Chapter 3:

Project Scope
Management
 Learning Objectives
 Understand the importance of good project scope
management
 Discuss methods for collecting and documenting
requirements in order to meet stakeholder needs
and expectations
 Explain the scope definition process and describe
the contents of a project scope statement
 Discuss the process for creating a work breakdown
structure using the analogy, top-down, bottom-up,
and mind-mapping approaches

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 2
 Learning Objectives (continued)
 Explain the importance of verifying scope and
how it relates to defining and controlling scope
 Understand the importance of controlling scope
and approaches for preventing scope-related
problems on information technology projects
 Describe how software can assist in project
scope management

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 3
 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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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 4
 Project Scope Management Processes

1. Collecting requirements: defining and documenting the

features and functions of the products produced during the
project as well as the processes used for creating them
2. Defining scope: reviewing the project charter,
requirements documents, and organizational process
assets to create a scope statement
3. Creating the WBS: subdividing the major project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable components
4. Verifying scope: formalizing acceptance of the project
deliverables
5. Controlling scope: controlling changes to project scope
throughout the life of the project

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 5
 Figure 5-1. Project Scope
Management Summary

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 6
 Project Scope Management Processes

1. Collecting requirements: defining and documenting the

features and functions of the products produced during the
project as well as the processes used for creating them
2. Defining scope: reviewing the project charter,
requirements documents, and organizational process
assets to create a scope statement
3. Creating the WBS: subdividing the major project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable components
4. Verifying scope: formalizing acceptance of the project
deliverables
5. Controlling scope: controlling changes to project scope
throughout the life of the project

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 7
 Collecting Requirements
 A requirement is “a condition or capability that
must be met or possessed by a system, product,
service, result, or component to satisfy a contract,
standard, specification, or other formal document”
(PMBOK® Guide, 2008)
 For some IT projects, it is helpful to divide

requirements development into categories called

elicitation, analysis, specification, and validation
 It is important to use an iterative approach to

defining requirements since they are often unclear

early in a project
Information Technology Project
Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 8
 Figure 5-2. Relative Cost to Correct a Software
Requirement Defect

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 9
 Methods for Collecting Requirements
 Interviewing
 Focus groups and facilitated workshops
 Using group creativity and decision-making

techniques
 Questionnaires and surveys
 Observation
 Prototyping

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 10
 Documenting Requirements
 Requirements documents are often generated by
software and include text, images, diagrams, videos, and
other media; they are often broken down into different
categories such as functional, service, performance,
quality, training requirements, and so on
 A requirements management plan describes how
project requirements will be analyzed, documented, and
managed

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 11
 Project Scope Management Processes

1. Collecting requirements: defining and documenting the

features and functions of the products produced during the
project as well as the processes used for creating them
2. Defining scope: reviewing the project charter,
requirements documents, and organizational process
assets to create a scope statement
3. Creating the WBS: subdividing the major project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable components
4. Verifying scope: formalizing acceptance of the project
deliverables
5. Controlling scope: controlling changes to project scope
throughout the life of the project

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 12
 Defining Scope
 Key inputs for preparing the project scope
statement include the project charter,
requirements documentation, and organizational
process assets such as policies and procedures
related to scope statements as well as project files
and lessons learned from previous, similar projects
 As time progresses, the scope of a project should

become more clear and specific

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 13
Project Charters
 After deciding what project to work on, it is
important to let the rest of the organization know
 A project charter is a document that formally
recognizes the existence of a project and
provides direction on the project’s objectives and
management
 Key project stakeholders should sign a project
charter to acknowledge agreement on the need
and intent of the project.

Copyright 2009 14
 Project Charter Contents
 Although the format of project charters can vary,
they should include at least the following basic
information:
◦ The project title & date of authorization
◦ The project manager’s name and contact
information
◦ A summary schedule, including the planned
start and finish dates; if a summary milestones
schedule is available, it should also be
included.
◦ A summary of the project’s budget
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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 15
 Project Charter Contents
◦ A brief description of the project objectives, including
the business need or other justification for authorizing
the project
◦ Project success criteria
◦ A summary of planned approach for managing the
project, which describe stakeholders needs &
expectations, important assumptions, constraints
◦ A roles and responsibility matrix
◦ A comment section in which stakeholders can provide
important comments related to the project.

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 16
 Sample project charter
Project Title: Information Technology (IT) Upgrade Project
Project Authorization : March 4
Project Start Date: March 4 Project Finish Date: December 4

Key Schedule Milestones:

• Inventory update completed April15
• Hardware and software acquired August 1
• Installation completed October 1
• Testing completed November 15

Budget Information: Budgeted $600,000 for hardware and software cost and $300,000
for labor costs.
Project Manager: Kim Nguyuen, (310) 555-2784, knguyuen@course.com

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 17
 Project Charter continue…
Project Objectives: Upgrade hardware and software for all employees
(approximately 200) within nine months based on new corporate standards.
See attached sheet describing the new standards. Upgrade may affect servers
as well as associated network hardware and software.

Project Main Success Criteria: The hardware and software and network
upgrades must meet all written specifications, be thoroughly tested and
completed in less than ten months. Employee work disruptions will be minimal.

