Unit 8 – Project Management Lesson 4 –definition of scope

Today’s lesson By the end of the lesson All students should be able to: Understand what is meant by definition of scope Most students should be able to: Create a basic definition of scope of their project Some students should be able to: Apply their knowledge to design a well thought out definition of scope that is fit for purpose

Definition of scope Once you have approval to go ahead you must set out the plans of what is to be achieved and when. This is known as setting out the scope of your project.

Reasons for undertaking the project You must define clearly what your project aims to achieve, and why. This should be established in your project proposal, but here you must expand on this so that it is clear to all people concerned.

Objectives of the project This is a statement of what the project aims to achieve. What is the objective of creating the MLE web page for your department?

Key success criteria ICT staff often measure a project’s success in three ways. They may ask was it delivered: 1.To the specification 2.On time? 3.Within budget?

Constraints The project definition should state any known obstacles or constraints that may stand in the way of completing the project. For example: 1.Financial – the amount of money to spend 2.ICT staff – are the skills needed available? 3.ICT equipment – Do you have the equipment to complete the project? 4.User resources – The users may be unavailable for training during the peak business season.

Areas of risk All projects face risks. You should consider them and think about things you could do to prevent them from happening. Some risks could include: 1.Takeover or merger 2.There is a change in the business structure 3.The availability of staff with the right technical skills 4.Integration of different technologies

Project roadmap This is a rough estimate of what will be delivered and when. It also sets out which parts of the system will be delivered and when.

Resource requirements People, materials, equipment and time are all resources that need to be accounted for. The project definition should explain how all of these things will be used.

Project stakeholders The stakeholders are the people involved in a project. They are the people: 1.Who the project team are completing the project for. 2.Who do the work to make the project happen. 3.Whom the project affects.

Interim review points/phases Projects are divided into stages which are called phases. There is usually an interim review point after each phase.

Project deliverables Clear objectives are crucial, and many of the stakeholders will judge the success of the project on how closely the objectives have been met. Have the objectives been met on time.

Quality criteria for deliverables A deliverable will often have quality criteria it must need. This could include: 1.How well it meets the definition 2.How few bugs there are 3.How easy it is to use

Target completion date A target completion date should be set for each part of the project. This helps to keep track on how well a project is going. Decisions must be made whether to change completion dates if things do not go according to plan