Project Scope Management: What it is & Its Clear Importance

Project Scope and Its Role in Success

It’s not an easy task to manage and deliver a successful project, yet successful Project Managers do it repeatedly. Project Scope Management is one of the key reasons behind these successful projects.

A Project Manager has to keep the project under budget and also complete it before the deadline. This requires them to understand the project in the clearest way possible.

They break down the whole project into manageable tasks, assign deadlines to each task, allocate the right amount of resources to the right place, and track the progress of the whole project.

All of this is made possible only through Project Scope Management. But before we understand Project Scope Management, we have to understand what “Project Scope” means. In this article, we cover the following:

• Project Scope Meaning and Outline
• Project Scope Statement
• Importance of Project Scope
• Project Scope Management
• Scope Creep and the Possible Pitfalls
• Project Scope in Action – 5 Steps to Follow
• Topic Summary

Project Scope Meaning and Outline

In a 2022 article titled “Project scope – definition, best practices, examples, and more” Adobe Business describes project scope as:

“Project scope is a component of project implementation that helps determine goals, constraints, workflow management strategies, tasks, and deliverables. By defining project scope, individual contributors will be able to manage their workloads more easily.”

Therefore, it is a detailed outline of all the elements of a project. Also, it is a part of project planning and revolves around clearly defining:

1. Goals of a Project
2. Required Resources
3. Task Deadlines
4. Project Boundaries
5. Features
6. Project’s Function
7. Assumptions
8. Project Deadline

It details the road map of the project direction and what the deliverables are going to look like. One of the duties of a Project Manager is to align stakeholders’ expectations with project deliverables, and a clear project scope is the best way to do so.

A clear project scope is beneficial in every stage of project management by forming a vision of the whole project right from the start. It also aids in forming a well-structured project scope statement.

Project Scope Example

Having led various different teams over the years, I have had many projects to work on. These have been in my years in front office operations in hotels and resorts as well as learning and development projects. In all of these situations, I have used the above-mentioned criteria to create an effective project scope for the team to understand and follow.

For example, back in my time in Dubai, we had a system changeover of our main PMS (property management system). This system is essential for managing all guest bookings, financial transactions, guest data, and more.

When it came to preparing for the system crossover, I created our project scope to reflect what we needed in terms of goals and objectives, resources (human and equipment), timeframes, and potential costs related to the 2-month project.

By applying the steps mentioned in the section above, we had a clear direction for everyone to follow that allowed us to track progress, overcome potential barriers and stay on track in terms of the required deadlines.

Without that concrete structure, we could easily have failed in our quest to achieve a successful result. As it turned out, not only did we meet the project objectives, but we did it with no interference to the guests’ experiences and maintained the highest standards of service for them throughout the project’s duration.

Project Scope Statement

We have looked at the project scope, and now let’s see what the project scope statement is all about.

A project scope statement is a detailed account of all the work and resources required to execute a project. It aims to provide everyone with a well-defined and clear vision about all the goals a project is trying to accomplish.

It usually revolves around the following aspects of a project:

1. Detail all the work to be done for the completion of a project and how it is going to be done.
2. Document a clear idea of expected deliverables by the end of a project. This could be software, a feature, a service or a product.
3. Include scope exclusions: This is a list of all the things that won’t be a part of the project to avoid Scope Creep.
4. Set deadlines for the project. It also includes deadlines for the various tasks and functions to be performed to complete the project on time.
5. Identify all the resources required during the project.

The statement is essential to align customers’ expectations right from the start of a project and helps in preventing conflicts during or after the project.

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Importance of Project Scope

Project scope management is an important part of any project, and here are some reasons to better understand its importance:

#1: Define Project Needs

A project scope clearly states all the labour, resources and money going into the project. And project scope management helps define these resources at the right time during a project.

This ultimately keeps the workflow smooth and steady. Team members also get rid of worries regarding the lack or delay of resources at any time during the project.

#2: Focus On Work

Once a project is clearly defined, each member of the team has a clear understanding of what they have to do. This leaves no room for confusion among anyone and it leads to a productive environment.

A productive environment not only increases productivity but also keeps the project on track. The most difficult task for a project manager is to keep the project progressing and a clear project scope management approach solves this problem

#3: Dealing With Changes

A project is bound to have some changes. However, a clear project scope management plan minimises these changes. Even after minimising the chances, some changes can occur, but a well-defined project scope management system incorporates these changes with the minimum stress possible.

A customer may also come up with new needs in between and a clear project scope makes it easier to negotiate those changes. It makes it easier to reallocate resources per incorporated changes in the easiest way possible.

