A Brief Guide to Project Scope Management and Its Importance
Key takeaways
- Project scope management is the process that includes determining and completing a set of tasks to deliver a project to the client.
- Scope creep is critically expensive for businesses that exceed the set deliverables and budget. The project scope management process is a highly effective way of ensuring that projects do not experience scope creep.
- Project scope management is a proactive approach to tackling unprecedented scenarios such as changing requirements, overspending, and unmet deadlines.
- Using the Kanban board on Cflow, users can set, assign, and track tasks and seamlessly manage projects.
What Is Project Scope Management?
The project scope outlines the total amount of work required to complete it. The scope is defined by breaking down the complete project into smaller tasks and deliverables. Using a project scope, teams working on different projects can define clear sets of goals, deadlines, and outputs.
A defined plan offers clear boundaries on what can and cannot be done. Enables a smoother and more efficient project management process. This aids in the achievement of goals and delivering outputs. All this is completely taken care of through project scope management.
Table of Contents
What is project scope management? Project scope management is the process that includes determining and completing a set of tasks to deliver a project to the client. This process includes documenting a series of tasks that align with its goals and objectives, budget, deadlines, etc. as a plan for the project, ensuring there is no scope creep. A scope creep is critically expensive for businesses that go beyond the set deliverables and budget. Some reasons that can cause a scope creep include –
- Undefined project scope
- Unrealistic goals and objectives
- Poor scope management
- Lack of communication with the clients
The project scope management process is a highly effective way of ensuring that all simultaneous projects are carried out and preventing scope creep.
Most often project scope management is confused or interchangeably used with product scope management. However, there is a clear distinction between them. Product scope management predominantly deals with the functionality of a product or a service. This scope details what the product will look like and its functions. Hence, project scope management is an inevitable part of project management.
Importance of Project Scope Management
Project management can be complex if not managed effectively. All the expectations and deliverables have to be discussed along with the client and the stakeholders, which can change with time based on certain factors. This is why a project management scope is important.
Project scope management outlines the steps to ensure that the process remains within the stipulated budget. Even though changes have to be made, it can be done, regulated by the existing budget boundary. The scope management helps in keeping the team on track with the process and allows no space for any unexpected change. Project scope management guides in the following –
- Generating realistic project plans and goals
- Help avoid budget overruns and scope creep
- Set and work toward a realistic expectation
- Acquire the right talent with skills and qualification
- Meet deadlines effectively
- Give top-notch deliverables
- Robust change management process
A project scope management plan provides a structure for initiating and finishing projects right on time. Hence, project scope management is a proactive approach that has the purpose of tackling unprecedented scenarios such as changing requirements, overspending, and unmet deadlines.
Project Scope Management Includes Three Processes
Project scope management is broadly classified into three processes or sequence of actions. They are as follows –
Planning
The planning process is where the project is given a practical outline and defined by a set of goals and objectives.
Controlling
The controlling process is where it is ensured that the process is being carried out in accordance with the set standards, resources, and requirements.
Closing
The closing is the completion and wrapping up of processes. This ends with an audit of the deliverables and determining the success of the final product with the planned outcome.
Decoding the Project Scope Management Steps
Planning Scope Management
Planning is the core step in project scope management. At this stage of the process, the scope of the project is documented through a scope management plan. This document acts as a guide that helps the team define, manage, validate, and control the project at any given time. A previously used scope management plan can also be used as a framework or reference. So, what goes inside the scope management plan?
- The scope statement
- A detailed breakdown of the requirements
- The expected deliverables
- Work breakdown schedule
- Work breakdown structure dictionary
Collecting Requirements
This is the stage where the team understands and works out the stakeholder’s requirements. These stakeholders might include the client, top management, investors, government regulators, etc. All the project requirements, expectations, budget, as well as deliverables, have to be discussed and documented. This can be achieved through different modes like surveys, focus groups, or interviews.
While the requirements are being discussed, the stakeholders might have unrealistic expectations. This is where it is ideal for project managers to step in, draw clear lines of communication, and ensure that everything is moderated effectively between the team and the stakeholders. This that must be gathered at the end of this stage are –
- Stakeholder requirements
- Business requirements
- Product requirements
- Training requirements
- Project requirements
- Quality requirements
Defining the Scope
This is the stage where the scope of the project is communicated and documented clearly. The scope broadly outlines the steps that have to be taken that will lead the team to the finish line of the project, reaching the goals and objectives. Here, all the requirements are transformed into an elaborate description of the final output.
