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Project Scope Management refers to a set of processes that must be completed in order to deliver any project, which could be a product, service or software with specific features or functions. Scope Management focuses on how we get there or possibly more precisely what route do we take to get there? These paths are defined and planned so that project managers can determine the quantum of work required and where to concentrate efforts of the team in order to complete the project.
Why Project Scope Management Process is Important
Would you go on a long trip without having a plan or defined route or a map? The project scope statement is just like the map we use to reach from start to finish. Without this scope statement, team members will not have clarity on what they are supposed to do and by when it is to be done. Team would most likely to miss the deadlines, make errors and run over budget without a clear scope statement.
Project Scope management include following three steps:
- Planning – The project is definition and the work (or processes) required to deliver the project is determined.
- Controlling – This involves managing the progress of a project, scope creep, tracking the work during each phase, and disapproving/ approving any changes along the way.
- Closing – This is the wrap up part of the process, which involves an audit of the project deliverables and validating the results of the final product against the original defined plan.
Project scope management requires a number of steps to make certain the correct processes are put in place. In general, there are 5 processes, which can be applied to nearly any domain/industry or type of project.
- Collect Requirements
- Define Scope
- Create Work Breakdown Structure(WBS)
- Verify Scope
- Control Scope
Collect Requirements:
This is the first process in scope management. It’s the process of defining and documenting stakeholders’ requirements to meet the project guidelines. The document for collecting requirements is developed in the planning phase.
Define Scope:
This is the process of developing a detailed description of the project and product. So while Collecting the requirement list, all the different features/functionalities of the project and the desired product or service are defined.
Scope can be defined by following:
- Objective / Goals
- Required Tasks
- Allocated Resources
- Allocated Budget
- Allocated Timeline
Create Work Breakdown Structure(WBS):
Creating a work breakdown structure is done using a method called decomposition. It’s primarily the process of subdividing project deliverables and project work into lower and better manageable components.
Verify Scope:
This is the process that’s a part of project monitoring and control process group. This process includes reviewing deliverables with the Client or Stakeholders or sponsor to ensure that they’re completed satisfactorily and obtaining formal sign off on deliverables by the client or Stakeholder.
Control Scope:
Control Scope is the last process group of project scope management. It’s again a part of monitoring and control process group. Control scope is the process of monitoring the project’s status and managing changes to the defined scope. This process ensures that all requested changes and recommended corrective or precautionary instructions are processed through the integrated change control process.
