Scope
General
When most people consider a project they think about the cost (C), time factor (T) and quality (Q) but the scope can be left out.
It is important to consider the limitations of the project.
It is necessary to think about what is included but equally what isn’t for the project, and define limits for these.
The scope of the project represents boundaries that the project could cross but shouldn’t and these need to be defined.
What and who are impacted?
For example, will running the current project affect other projects, sites, groups or jobs?
Consider non users of the project’s product.
Is the project local or does it have wider application and impact?
State the project boundaries in the Project Notebook.
The scope of the project is part of the Project Mandate within PRINCE2® 2005.
[see Starting up a Project (SU) - part 1].
The trigger for the project is the Project Mandate.
This will range from a verbal request to a complete Project Brief and will normally be provided by corporate and programme management.
[see Starting up a Project (SU) - part 5 - Preparing a Project Brief (SU4)]
The Project Mandate under PRINCE2 2009 is provided by the commissioning organization (corporate or programme management) and can vary in form from a verbal instruction to a well-defined and justified project definition.
[see Introduction to processes - The PRINCE2 journey - Pre-project]
Under PRINCE2 2009 [see ‘The Complete Project Management plus PRINCE2’] further detail in this area is included in the Project Brief and the Project Initiation Documentation.
[see Starting up a project – Activities - Select the project approach and assemble the Project Brief]
It ensures that the project approach is clearly understood between customer and supplier, and does not jeopardize the project in any way.
An agreed Project Brief ensures that the project has a commonly understood and well-defined start point.
The Project Brief as part of the Project Definition contains:
- Background
- Project objectives (covering time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefit performance goals)
- Desired outcomes (note: not in the Project Initiation Documentation)
- Project scope and exclusions
- Constraints and assumptions
- Project tolerances (note: not in the Project Initiation Documentation)
- The user(s) and any other known interested parties
- Interfaces
The Project Initiation Documentation, as part of its content, extracts the Project Definition section from the Project Brief. [see Initiating a project – Activities - Assemble the Project Initiation Documentation]
PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.