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It is important to have a written record of changes to the scope of a project. On the least complex projects, an e-mail message can be sufficient, but on larger projects a standard form is normally used. The following steps are paraphrased by Tom Mochal, 1 and they have the necessary components of a change documentation process:
- Inform project stakeholders of the change request process.
- Require that the change request is made in writing, including the business value of the change to the project.
- Enter the request in the scope change log.
- Estimate the time needed to evaluate the change. If the evaluation process is time consuming and would affect activity completion dates by diverting management resources, get approval from the project sponsor to evaluate the change request. If the evaluation is not approved, record the decision in the scope change log.
- Evaluate the change and its impact on the schedule and budget if the evaluation is approved.
- Present the change request to the project sponsor for approval. Record the decision in the scope change log with the recommended course of action.
- Distribute the scope change log periodically to team members so they know what changes are being considered and what happened to those that were not approved or evaluated.
- If the change is approved, update the project charter or other initiation documents.
- Update the work plan.
- Distribute the revised work plan to stakeholders and team members.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Scope is a description of the major tasks that are included in the project and some of the tasks that are specifically not included. More complex projects require more detailed and specific scope documents.
- A scope document is used to provide the project team with the information it needs to design and implement the project plan. It provides understanding of the purpose of the project and what project success would be.
- The scope document begins as a draft that is circulated for comments by the team, client, and in some cases, key vendors. The final draft is approved by the client or sponsor. Changes to the scope are documented carefully using standard forms and processes and approved by the project sponsor or client.
EXERCISES
- How is the scope statement affected by the complexity of the project?
- What negative aspect of the scope statement is important?
- What are the uses of a scope statement?
- Once a scope statement is agreed to, how is it changed and what is always required when a scope statement is changed?
Internalize your learning experience by preparing to discuss the following.
Describe a situation where the elements of the project scope did not specifically exclude an activity that caused a misunderstanding.
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