Marginalia

• Scope Definition is not only the process which initially writes the project scope statement. Scope Definition is its iteratively rewriting: scope changings must be managed and influence the project scope statement. In this sense approved change requests can become input of the scope definition process too.

• The Project Scope Statement is the nearly most important document of the project manager: It is the project medium par exellence, because it contains an aggregated view of nearly all aspects. Therefore it should not be a surprise that many other project management processes use the project scope statement as input.

• There is a little trap: The Project Management Plan is the collection of all documents generated by the sub processes of the process Develop Project Management Plan. Hence the Project Scope Statement is part of the Project Management Plan. But it is not part of the Project Scope Management Plan, which itself is generated by the process Scope Planning and by which only the scope defining methods are defined (not the scope itself). And of course the Project Scope Management Plan itself is member of the Project Management Plan, because the process Scope Planning is a child process of the process Develop Project Management Plan.

• On the one hand Scope Definition leads to the commitment of the project owner and his stakeholders that they want to get these results and nothing more or different. On the other hand this process leads to the commitment of the project manager and his stakeholders that they want to get these results and nothing more or different. To get such common and consistent commitments is the aim of the process Scope Definition. Hence it is an intrinsic task of this process to list and analyse the involved stakeholders and their interests, namely if they have disturbing interests.

(2.2) Scope Definition

(2.2.1) Process Input

... generated by predecessor processes

... introduced by external units

  • Organizational Process Assets

(2.2.2) Process Definition

Scope Definition is the process which generates (refines) the Project Scope Statement "[...]  as basis for future project decisions" (comp. PMBOK3, p. 103): The Project Charter as initially generated 'wish-list' of the project owner / sponsor and the Preliminary Project Scope Statement as first answer of the project manager are the base of this process: Scope Definition builds the detailed Project Scope Statament "[...] upon the major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints that are documented during project initiation [...]" (comp. PMBOK3, p. 109):

The subject Scope operates on the base of other scope concerning concepts

(2.2.3) Tools and Techniques

PMBOK Mentioned Methods

  • Product Analysis thinks the target of the project as a product whose parts and features can be analyzed and described: if you have defined all parts of the result, all features of those parts and all context sensitive constraints, you will (better) be able to describe, what you have to do for realizing that target or result
  • Alternatives identification tries to find other possibilities or solutions for identified aspects by using "general management techniques" like "brainstorming" or "lateral thinking"
  • Expert Judgement is used to deduce details of the project scope statement on the base of their knowledge and the preliminary project scope statement.
  • Stakeholder analysis the identification and description of anyone who has influence on and interests in the project, which also can be "negative"

(comp. PMBOK3, p. 110)

Open Source Tools

  • myPmpsFactory offers a structured template for project scope statements. This template can be edited by Open Office 3 (Impress).

(2.2.4) Process Output

  • The Project Scope Statement describes the detailed target of the project by defining the deliverables, necessary steps and detailed features of the result. It ...
    • contains the "measurable success criteria" as project objectives
    • describes features of the target / result as product scope description
    • lists conditions and capabilities which must be respected
    • describes, what is in the scope, and lists explicitely what is out of scope
    • explains constraints which must be respected
    • describes assumptions which are intergated into the base until corrections will be known
    • contains the initial project organization
    • lists initial defined risks
    • contains basic schedule milestones which must be met
    • contains the first cost estimation
    • describes the requirements concerning the configuration management and change control
    • lists project specifications and approval requirements
  • Requested Changes are generated, if the refinement of project scope statement evokes changes of other parts of the project management plan.
  • Updates of the Project Scope Management Plan can become necessary by a refinement of project scope statement

 (comp. PMBOK3, pp. 110ff)

(2.2.5) The Output Using Sucessor Processes

Successors using the initially generated output as own input(1):

Processes using the updates as input(2):

  1. For details see FAQ::Q001:1
  2. For details see FAQ::Q001:2