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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:

1. 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.
2. The approved objectives represent an agreement between the project manager and other major stakeholders on the main purpose of the project.
3. 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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Selected references

Mochal, T (2005, Aug). Use project objectives to structure the project and validate success [Online]. Available: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/ 5100-10878_11-5839938.html. [2010, March 30].

Gray F.C & Larson E.W (2003). Project management – The managerial process. Mc Graw-Hill.

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