered in scheduling. There are different types of
constraints e.g. technical or logic constraints where the work must
follow a certain logical sequence.
Building a house must start with the
foundation. Resources people and equipment may sometimes be a
constraint. Some key staff may only be available on a part time basis.
Some staff may lack technical and operational experience.
The type of
work may be new and never have been done before. The learning curve may
therefore be quite steep.
Project risk
One very important aspect often missing from project plans is a
serious consideration of what can go wrong with the project. It is a
fact of life that risk is an inherent part of a project.
Depending on
personal temperament and organizational culture we all have different
risk tolerances. Risk is the chance that an undesirable event will occur
and the consequences of all its possible outcomes.
A proper risk
assessment must be done to identify probable risk events. The risk
assessment will play an important role in the decision to proceed with a
project and how to plan preventative and contingent actions.
Whether your project is big or small, complex or simple it will pay
to know exactly what you want to achieve before you start. Machiavelli
said “I have so much more courage if I start prepared.”
What must you do?
Next time when you have to do a project make sure that you have done
all the homework to do a proper project scope.
It takes time initially;
but it will be time and resources well invested. You have a much better
chance of project success.
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