Scope Management Plan Template

The scope is one of the most important aspects of a project. Since it is possible to reach all of the following estimates of time, work and costs accurately. In addition, the scope is one of the edges of the triangle of project management (scope, cost and time).

The scope management plan is a component of the project or program management plan that describes how the scope will be defined, developed, monitored, controlled and verified. The development of the scope management plan and the detailing of the project scope begin with the analysis of information contained in the project charter, the latest approved subsidiary plans of the project management plan, historical information contained in the organizational process assets and any other relevant enterprise environmental factors. This plan helps reduce the risk of project scope creep. ^[1]

To elaborate the scope management plan is important to use expert judgment and meetings tools. Expert judgment refers to input received from knowledgeable and experienced parties. In other hand, project teams may attend project meetings to develop scope management plan. Attendees to these meetings may include the project manager, the project sponsor, selected project team members, selected stakeholders, anyone with responsibility for any of the scope management processes, and others as needed. ^[1]

The scope management plan will be the inputs to collect requirements before to prepare the scope statement. It is important to elaborate it with precision because is the beginning of the work and cost estimations.

How to document the Scope Management Plan?

This article is based on the scope management plan template designed by Balu^[2]. The template shows the most important things that we need to consider for the scope management subsidiary plan.

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The template has seven sections: Executive summary, business objectives, project description, project milestones, project approaches, authorizations and approvals.

Executive Summary

1.  Executive Summary
Provide below a brief overview of this project (e.g., project purpose and justification):
Information in the project summary area was developed during the project concept phase (Project Charter) and should be included here.  Provide a link to the Project Charter for reference.	Link_To_Project_Charter
Note:  In any instance where there is a discrepancy between the Project Charter and the Project Scope Statement, the latter is considered authoritative.

 

Business objectives

In this section the project objectives and detailed description of the product are described.

2.  Business Objectives
2.1  Product Description (Solution):	Describe what this project will produce
2.2  Business Objectives:	What specific business impact will this project have?  Business Objectives should be objectively measurable.

 

Project description

This section describes the scope of the project and an initial list of deliverables, external dependencies, constraints and assumptions specified.

3.  Project Description
For each area below, provide sufficient detail to define this project adequately:
3.1  Project Scope
Includes:	List primary Project Deliverables
Does Not Include:	For clarification, list what is not included in this project
3.2  External Dependencies:		Who outside the project team will you depend on for successful completion of this project?
3.3  Assumptions / Constraints:		e.g. mandated completion date, staffing limitations, etc.

 

Project milestones

4.  Project Milestones
4.1   Estimated Schedule	Key project milestones relative to project start are as follows. (Insert rows as needed):
Project Milestone		Target Date (MM/DD/YYYY)
·         Project Start
·
·
·
·         Project Complete

 

Project approaches

This section includes all material and formal aspects of the project. Specific aspects are plans will be developed, change requests administration, new requirements, meetings, reports, criteria for success and acceptance of deliverables.

5.  Project Approach
Describe Primary Plans briefly in the space below.
Will the project have formal written plans – i.e., Project Schedule, Budget, Resource?
How will project issues be dealt with?
How will Change Requests be dealt with?
List any scheduled project team meetings, planned status reports:

 

Authorizations

This section is important to identify people who will authorize, approve and accept documents, changes and project deliverables.

6.  Authorizations
Modify as necessary
The Scope Statement, Project Schedule, Resource Plan and Project Budget are approved by the:
·         Project Sponsor
·         Project Manager
Project performance baseline changes will be approved by the:
·         Project Sponsor
·         Project Manager
Project deliverables will be approved/accepted by the:
·         Project Sponsor
·         Key Stakeholders

 

Approvals

This section you have to indicate the information of the project, project manager and the people involved in the reviews and approvals of the document.

7.  Approval / Signatures
Project Name:
Project Manager:
The purpose of this document is to provide a vehicle for documenting the initial planning efforts for the project. It is used to reach a satisfactory level of mutual agreement between the Project Manager and the Project Sponsors and Owners with respect to the objectives and scope of the project before significant resources are committed and expenses incurred.
I have reviewed the information contained in this Project Scope Management Plan  and agree:
Name		Role	Signature	Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

 

Reference

^{[1] Project Management Base of Knowledge Project Management Institute.}

^{[2] Scope Management Plan Template by Balasubramanian.C PMP®,ITIL®,PRINCE2®,COBIT®5}