#4: Ease in Budgeting

A Project Manager has to keep the project under budget all the time. A well-defined project scope estimates the most accurate number of resources required for a project.

It also helps in project analysis from time to time. Project analysis is a crucial step during the management of any project. It involves matching the project cost and the cost mentioned in the project scope. Matching them is important to keep the budget in check during the project’s progress.

An effective project scope keeps the difference between the two to a minimum. It also aids in cutting down costs at the right time, if the project costs are increasing.

In case of any changes requested by a client, a clear project scope will help you negotiate more money without hampering your relationship with the client.

#5: Avoiding Scope Creep

Scope creep is defined as a subtle deflection from the project plan through the addition of new requirements. This makes the project very different from what it was supposed to be. It can also increase project costs and delay the whole project.

Scope creep is a result of changing requirements due to various internal reasons of an organisation.

A well-defined project scope can help you avoid scope creep. If the client comes up with any changes that are not under your scope of work, you can negotiate the budget and deadlines of the projects easily as you can clarify the deflection from the original project scope.

Scope creep is one of the most common hurdles project managers face during projects. An effective and clear project scope can go a long way in such cases. More on that later!

#5: Keeping Up With Deadlines

A Project Manager is supposed to complete a project assigned to them on time but most of them fail to do so. One of the most common reasons why projects fail is that tasks and their deadlines are not well defined.

With a clear project scope, you avoid such delays and also see the project progress in terms of deadlines. It keeps the project on track and leads to completion before the deadline.

Project scope management helps in negotiating deadlines, if necessary, as it becomes easier to make a client understand through documentation.

Related read: Levels of project management

#6: Improving Client Relationship Management

One of the key factors in building a good relationship with a client is trust and clarity.

A good relationship with a client makes the work easier because the client believes in your expertise and relies on it.

With an effective scope, you prove your expertise to the client which makes him trust you more. Also, it provides clarity to a client in every aspect of the project.

So, with a good project scope management strategy you can build a good relationship with your client. This will make him consider you for more projects and that’s a huge benefit for you.

#7: Avoid Stress

Once a project is clear with its amount of work, deadlines, phases, and budgeting it makes the project stress-free.

It becomes easier to manage people and distribute work for each task. Task deadlines track the project progress and the resources are allocated at the right time.

It becomes easier to handle something unexpected due to clarity brought by a Project Scope.

A clear project scope creates a stress-free work environment. It boosts productivity and helps everyone work in the most effective manner possible.

#8: Quality Maintenance

This is probably one of the biggest challenges a Project Manager faces during a project. Even after getting workflow and resources in place – maintaining professional quality becomes a task in itself.

Better management solves this because the deliverables are well-defined at each stage of work progress. So, if the quality is being compromised at any particular stage, it can be corrected right away before moving to the next stage.

Referring to the project scope at each stage saves a lot of time and resources and makes it easier to track the quality as well.

#9: Managing Multiple Projects

In most cases, a Project Manager is managing multiple projects at the same time. It can become overwhelming for him/her to handle multiple projects if the project scope is not clear.

It’s an important skill to learn for a Project Manager to handle multiple projects.

A clear project scope for each project can make it easier for a Project Manager to handle multiple projects simultaneously. It separates each project into its list of tasks and deadlines. This keeps the multiple projects separated from each other and avoids confusion among the team members.

It helps you keep track of how much more work you can take or drop if required so that none of the projects is hampered in the process.

Project Scope Management

Now that we know what project scope is and why it’s important, we also need to know how best to manage our project scope effectively.

Project Scope Management is an elaborative process by which a Project Manager defines the scope of a project. This mostly involves controlling whether something is a part of a project or not.

It consists of the following steps:

1. Plan Scope Management: In this step, create a plan based on the customer’s input and expectations.
2. Collect Requirements: For this step, collect and document all the information regarding the project. This sets clear expectations between both parties and tunes out any confusion.
3. Define the Scope: After collecting all the information regarding the project, define the scope of work with data collected as a reference. This is the basis of all the decisions of whether something is a part of a project or not.
4. Plan the Work: A Work Breakdown Structure is an important part of project scope management. A project needs to be broken down into manageable chunks with deadlines to work without getting overwhelmed. This also tracks the progress of a project and aids in delivering it on time.
5. Validate the scope: A Project Manager needs to inspect whether the project they are working on matches the project scope they defined. This involves feedback, suggestions and advice at the end of each phase of a project.
6. Control the Scope: This involves keeping track of the required changes in the scope of the project to better align the project and requirements.

