Chapter 5:

Project Scope Management

King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals

SWE 417: Software Project Management
Semester: 072
 Learning Objectives
ƒ Explain the scope planning process and describe the
contents of a scope management plan.
ƒ Describe the process for developing a project scope
statement.
ƒ Discuss the scope definition process and work involved
in constructing a work breakdown structure.
ƒ Explain the importance of scope verification.
ƒ Understand the importance of scope control and
approaches for preventing scope-related problems on IT
projects.

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 What is Project Scope Management?
ƒ Scope refers to all the work involved in creating the
products of the project and the processes used to create
them.

ƒ A deliverable is a product produced as part of a

project, such as hardware or software, planning
documents, or meeting minutes.

ƒ 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
ƒ Scope planning: Deciding how the scope will be defined,
verified, and controlled.
ƒ Scope definition: Reviewing the project charter and
preliminary scope statement and adding more information
as requirements are developed and change requests are
approved.
ƒ Creating the WBS: Subdividing the major project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable components.
ƒ Scope verification: Formalizing acceptance of the
project scope.
ƒ Scope control: Controlling changes to project scope.

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 Scope Planning and the Scope
Management Plan
ƒ 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.

ƒ Key inputs include the project charter, preliminary

scope statement, and project management plan.

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 Sample Project Charter

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 Sample Project Charter (cont’d)

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 Scope Definition and the
Project Scope Statement

ƒ The preliminary scope statement, project charter,

organizational process assets, and approved change
requests provide a basis for creating the project scope
statement.

ƒ As time progresses, the scope of a project should

become clearer and more specific.

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 Further Defining Project Scope

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 Creating the Work Breakdown
Structure (WBS)
ƒ A WBS is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work
involved in a project that defines the total scope of the
project.

ƒ A WBS is a foundation document that provides the

basis for planning and managing project schedules,
costs, resources, and changes.

ƒ Decomposition is subdividing project deliverables into

smaller pieces.

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 Sample Intranet WBS
Organized by Phase

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 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 Project 2000

Project 98 file

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 Intranet Gantt Chart Organized by Project
Management Process Groups

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 Approaches to Developing WBSs
ƒ Guidelines: Some organizations, such as the DOD,
provide guidelines for preparing WBSs.
ƒ Analogy approach: Review WBSs of similar projects
and tailor to your project.
ƒ Top-down approach: Start with the largest items of
the project and break them down.
ƒ Bottom-up approach: Start with the specific tasks and
roll them up.
ƒ Mind-mapping approach: Write tasks in a non-linear,
branching format and then create the WBS structure.

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 Sample Mind-Mapping Approach

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 Resulting WBS in Chart Form

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 The WBS Dictionary and Scope Baseline
ƒ Many WBS tasks are vague and must be explained in
more detail so people know what to do and can
estimate how long the work will take and what it will
cost.
ƒ A WBS dictionary is a document that describes
detailed information about each WBS item.
ƒ 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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 Advice for Creating a WBS and WBS
Dictionary*
ƒ A unit of work should appear in only one place in the WBS.
ƒ The work content of a WBS item is the sum of the WBS items
below it.
ƒ A WBS item is the responsibility of only one individual, even
though many people may be working on it.
ƒ 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, 2nd
edition (New York: McGraw-Hill 1994).
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 Advice for Creating a WBS and WBS
Dictionary (cont’d)*
ƒ Project team members should be involved in developing the
WBS to ensure consistency and buy-in.
ƒ Each WBS item must be documented in a WBS dictionary to
ensure accurate understanding of the scope of work that is
included and not included in that item.
ƒ 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, 2nd
edition (New York: McGraw-Hill 1994).

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 Scope Verification
ƒ It is very difficult to create a good scope statement and
WBS for a project.
ƒ It is even more difficult to verify project scope and
minimize scope changes.
ƒ Scope verification involves formal acceptance of the
completed project scope by the stakeholders.
ƒ Many IT projects suffer from scope creep and poor
scope verification.

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 Scope Control
ƒ Scope control involves controlling changes to the
project scope.
ƒ Goals of scope control are to:
ƒ Influence the factors that cause scope changes.
ƒ Ensure changes are processed according to procedures
developed as part of integrated change control.
ƒ Manage changes when they occur.

ƒ Variance is the difference between planned and actual

performance.

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Suggestions for Improving User Input
ƒ Develop a good project selection process and insist that
sponsors are from the user organization.
ƒ Place users on the project team in important roles.
ƒ Hold regular meetings with defined agendas, and have
users sign off on key deliverables presented at
meetings.
ƒ Deliver something to users and sponsors on a regular
basis.
ƒ Don’t promise to deliver when you know you can’t.
ƒ Co-locate users with developers.
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 Suggestions for Reducing Incomplete and
Changing Requirements
ƒ Develop and follow a requirements management
process.

ƒ Use techniques such as prototyping, use case modeling,

and workshops to get more user involvement.

ƒ Put requirements in writing and keep them current.

ƒ Create a requirements management database for

documenting and controlling requirements.

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 Suggestions for Reducing Incomplete
and Changing Requirements (cont’d)
ƒ Conduct adequate testing throughout the project life
cycle.

ƒ Review changes from a systems perspective.

ƒ Emphasize completion dates to help focus on what’s

most important.

ƒ Allocate resources specifically for handling change

requests and enhancements.

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 Using Software to Assist in Project
Scope Management
ƒ Word-processing software helps create scope-related
documents.
ƒ Spreadsheets help perform financial calculations and
weighed scoring models, and help develop charts and
graphs.
ƒ Communication software, such as e-mail and the Web,
helps clarify and communicate scope information.
ƒ Project management software helps create a WBS, the basis
for tasks on a Gantt chart.
ƒ Specialized software is available to assist in project scope
management.
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 Chapter Summary
ƒ 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.
ƒ Main processes include:
ƒ Scope planning
ƒ Scope definition
ƒ WBS creation
ƒ Scope verification
ƒ Scope control

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