The scope of a project includes all the work necessary to complete the project and everything required for that work to be completed successfully. Ultimately, the area defines what is the project scope included and what is not included in the project. Therefore, the correct management of the project’s scope leads to the fulfillment of the expectations and the success of the project.
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What is the Project Scope?
The Project scope is a complete outline of all aspects of a project, including all related activities, timelines, resources, and deliverables, as well as the project’s boundaries. A project scope or scope of a project also outlines key stakeholders, assumptions, processes, and constraints, as well as what the project is about, what is included, and what isn’t. All of this important information is documented in a scope statement.
Types of the Project Scope
The [project scope] is addressed, the reference manual for every project manager. In this sense, planning the content implies taking into account the work strictly necessary to complete the project, making clear the results and those that are not included in the development of the project.
In Project Management, the scope can refer to different aspects depending on the project:
Product scope. It refers to the characteristics and functions of the product, service, or result of the project. The degree of compliance with the size of the product is established according to its requirements.
It mentions the work done to deliver the product, service, or result. This scope also includes the size of the product. The degree of fulfillment of the [project scope] is established considering the Project Management Plan. Depending on the life cycle of the project and the type of project in question, the scope will be defined differently.
Managing the scope of a project
The supervision and control of the project scope consist of validating that a correct delivery and acceptance of all the work included in the content has been made. It also involves measuring your progress, assessing your performance, and adequately managing agreed scope changes.
The backbone of scope management is establishing a baseline for the projects scope. That is a reference that includes all the products to be delivered (also called deliverables) and all the work that must be done to complete them. For the definition and management of the scope, the PMI advises following a series of specific processes.
The role of project management
When handling the [scope of a project], the direction of the project plays a fundamental role. Among the main actions to be carried out are the following:
Analyze and understand the scope. The project manager must know the requirements, criteria, assumptions, restrictions, and other issues related to the work carried out in the project and understand how they will be managed.
Identify and capture the necessary information and transform it into a [project scope] management plan.
Prepare and approve the statement of the project’s scope, the breakdown structure of the work, and its dictionary. It should be noted that these three aspects are used to validate the size of the project.
Measure and monitor. You have to ensure that delivery deadlines are being met and that the customer or end-user accepts the deliverables.
Take appropriate actions so that the projects is carried out following the [project scope management plan]. This implies making decisions and dealing appropriately with the scope changes that are made.
However, it should be noted that, in agile projects, the scope is defined and redefined throughout the projects, and not at the beginning, as in more traditional projects.
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