Chapter 5: Project Scope Management

Information Technology Project Management, Fifth Edition

What is Project Scope Management?

Scope refers to all the work involved in

creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them A deliverable is a product produced as part of a project, such as hardware or software, planning documents, or meeting minutes Project scope management includes the processes involved in defining and controlling what is or is not included in a project
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Project Scope Management Processes

Scope planning: deciding how the scope will be defined, verified, and controlled Scope definition: reviewing the project charter and preliminary scope statement and adding more information as requirements are developed and change requests are approved Creating the WBS: subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components Scope verification: formalizing acceptance of the project scope by key project stakeholders Scope control: controlling changes to project scope which impact project cost and time goals
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Project Scope Management Summary

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Scope Planning and the Scope Management Plan

The scope management plan is a document that

includes descriptions of how the team will prepare the project scope statement, create the WBS, verify completion of the project deliverables, and control requests for changes to the project scope Key inputs include the project charter, preliminary scope statement, and project management plan It should be reviewed with the project sponsor to make sure the approach meets expectations
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What Went Right?

Many financial service companies use customer

relationship management (CRM) systems to improve their understanding of and responsiveness to customers A senior management team at the Canadian money management company Dynamic Mutual Funds (DMF) launched an enterprise-wide, national program to build and manage its customer relationships They needed a faster and more organized, highly participative approach, so they proposed a new sevenstep concept called project scope design DMF won an eCustomer World Golden Award for worldclass innovation
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What Went Right?

The Seven Steps
1. Analyze the project atmosphere, staekholders and
2. 3. 4.

5.
6. 7.

centers of influence Align the project scope with the organizations strategic objectives and business challenges Determine where to add value to the business Study the process flow between the business units Develop an efficient communication strategy Develop the project approach Coordinate the new project with the other initiatives already under way
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Sample Scope Management Plan

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Sample Project Charter

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Scope Definition and the Project Scope Statement

The project team develops a preliminary scope

statement in initiating a project as part of the project integration management knowledge area The preliminary scope statement, project charter, organizational process assets, and approved change requests provide a basis for creating the more specific project scope statement
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Scope Definition and the Project Scope Statement

Project scope statements should contain at a minimum:
Description of the project overall objectives,

justification Detailed descriptions of all project deliverables Characteristics and requirements of products and services produced as part of the project
Other helpful information:

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Project success criteria Project boundaries Product acceptance criteria Schedule milestones Order of magnitude costs estimates

Further Defining Project Scope

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Media Snapshot
Many people enjoy watching television shows like Changing Rooms or Trading Spaces, where participants have two days and $1,000 to update a room in their neighbors house. Since the time and cost are set, its the scope that has the most flexibility. Designers on these shows often have to change initial scope goals due to budget or time constraints. Although most homeowners are very happy with work done on the show, some are obviously disappointed. Unlike most projects where the project team works closely with the customer, homeowners have little say in what gets done and cannot inspect the work along the way What happens when the homeowners dont like the work thats been done? The FAQ section of tlc.com says, Everyone on our show is told upfront that theres a chance they wont like the final design of the room. Each applicant signs a release acknowledging that the show is not responsible for redecorating a room that isnt to the owners taste. Too bad you cant get sponsors for most projects to sign a similar release form. It would make project scope management much easier!
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Project Scope Management

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

A WBS is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the

work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project WBS is a foundation document that provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, resources, and changes Decomposition is subdividing project deliverables into smaller pieces
A work package is a task at the lowest level of the WBS
Tasks on a WBS represent work that needs to be done to

complete the project, not specifications (e.g., type of server)

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Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The project scope statement and project

management plan are the primary inputs for creating a WBS The outputs include the WBS itself, the WBS dictionary, a scope baseline and updates to the project scope statement and scope management plan The WBS is often depicted as a task-oriented family tree of activities
The WBS can be organized around project products,

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project phases or using the project management process groups

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Partial WBS Organized by Product Areas

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Partial WBS Organized by Project Phase

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Partial Intranet WBS in Tabular Form

1.0 Concept 1.1 Evaluate current systems 1.2 Define Requirements 1.2.1 Define user requirements 1.2.2 Define content requirements 1.2.3 Define system requirements 1.2.4 Define server owner requirements 1.3 Define specific functionality 1.4 Define risks and risk management approach 1.5 Develop project plan 1.6 Brief Web development team 2.0 Web Site Design 3.0 Web Site Development 4.0 Roll Out 5.0 Support
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Intranet WBS and Gantt Chart in Microsoft Project

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Intranet Gantt Chart Organized by Project Management Process Groups

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Approaches to Developing WBSs

Using guidelines: some organizations, like the

DOD, provide guidelines for preparing WBSs The analogy approach: review WBSs of similar projects and tailor to your project The top-down approach: start with the largest items of the project and break them down The bottom-up approach: start with the specific tasks and roll them up Mind-mapping approach: mind mapping is a technique that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and 21 ideas
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Mind Mapping
Mind Mapping is a way of creating pictures

that show ideas in the same way that they are represented in your brain. Your brain uses words, pictures, numbers, logic, rhythm, color and spatial awareness to build up unique pictures of information. The ideas are linked together in a way that makes it easy to understand and remember.
http://www.novamind.com/mind-mapping/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlabrWv25qQ
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Mind Mapping

