Project Scope Management – Process Groups

Every project manager aims for a project that runs smoothly from start to finish, without delays or going over budget. Even though the objective is achievable, several efforts take place backstage.

Some things can potentially affect the scope of the project during its execution, even if you discuss and plan out all the details with the project stakeholders in advance. Wellingtone's 2021 Annual Report says: only 34% of organizations complete their project on time.

With a top-notch project management strategy, you can complete the project's goal and prevent problems like scope creep by getting your strategy right and controlling the project's scope.

Project Scope Management

The practice of project scope management aids in identifying and recording a list of all the project's objectives, deliverables, due dates, and budgets as part of the planning stage. In project management, it is typical for a large project to change over time.

Project teams find it much simpler to manage and make the necessary modifications when the project management scope is clearly specified from the start.

Importance of Project Scope Management

One of the prominent duties of a project manager is managing and reaching the expectations of the clients and stakeholders. Managers can simply keep on track and make sure that all deadlines are met throughout the project life cycle with a clear project scope.

Having a clear project scope management plan will help you prevent certain problems.

• Frequent changes and requirements

• Changing the project's course once it has already begun

• Recognizing the difference between project results and expectations

• Exceeding the agreed-upon budget

• Missing the project's deadlines Effective project scope management provides a precise understanding of the project's time, labor, and content. It helps determine what is necessary and what is not to get the job right. The scope of a project in project management also creates the project's control factors to address components that could change over the project's life cycle.

What Determines the Project's Scope?

The project planning process includes a step called project scope that outlines the precise objectives, deliverables, features, and budgets. The list of tasks necessary to carry out the project successfully can be found described in the scope document.

Understanding the project needs and the client's expectations helps establish the scope. Typically, the scope declaration includes projects' goals, project products, exclusions, project limitations, and premise statements.

Project Management Scope Definition

The project's scope document or statement of work is another name for the scope statement. The scope of the project,

• Establishes the team's roles as well as all the project's boundaries

• Describes all the steps that must be taken to verify and approve the completed job

• provides team members with a clear direction for decision-making on the project.

Scope creep, which occurs when some project components wind up requiring more time and effort than originally anticipated due to poor planning or miscommunication, could be prevented by team members, and stakeholders must be detailed well when defining the scope of a project.

Teams can make sure the project is completed on schedule, and that a comprehensive project communication plan is in place. They can also ensure that the finalized product complies with the original specifications by using effective project management techniques.

Process for Managing the Project Scope

Scope management in planning

You produce a scope plan document in the initial stage of project scope management, which you can then use as a reference in the next phases. The document primarily aids in establishing, managing, validating, and regulating the scope of the project.

Among them are −

• project scope statement that is in-depth

• List of each project requirement, broken down

• Project outputs that are anticipated

• control process for project changes

The document only needs to be appropriate for the intended use; it doesn't need to be overly detailed. Additionally, you can take the scope management strategy from a prior project as a model for this.

Taking prerequisites

Establishing the needs and expectations of stakeholders is the next phase. You will be needed to use interviews, surveys, and focus groups to record all of the project's requirements, expectations, budgets, and deliverables.

This is a crucial step since it is common for stakeholders to have unreasonable demands or expectations. Project managers must intervene to find a solution that is acceptable to all parties to prevent project delays.

You should have the following after the requirements collection phase −

• Needs that are both functional and non-functional

• Stakeholders' expectations

• Requisites for business

• Support and education needs

• Project specifications

Specifying the subject

You must now translate your needs into a thorough description of the service or item you are attempting to supply through the project. After that, you will have a project scope statement that you may use throughout the project.

While it's necessary to jot down what is included in the project's scope, it's equally important to note what is excluded from that scope. To guarantee that the team is only working on tasks that they are supposed to work on, any additions to the scope would therefore have to go through the complete change control procedure.

Your project team and anybody else involved will have a reference point when the scope is well specified. The team does not have to accomplish any tasks that are outside of its scope.

Constructing a project breakdown structure

The work that has to be done on a project is broken down into manageable chunks, and each assignment is then given to a team member. There is a list of the necessary deliverables, along with the deadlines for completing each one.

The assignment and prioritization of project activities can be done using project management software at this stage of the procedure. This makes it simpler to monitor the project's overall progress and prevent any unneeded bottlenecks.

Scope verification

Sending the scope and deliverables that you have documented to project executives and stakeholders at this stage will enable you to obtain the required approvals. Before the project begins, scope validation must be completed to guarantee that, should something go wrong, the problem can be quickly identified.

Managing the range

The scope of the project must always remain within it, thus project managers must make sure of this as soon as work on it starts. If changes are necessary, the appropriate change control procedure should be used.

Suggestions for Efficient Project Scope Management

• Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) so that the scope statement can be broken down into smaller, easier-to-manage chunks.

• Avoid having an unclear scope to save time and reduce stress. Give as clear of a definition as you can.

• Make the scope definition process collaborative to avoid requirements being misunderstood. Tools for project collaboration can help project teams communicate more effectively with one another.

• To prevent the scope of the project from expanding beyond what was originally planned, make sure the scope document is not changed while the project is being carried out.

• Finally, take your time when defining the project scope and consulting with all important stakeholders because once it is set, it cannot be changed.

Final Thoughts

It is never an arduous process to adopt scope management in a project; nonetheless, it does demand effort, time, and patience. A project manager can only define, control, and ensure that the project deliverables are met with no problems or risks developing during the project lifecycle and that the stakeholders are happy with their investments with the aid of scope management. With the help of PMP certification training, you may learn more about these dynamic abilities and practices and master all the project management knowledge domains.