The Importance of Defining Project Scope
By: Luc Nguyen
Being a project manager can be a very important role. You have responsibilities you need to uphold in order to ensure all the steps taken for a project go well and smoothly. It's also very critical to be on the same page with clients and stakeholders, making sure expectations and objectives are aligned. In order to make things easier on yourself and others, you can consider project scope management. It depicts the processes that deal with controlling and defining what work to involve or not involve. We'll go more into depth on how important incorporating project scope is and how it can improve the relationship between workers and clients.
Breaking It Down
Before we can explain why it is important, let's break it down into six important processes:
Planning Scope Management
In any plan formulated, the first thing done is planning. It's the same concept with scope management, you're managing the lifespan of the project. It depicts the needs of the project, and it's up to the developing team to take many factors into play. Data analysis, meetings, and expert judgement are some of the factors to consider when planning out your scope. By being able to control what goes in and out of your project, your envisioned project will be manifested.
Collecting requirements
This can be considered as one of the more challenging processes when it comes to project scope management. If you don't define requirements, you may put yourself at risk for starting back at zero. The more time it takes to develop a project, the resources and funds you are pulling out, so I would recommend developing a swift plan that has a descriptive scope.
"Minimizing code defects to improve software quality and lower development costs" - Rational Software (Oct 2008)
Depicted above is a cost analysis from IBM Software group. As you can see, it costs more money and resources to modify software after release rather than during the planning and development phases. As more technology is being innovated, it makes the process of implementing requirements much easier, but it can still be a pretentious process.
Defining Scope
If you create a good scope, it will define more exact estimates such as cost, resources and time. Whatever it is that you are planning, it is essential to compare it to a baseline to ensure your project is being developed into the right direction. Project scope statements should be able to convey a description, acceptance criteria and precise information on what the project can offer. Maintaining documentation is also very key, as it can help convey information to the stakeholders.
Creating the WBS
WBS, or work breakdown structure, is showing the work that goes into revealing the project's scope that can be delivered. Depending the project itself, it may be key to be precise on how to breakdown the work divided into the development team. WBS provides a baseline for managing and planning project factors, such as costs, resources, and many more previously mentioned. There's no reason that any additional work should be preformed if it's not mentioned within the WBS. If you follow the the WBS, you will get to developing your project in no time!
"Example of a WBS for a Marketing Campaign)
Validating Scope
By validating scope, it allows the development team to ensure everything is going according to plan. The scope itself may not be concise in the beginning, but as the project is heading to it's final stages, teams should validating the scope to ensure all goals are met. There can be some times when scope creep, where the scope gets bigger and bigger, cause a project to never be finished. However, if you validate the scope, you will ensure the life the project and that stakeholders won't be blindsighted by new developments.
Controlling Scope
It's always good to be in control, and controlling the scope will ensure the project can be completed from start to finish. Of course if changes need to be implemented, the development team will take them into consideration. However, by having an initial list of all the factors taken into account, you'll have an easier time influencing the initial factors into satisfying stakeholders. Change can sometimes be inevitable, however we must make sure we take the necessary steps in implementing change and that the main objective of the project is still met.
Why Is Scope Important
Think of the relationship between developer teams and clients as two individuals conducting a handshake. A handshake condones the same action, which is two hands shaking up and down. The individuals involved are on the same page when conducting the handshake, and that's how it should be between teams and clients. Being on the same page reduces misunderstandings, creates a strong base foundation and prevents scope creep. When people spend money, they want to spend the money as efficiently as possible. When someone does a timed activity, they want to use their time wisely. Setting a scope will ensure the most efficiency and resource management for the project. A successful project scope will in return create a successful project.
Happy Wife, Happy Life Tips
There's this concept of happy wife, happy life within marriage. It's a concept where when a man is committed to spending the rest of his life with his wife, he will have a happy life as long as he makes his wife happy. You can apply this between teams and stakeholders, where if the stakeholders are happy, your team will have a smooth time with developing the project. With that in mind, here are some tips that you can implement to ensure you are going to make the clients/stakeholders happy!
1. Don't Rush The Process Of Project Scope
Clients and stakeholders are relying on you to ensure you are going to develop a reliable project that will cater to their needs. With that in mind, there's no need to rush when dictating the project scope. Take a few days or week (with deadlines in mind) to ensure you can deliver a satisfying plan to the clients so they will be looking forward to your project being completed.
2. Constant Communication
Make sure you can ensure a reliable and efficient form of communication between you and the stakeholders. If any changes occur, it is very crucial that it is conveyed to both parties to ensure everyone is on the same page. You and your fellow team members should also be able to clearly communicate with each other so that the WBS can be created correctly and equally.
3. Expect Changes
As stated through before again and again, don't be afraid of changes! Things happen, and some things need to be adjusted to ensure everyone is happy. However, make sure that changes are implemented correctly and communicated correctly so that everyone is still on the same page.
4. Relate to your clients
As being a part of a project, your job is to cater to your clients and stakeholders. Don't do anything that you wouldn't like being done to yourself. If something needs to be changed, let them know. If there's an update, let them know.
5. Easy to Read, Easier to See
Let's face it, no one wants to read long texts for hours and hours. Make visuals for your clients that are easy to read and understand. Visuals can also help convey new ideas and concepts. If you show a visual of something new, people are more inclined to support it rather than something new being explained to them.
Sources
Textbook: Information Technology Project Management 9th Edition by Kathy Schwalbe
https://www.proofhub.com/articles/project-scope-management#:~:text=The%20scope%20statement%20is%20used,followed%20during%20the%20project%20lifecycle.
WBS Image: https://toggl.com/blog/work-breakdown-structure
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