How Project Scope Management Works?
Processes are required to ensure that the project includes all the work required and only the work required to complete the project successfully.
The main focus of project scope management is defining and controlling what is and is NOT included in the project and helps ensure general agreement on the project’s scope.
The scope needs to be defined clearly and approved formally before executing the work on the project. Determination, management, and scope control are critical to project success.
The project scope is decomposed through Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). WBS ensures that no additional scope is carried out in the project.
Requirements are gathered from all stakeholders. This process takes considerable time, depending on the complexity and size of the project.
All changes to the scope are allowed with approval from related stakeholders or sponsors.
Any additional scope covered in a project comes under the definition of scope creep if the additional scope or change in scope is unintentional, due to misunderstanding, or unadjusted with other constraints.
It may be termed Gold plating if it is intentional by the project team and is done to influence the customer.
“Gold plating” Many organizations have a culture that tries to exceed customer expectations by delivering more than what was agreed upon.
Gold Plating increases the risk and uncertainty and may inject potential problems into the project.
The project manager must control the project’s scope throughout the project lifecycle. No change is in the project manager’s authority, so in case of any change in project scope, it should go through a change control mechanism in the organization, and acknowledgment and approval from the sponsor are mandatory in case of any change in project scope. After reading this article, you can easily work on project scope management.
Project Scope Management is one of the ten knowledge areas in the PMBOK 6th edition and it includes six processes. In this article, we’ll explore each of the six processes in detail, discussing their inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.
Plan Scope Management
Plan Scope Management The first process in Project Scope Management is Plan Scope Management. This process involves creating a plan that outlines how the project’s scope will be defined, validated, and controlled. The inputs to this process include the project charter, the project management plan, and organizational process assets.
Inputs:- Project Charter: provides an overview of the project and its objectives, including high-level information on scope, schedule, budget, and risks.
- Project Management Plan: outlines how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled, including the approach to scope management.
- Organizational Process Assets: any processes, policies, procedures, or historical information that can be used to help develop the scope management plan, such as templates, lessons learned, or best practices.
- Expert Judgment: gathers insights and recommendations from individuals with specialized knowledge or experience in scope management, such as project managers or subject matter experts.
- Meetings: brings stakeholders together to gather input and ensure alignment on the scope management plan, such as project team members, customers, and suppliers.
- Analytical Techniques: such as document analysis or benchmarking, used to gather and analyze data to inform the scope management plan, such as reviewing similar projects or industry standards.
- Scope Management Plan: a plan that outlines how the project’s scope will be defined, validated, and controlled, including the scope statement, scope baseline, and scope change management process.
2. Collect Requirements
This process involves identifying and documenting stakeholders’ needs, wants, and expectations in order to define the project scope and establish project objectives.
Inputs:- Project Charter: provides an overview of the project and its objectives, including high-level information on requirements.
- Stakeholder Register: identifies project stakeholders and their interests, including their requirements.
- Organizational Process Assets: any processes, policies, procedures, or historical information that can be used to help collect and document requirements, such as templates, requirements management plans, or lessons learned.
- Interviews: one-on-one conversations with stakeholders to gather their requirements, such as their needs, wants, and expectations.
- Focus Groups: group discussions with stakeholders to gather their requirements and reach consensus on priorities, such as for features or functions.
- Facilitated Workshops: structured sessions with stakeholders to collaboratively define requirements, such as using techniques like brainstorming or mind mapping.
- Observations: direct observation of stakeholders or users to understand their requirements in context, such as for user experience or usability.
- Prototypes: early versions of a product or solution to elicit and refine requirements, such as using mockups or simulations.
- Requirements Documentation: a set of requirements that have been collected and documented, such as in a requirements traceability matrix or use cases
3. Define Scope
This process involves developing a detailed project scope statement that outlines the project’s deliverables, objectives, and constraints. It also establishes the boundaries of the project and defines what is included and excluded from the project scope.
Inputs:- Project Charter: provides an overview of the project and its objectives, including high-level information on scope.
- Requirements Documentation: a set of requirements that have been collected and documented, which help inform the scope definition.
- Organizational Process Assets: any processes, policies, procedures, or historical information that can be used to help define scope, such as templates or previous project scope statements.
- Product Analysis: decomposition of the product or deliverables to identify its components and characteristics, such as for functionality or performance.
- Alternatives Generation: exploring different approaches or solutions to achieve project objectives, such as through brainstorming or benchmarking.