Approach:
• Update the information technology inventory database to determine upgrade
needs
• Develop detailed cost estimates for project and report to CIO
•Issue a request for quote to obtain hardware and software
•Use internal staff as much as possible for planning, analysis and installation

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 18
 Project Charter continue…
Roles and Responsibilities
Name Role Position Contact Information
Walter Sponsor CEO walter@itupgrade.com
Kim Project Mgr Manager kim@itupgrade.com
Mike Team Member Testing expert mike@itupgrade.com
Johnson Team Member Programmer johnson@itupgrade.com
Nancy Team Member Programmer nancy@itupgrade.com

Steve Team Member Programmer steve@itupgrade.com

Sign-off : (Signatures of all the above stakeholders)

Walter Johnson
Mike Nancy
Kim Steve
Comments:
“I want to be heavily involved in this project. It is crucial to our company’s success and I expect
everyone to help make it succeed” - Walter

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 19
Table 5-3. Further Defining Project Scope

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 20
 Project Scope Management Processes

1. Collecting requirements: defining and documenting the

features and functions of the products produced during the
project as well as the processes used for creating them
2. Defining scope: reviewing the project charter,
requirements documents, and organizational process
assets to create a scope statement
3. Creating the WBS: subdividing the major project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable components
4. Verifying scope: formalizing acceptance of the project
deliverables
5. Controlling scope: controlling changes to project scope
throughout the life of the project

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 21
 Creating the 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

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 22
 Work BreakDown Structure
Steps in the WBS:
1. Examine the set of required external deliverables.
2. Identify and list the steps and tasks needed to
produce the required deliverables, including
intermediate deliverables.
3. Sequence the identified tasks required to produce the
deliverable
4. Estimate the effort required to perform each task.
5. Estimate the productivity of the resources that will be
applied to the tasks.

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 23
 WBS - example
 Deliverable 1: Executable code that is installable
from a CD.
 Deliverable 2: Help text, usage, and reference
information that is installable from CD.
 Deliverable 1 activities:
◦ To develop code: requirements specification, and
analysis (which are already completed), design,
coding, and testing.
◦ To make code installable: requirements specification
(already completed), design, coding and testing

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 24
 WBS - example
 Deliverable 2 activities:
◦ Creating help text: requirements specification and
analysis (already completed), design, writing, and
testing.
◦ Developing usage and reference information:
requirements specification and analysis (already
completed), design, writing, and testing.

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 25
 Tasks Refinement
 List of activities for Deliverable 1:
◦ Activity A: Designing and documenting the design
using an agreed upon notation
◦ Activity B: Coding (in language agreed upon)
◦ Activity C: Defining test cases and generating test
scripts
◦ Activity D: Executing test scripts
◦ Activity E: Correcting and fixing problems found during
testing
◦ Activity F: Collecting the tested executable modules
and handing them to the packaging group

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 26
Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS)
Divides the project into its various subcomponents
and defines hierarchical levels of detail

Level
1 Project
2 Major tasks in project
3 Subtasks in major tasks
4 Activities to be completed

Copyright 2009
 Figure 5-3. Sample Intranet WBS
Organized by Product

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 28
 Figure 5-4. Sample Intranet WBS
Organized by Phase

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 29
 Figure 5-5. Intranet WBS and Gantt
Chart in Microsoft Project

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 30
 Figure 5-6. Intranet Gantt Chart Organized
by Project Management Process Groups

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 31
 Group Work ( 5 in a group)

Q1.Create a WBS for one of the following projects:

• Planning for your wedding
• Creating a new information system for your school
• Organizing a party for your school reunion
Breakdown the work to at least the third level for one of the
items on the WBS.
 Project Scope Management Processes

1. Collecting requirements: defining and documenting the

features and functions of the products produced during the
project as well as the processes used for creating them
2. Defining scope: reviewing the project charter,
requirements documents, and organizational process
assets to create a scope statement
3. Creating the WBS: subdividing the major project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable components
4. Verifying scope: formalizing acceptance of the project
deliverables
5. Controlling scope: controlling changes to project scope
throughout the life of the project

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 33
 Verifying Scope
 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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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 34
 Controlling Scope
 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
 Variance is the difference between planned and
actual performance

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 35
 Best Practices for Avoiding Scope
Problems
1. Keep the scope realistic. Don’t make projects so large that
they can’t 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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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 36
 Suggestions for Improving User Input
 Develop a good project selection process and
insist 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
 Don’t promise to deliver when you know you can’t
 Co-locate users with developers

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 37
 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 requirements in writing and keep them current
 Create a requirements management database for
documenting and controlling requirements

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 38
 Suggestions for Reducing Incomplete
and Changing Requirements (continued)
 Provide adequate testing and conduct testing
throughout the project life cycle
 Review changes from a systems perspective
 Emphasize completion dates to help focus on

what’s most important

 Allocate resources specifically for handling

change requests/enhancements

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 39
 Using Software to Assist in Project
Scope Management
 Word-processing software helps create several
scope-related documents
 Spreadsheets help to perform financial
calculations and weighted scoring models and to
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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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 40
 Chapter Summary
 Project scope management includes the
processes required to ensure that the project
addresses all the work required, and only the work
required, to complete the project successfully
 Main processes include:

◦ Collect requirements
◦ Define scope
◦ Create WBS
◦ Verify scope
◦ Control scope

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Management, Sixth Edition Copyright 2009 41