The purpose and importance of project scope management.

Every project manager wishes that his or her project proceeds smoothly from beginning to end without delay and without exceeding the budget. In reality, however, this rarely happens.

There is always something that changes the scope of the project during its course, even if you plan out all the details in advance with all the stakeholders involved. In the course of project management, unforeseen changes are inevitable. However, instituting proper change control procedures mitigates the effects of these changes. Adding extra work and requiring extra budget and resources may impact your ability to deliver on target. Poorly managed or uncontrolled changes can damage your project severely, leading to missed deadlines, budget overruns, and even project failure.

The scope of your project should be clearly defined to ensure effective stakeholder management and alignment with the project’s objectives, thereby increasing the probability of success.

What is Project Management?

The term “Project Scope Management” describes a set of processes that must be followed before the final delivery of a product, service, or result depending on its features or capabilities. A focus of scope management is “how we get there.” Alternatively, a better statement may be “what’s the process we follow to get there?” In order to complete the project, project managers and supervisors define and map these steps in order to determine how much work will be needed and how the team should prioritize its efforts.

This section provides a comprehensive description of all aspects of a project, including all activities, resources, timelines, and deliverables, as well as its boundaries. The project scope statement explains in detail what the project is all about, what’s included and what’s not, along with key stakeholders, processes, assumptions, and constraints. All of this crucial information is included in the scope statement.

The Project Scope Management Process Includes Three Steps.

• Planning- In this phase, the project is defined and the steps (or processes) required to implement it are determined.
• Controlling- In this phase a project manager oversees, manages and monitors the progress of a project. This includes documenting, tracking scope creep, for each phase of the project, and disapproving change requests as they arise.
• Closing- It involves reviewing the project deliverables, assessing the results against the original plan, and wrapping up the process.

The Importance of Project Scope Management.

One of the most challenging tasks project managers face is managing the expectations of stakeholders and clients. By clearly defining the scope of the project, project managers can easily stay on track and adhere to deadlines during the project lifecycle. When project scope is effectively managed, it provides an understanding of the time, labour, cost, and resources involved in the project. It allows us to determine what is essential for the completion of the project and what isn’t. An important aspect of project management is defining the scope of the project from the beginning to address factors that might change during the project lifecycle.

The project scope management process will help in various aspects listed below-

• Facilitate informed decision making during a project.
• Assesses risks and plans mitigation measures.
• Ensures the right expectations are set for stakeholders.
• By bringing stakeholders together, you can facilitate effective communications.
• Establishes priorities that keep projects on track and reduces unplanned work to save money and time.
• Helps clients, workload balancing, and team morale by managing their expectations.

Why is Better Project Planning Necessary?

If you don’t plan and manage your project properly, you’re more likely to waste time in the long run. According to a study, 80% of people spend at least half of their time on rework. A few extra minutes of planning could have avoided losing that many valuable hours.

• Align stakeholder interests from the beginning, so you can get buy-in, minimize client pushback, and set the scope of the project.
• Make sure everyone understands exactly what their roles are and when they should accomplish them.
• It is imperative to flag the risks prior to your project so you know what to look out for. These warning signs will vary from project to project.
• Don’t take planning for granted. Having plans doesn’t mean you can’t change or adapt. Best plans leave room for wiggle-room so you’re able to stay flexible and adaptable.

By defining the scope of a project, teams can keep track of all their work in an efficient manner. A project scope that is effective ensures the project gets started on the right path, is completed on time and on budget, and meets the expectations of the end-user.