All of these steps, if performed right, form a well-structured project scope and help in the smooth progress of any project.

Scope Creep and the Possible Pitfalls

Scope Creep Meaning

In a very interesting conference paper titled “Top five causes of scope creep… and what to do about them” by Richard and Elizabeth Larson (both well-known project management experts) for PMI (Project Management Institute) back in October 2009, they defined scope creep as follows:

“Scope creep: Adding additional features or functions of a new product, requirements, or work that is not authorised (i.e., beyond the agreed-upon scope).”

In the same section of the paper, they also stress an important point: that the key part is whether the changes to a project’s scope and direction are authorised or not.

“If an expansion of scope is approved, then it is not scope creep.” 

The conference paper is a fascinating read specifically dealing with scope creep, how it happens and what to avoid. I personally found it a remarkable source of information while researching this article.

I found from having read numerous articles and research papers on the topic of scope creep that the following are common pitfalls and causes for the creep to occur that we need to be aware of, and ideally prevent:

1. Unclear parameters of the original specification documents for the projects.
2. Vague detailing in the original scope.
3. Changes seem too small or insignificant to bother the client about.
4. Some want to add “extra value” and overdeliver for their clients.
5. Starting the project before all necessary needs analyses are complete such as costs, resources, etc.

Creep Pitfalls

It is important that we know what can cause scope creep to occur and to reduce it as much as possible. These creep features lead to a number of issues as the project continues. We:

1. Spend extra time on creep areas than on the original and agreed project.
2. Create increased costs, additional to the original budget.
3. Risk missing the agreed deadlines for the project.
4. Create the need for additional approval from legislative boards, depending on the project.
5. Add undue pressure and stress to the project team by veering off course and adding new elements.

It is essential that Project Managers are able to control the amount of scope creep that occurs during the course of their project. Otherwise, the project fails.

Project Scope in Action – 5 Easy Steps

We have a project to complete and are tasked with others in the team to define our project scope. Follow the below steps for the best results.

#1: Set Clear Objectives and Goals

First, ensure you have clear goals and objectives for the project. Otherwise, you’re starting on the wrong footing. Many projects fail due to bad planning. Therefore, this important first step is essential to set the tone and direction. Make your goals and objectives S.M.A.R.T.

#2: Define Your Resource Needs

Here, we look at all the required resources. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Budget
• Timeframes/deadlines
• Manpower
• Physical equipment and tools, including IT and software

It’s important to have all of these details clear. Remember, the scope is about creating boundaries and ensuring projects stay on track.

#3: Write Your Statement

Here, your scope statement solidifies the nature of your project, the direction it takes and the expected end result. The statement includes:

1. Ultimate goals and objectives of the project.
2. Purpose of the project.
3. Project resources (manpower, budget, resources, etc.)
4. Timeframes for deliverables.
5. Possible barriers and obstacles – how to overcome them.
6. Potential scope creep areas of concern.

#4: Include the Stakeholders to Create Buy-In

Remember, for any project to succeed, buy-in from all parties involved is crucial. Therefore, do the following:

• Hold regular meetings with your project team from day one to discuss the key elements of the project, especially the project scope.
• Assign clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
• Provide regular feedback to the client on all benchmark timeframes.
• Promote teamwork and collaboration for a better flow of work.
• Manage the project budget effectively.
• Review key timeframes ahead of time to monitor progress.
• Provide quality work tools and resources for the work to proceed in a proper manner.
• Recognise and appreciate your team when milestones in the project are reached.

#5: Create a Change Protocol Procedure – Have a Plan B

Finally, for every project, you need a Plan B. This is your change strategy. Have ideas in place BEFORE the project starts. As they say, “Prevention is better than cure”. Therefore, prepare. Know what possible barriers the project might face and have options available. Create an understanding with the project team of what these changes might look like.

Final Thoughts

Project scope is the most efficient method of finishing projects and helps you become a better project manager. It provides you with a clear picture of any project from the outset and keeps difficulties to a minimum at all stages of project progress.

Also, it aids in negotiating all of the changes that occur throughout the course of a project in the most efficient manner feasible. As a result, in order to handle projects correctly, every Project Manager must develop their project scope management abilities.

Use MBM (Making Business Matter) for more useful project management resources, such as articles on our award-winning blog, as well as reach out to our team for advice and training courses that can help you and your team. Also, check out our amazing selection of coaching cards, with over 30 different decks available.

Updated: May 2024 by Ailish O’Rourke-Henriette