- Facilitated Workshops: structured sessions with stakeholders to collaboratively define the scope, such as using techniques like facilitated brainstorming or affinity diagrams.
- Expert Judgment: gathering insights and recommendations from individuals with specialized knowledge or experience in scope definition, such as project managers or subject matter experts.
- Project Scope Statement: a description of the project’s product, service, or result, including its boundaries, constraints, assumptions, and deliverables.
4. Create WBS:
The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the project work scope into manageable sections that can be easily understood, managed, and estimated. This process involves creating a detailed WBS that decomposes the project into smaller and more manageable components.
Inputs:- Scope Baseline: The scope baseline comprises the project scope statement, the WBS, and the WBS dictionary. It is used as a reference point for creating the WBS.
- Scope Management Plan: This document defines how the scope of the project will be managed, monitored, and controlled.
- Requirements Documentation: This includes the documented requirements of the project, which are necessary for creating the WBS.
- Organizational Process Assets: These are the organizational procedures and guidelines that provide direction to the project team in creating the WBS.
- Decomposition: This involves breaking down the project deliverables into smaller and more manageable components.
- Expert Judgment: The project team uses the knowledge and expertise of subject matter experts to create the WBS.
- WBS Templates: These are predefined structures used to create the WBS.
- Project Management Software: Specialized software tools can be used to create and manage the WBS.
- WBS: The WBS is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the project work scope into manageable sections that can be easily understood, managed, and estimated.
- WBS Dictionary: This document provides detailed information about the components of the WBS, including the scope, description, and other related details.
- Scope Baseline: The scope baseline is updated with the new WBS and WBS dictionary. This serves as a reference point for monitoring and controlling the project scope.
5. Validate Scope:
The Validate Scope process is concerned with reviewing the deliverables and work results with the stakeholders to ensure that they meet the acceptance criteria defined during the Collect Requirements and Define Scope processes. The process is critical in ensuring that the deliverables are accepted and approved by the stakeholders.
Inputs:- Project Management Plan: This document includes the project scope statement, which outlines the project scope and the deliverables that the project will produce. The project management plan also contains the project schedule, budget, and other key project documents.
- Requirements Documentation: The requirements documentation provides a detailed description of the functional and non-functional requirements of the project.
- Verified Deliverables: The verified deliverables are the outputs of the Control Quality process that have been approved and meet the acceptance criteria.
- Work Performance Data: This data is generated by the project team during the execution of the project and includes information on the status of the project deliverables.
- Inspection: Inspection is a process of reviewing the deliverables and work results to ensure that they meet the acceptance criteria.
- Group Decision Making Techniques: Group decision-making techniques, such as brainstorming, can help the project team and stakeholders come to a consensus on the acceptance of the deliverables.
- Accepted Deliverables: The accepted deliverables are the outputs of the Validate Scope process. These are the deliverables that have been accepted by the stakeholders.
- Accepted Deliverables: The deliverables that have been accepted by the stakeholders.
- Change Requests: If any changes are identified during the validation process, change requests may be generated to modify the scope, schedule, or budget.
- Work Performance Information: This information provides insight into the status of the project deliverables and can be used to inform future project decisions.
- Project Document Updates: The project documents may need to be updated based on the results of the Validate Scope process.
6. Control Scope:
The Control Scope process involves monitoring the status of the project scope and managing changes to the scope baseline. The process ensures that the project scope remains on track and that any changes to the scope are properly controlled.
Inputs:- Project Management Plan: The project management plan includes the scope baseline and other key project documents.
- Work Performance Data: Work performance data provides information on the status of the project deliverables and can be used to determine if any changes are necessary.
- Requirements Documentation: Requirements documentation provides a detailed description of the functional and non-functional requirements of the project.
- Variance Analysis: Variance analysis involves comparing the actual project performance against the planned performance to identify any deviations.
- Performance Reviews: Performance reviews are meetings where the project team discusses the status of the project scope and identifies any issues or concerns.
- Change Control System: The change control system is used to manage any changes to the project scope and ensure that they are properly documented and approved.
- Work Performance Information: Work performance information provides insight into the status of the project deliverables and can be used to inform future project decisions.
- Change Requests: Change requests may be generated if any changes are identified during the Control Scope process.
- Project Management Plan Updates: The project management plan may need to be updated based on the results of the Control Scope process.
- Project Document Updates: The project documents may need to be updated based on the results of the Control Scope process.