Having a description allows the team to identify the tasks that are included and not included in a particular project. This will ensure that the team is working on things that are needed and not spending time on unimportant tasks. An ideal project scope is identified by the following –
- Project objectives
- Goals
- Sub-phases
- Tasks
- Resources
- Budget
- Schedule
Making A Project Breakdown Structure (WBS)
A project breakdown structure is a crucial document that consists of the breakdown of all the tasks that need to be completed and assigning them to the team members. This breakdown structure comes with a defined set of deliverables and deadlines, according to which the members can work.
To effectively break down and prioritize the open tasks, a project management tool like Cflow can be used. Cflow offers Kanban, where tasks can be added as cards and can be assigned to the team members. This way tasks can be tracked seamlessly and completed within the given deadline.
Validating Scope
This is the step where the scope of the project is validated and verified with the consideration of the deliverables. This is done by sending it across to the project executives and stakeholders to get it approved. This often happens at the initial as well as at the end of the project competition.
Controlling Scope
Project managers control the scope by ensuring that the entire project remains within the scope. All the necessary changes are made at this final stage using the change control process.
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10 Tips For Successful Project Planning and Management
Here are some useful tips to put into practice within the team. These tips will ensure a successful and smooth completion of the project.
Understand the Project
The first thing that the project manager needs to ensure is that all the team members as well as the stakeholders are aligned with the requirements and goals of the project. This comes from a clear understanding of it. This way, proper objectives can be laid out and structure tasks accordingly.
Identify The Project Requirements
It is crucial to identify all the important requirements of the client. This will aid in formulating the project scope. This will give a detailed understanding of the resources needed to complete all the requirements.
Define Milestones
Defining proper milestones is crucial in project management. This will help the team to know the key phases and work accordingly. The team must also define a way to evaluate and approve these milestones.
Maintain Communications
Effective communication is highly important when it comes to a team delivering a project to the client. Communication helps in understanding the needs and expectations much better, allowing all the parties to be onboard and aligned.
Identify Strengths and Weaknesses
Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the team members can guide the project managers to assign tasks accordingly. This will ensure that every task is completed without any challenges and within the deadline.
Take Advantage of Management Tools
Project management teams can leverage multiple online tools that offer solutions to streamline and optimize project management. With effective tracking, storing, and sharing features, tasks can be completed within the stipulated time.
Practice Risk Management
Risk management is a crucial attribute of project management. Project management processes can face several challenges and risks and the team must proactively tackle these without compromising the quality of the output delivered.
Test Deliverables
To complete the project successfully, deliverables have to be tested with every milestone. This makes it easy for the project managers to check if the team is meeting the requirements and expectations of all the stakeholders.
Evaluation of the Project
The final stage of project management is the evaluation which will help them understand if the project has reached the expectations and delivered the promised output. Moreover, this will aid in identifying any areas of improvement and ensure mistakes are not repeated in future projects.
Establish A Change Control Process
A change control process helps the team navigate when a necessary has to be made in the process. For example, a new requirement being added can impact the trajectory of the project. In such cases, a change control process will help the team allocate the necessary resources to accommodate the change.
Cflow’s Kanban for Effective Project Scope Management
Leveraging a project management tool like Cflow can be a game-changer, making it more organized and effective. By using the Kanban board on Cflow, users can set and assign tasks to every member of the team using cards. These cards can be moved across the board based on their status. The project manager can simply view the board to track the progress of every assigned task.
This is an effective way of ensuring that the workflow remains intact and is not stalled due to any downtime or risks. The tasks can be arranged based on their priorities and effectively manage all the tasks with ease. This way, tracking and making changes are simplified to the core.
Cflow’s Kanban offers –
- A structured visualization of tasks
- Easy navigation of cards based on their status
- Effective management of workflow and projects
- Measured control on the quality of work done
Conclusion
A project scope management plan and strategy are highly efficient tools to ensure that projects are completed successfully. This implies that all the deliverables and goals have been successfully attained. Having a scope management plan allows the team to have a clear set of steps to follow and evaluate the performance accordingly. However, manual inputs can tamper with the effectiveness of project management, leading to errors and delays. Investing in a project management tool like Cflow can save teams from scope creep and ensure that all the requirements are delivered within the deadline. Sign up on Cflow to know more!
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