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Mind Mapping
Use just key words, or wherever possible images.
Start from the center of the page and work out. Make the center a clear and strong visual image that depicts the general theme

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of the map. Create sub-centers for sub-themes. Put key words on lines. This reinforces structure of notes. Print rather than write in script. It makes them more readable and memorable. Lower case is more visually distinctive (and better remembered) than upper case. Use color to depict themes, associations and to make things stand out. Anything that stands out on the page will stand out in your mind. Think three-dimensionally. Use arrows, icons or other visual aids to show links between different elements. Don't get stuck in one area. If you dry up in one area go to another branch. Put ideas down as they occur, wherever they fit. Don't judge or hold back. Break boundaries. If you run out of space, don't start a new sheet; paste more paper onto the map. (Break the 8x11 mentality.) Be creative. Creativity aids memory. From http://www.peterrussell.com/MindMaps/HowTo.php
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Sample Mind-Mapping Approach for Creating a WBS

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Resulting WBS in Chart Form

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The WBS Dictionary and Scope Baseline

Many WBS tasks are vague and must be

explained more so people know what to do and can estimate how long it will take and what it will cost to do the work A WBS dictionary is a document that describes detailed information about each WBS item The approved project scope statement and its WBS and WBS dictionary form the scope baseline, which is used to measure performance in meeting project scope goals
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Sample WBS Dictionary Entry

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Creating a WBS and WBS Dictionary*

A unit of work should appear at only one place in the

WBS The work content of a WBS item is the sum of the WBS items below it A WBS item is the responsibility of only one individual, even though many people may be working on it The WBS must be consistent with the way in which work is actually going to be performed; it should serve the project team first, and other purposes only if practical
*Cleland, David I. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation, 1994
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Creating a WBS and WBS Dictionary *

Project team members should be involved in

developing the WBS to ensure consistency and buyin Each WBS item must be documented in a WBS dictionary to ensure accurate understanding of the scope of work included and not included in that item The WBS must be a flexible tool to accommodate inevitable changes while properly maintaining control of the work content in the project according to the scope statement
*Cleland, David I. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation , 1994
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Scope Verification
It is very difficult to create a good scope

statement and WBS for a project It is even more difficult to verify project scope and minimize scope changes Scope verification involves formal acceptance of the completed project scope by the stakeholders Acceptance is often achieved by a customer inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables
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What Went Wrong?

A project scope that is too broad and grandiose can

cause severe problems

Scope creep and an overemphasis on technology for

technologys sake resulted in the bankruptcy of a large pharmaceutical firm, Texas-based FoxMeyer Drug In 2001, McDonalds fast-food chain initiated a project to create an intranet that would connect its headquarters with all of its restaurants to provide detailed operational information in real time; after spending $170 million on consultants and initial implementation planning, McDonalds realized that the project was too much to handle and terminated it
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Scope Control
Scope control involves controlling changes to the

project scope Goals of scope control are to:

Influence the factors that cause scope changes

Assure changes are processed according to procedures

developed as part of integrated change control Manage changes when they occur
Tools for performing scope control include a change

control system and configuration management Variance is the difference between planned and actual performance
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Best Practices for Avoiding Scope Problems

1. Keep the scope realistic: Dont make projects so large that
they cant be completed; break large projects down into a series of smaller ones 2. Involve users in project scope management: Assign key users to the project team and give them ownership of requirements definition and scope verification 3. Use off-the-shelf hardware and software whenever possible: Many IT people enjoy using the latest and greatest technology, but business needs, not technology trends, must take priority 4. Follow good project management processes: As described in this chapter and others, there are well-defined processes for managing project scope and others aspects of projects
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Suggestions for Improving User Input

Develop a good project selection process and insist

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that sponsors are from the user organization Have users on the project team in important roles Have regular meetings with defined agendas, and have users sign off on key deliverables presented at meetings Deliver something to users and sponsors on a regular basis Dont promise to deliver when you know you cant Co-locate users with developers

Project Scope Management

Suggestions for Reducing Incomplete and Changing Requirements

Develop and follow a requirements

management process Use techniques such as prototyping, use case modeling, and JAD to get more user involvement Put all requirements in writing, keep them current and readily available Create a requirements management database for documenting and controlling requirements (CASE tools)
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Suggestions for Reducing Incomplete and Changing Requirements

Provide adequate testing and conduct testing

throughout the project life cycle Review changes from a systems perspective
Project scope changes must include associated cost

and schedule changes Focus on approved scope goals and dont get side tracked
Emphasize completion dates to help focus on whats

most important
What should we drop in order to add something new?

Allocate resources specifically for handling change

requests/enhancements like NWA did with ResNet

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Using Software to Assist in Project Scope Management

Word-processing software helps create several

scope-related documents Spreadsheets help to perform financial calculations and weighed scoring models, and develop charts and graphs Communication software like e-mail and the Web help clarify and communicate scope information Project management software helps in creating a WBS, the basis for tasks on a Gantt chart Specialized software is available to assist in project scope management
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