how to set task scope limits
IN previous article from the cycle, we talked about what a group of processes and areas of knowledge are. To understand how to manage a project, it is important to be aware of the difference between the concepts. We also clarified that according to PMBoK, in order to obtain high-quality results, you need to pay attention to 9 areas of expertise. In this article we will tell you what is included in one of them. Project Scope Management – Manage project timelines, required tasks, and customer expectations needed to achieve results. Why this is so important, read the article.
What is project scope management
First, let’s distinguish between two terms:
Product content – features and functionality that it should have. These are the wishes of the client and his vision of the result. For example, if the product is a house, then its content includes the area of the building, the number of rooms and floors, the presence of a bathroom and a kitchen. Controlled in accordance with agreed requirements.
Project content – the tasks that need to be performed in order to obtain and transfer to the customer a product with the desired properties. Project activities are controlled by the project plan.
Project Scope Management is a field of knowledge that is needed to:
identify and add to the project the work that is needed for the successful release of the product;
control the content of the project;
set boundaries for the volume of tasks, going beyond which will not give a noticeable increase in quality, but will only delay the release of the product.
The main task is to understand what is important and what is not. You need to focus on the really important tasks and distribute this amount of tasks among team members.
Content cannot be created by one person. All stakeholders should be involved in this process. For example, you want to build a house. It is important to understand what the result should be: a solid foundation, two floors, finished wiring and interior decoration. This information can be obtained from the customer when drawing up the TOR and then determine the boundaries of the project. Project content management also includes the coordination of planned work with the project team: builders, designers, window and door installers.
The description of the content is recorded in a separate document, which can be either an annex to the project plan, or an independent material. It depends on what you are doing.
The Importance of Project Scope Management
Let’s imagine a situation where at the beginning the team did not pay attention to the content of the project. Then, for example, during the construction of a house, interested parties can add additional requirements to the finished product: fine finishing of the premises, gas supply. Because in the understanding of the customer, this is a “ready-made house”. As a result, the team will deal with tasks that were not previously discussed. The deadline for the original project will be pushed back and the quality of the product will be worse.
This can be avoided in the following way: describe the content of the project and agree it with interested parties. Then everyone will imagine what it consists of. Thanks to the content, you can imagine the entire life cycle of the project and check whether the goals are achievable.
Gathering Requirements
Gathering Requirements is project management at the earliest stage. And do not underestimate the quality of training. The process helps to identify, document and manage the needs and requirements of interested parties in order to achieve results.
A need is a general description of the participants’ expectations. For example, an online store should be user-friendly and drive sales.
A requirement is a clear description of the product that the customer wants to receive. In an online store, you need to develop a catalog for each category of goods and a filter by price, material, size.
The more carefully the team can form the requirements for the project and product, the better the result will be. Information must be measurable. When collecting requirements, the desires of the customer are identified and evaluated. This is also where expectations are managed.
Requirements classes
To better understand what the requirements classes are and what they are responsible for, let’s give an example. There is an offline women’s clothing store “Your wardrobe” in Chelyabinsk. The management decided to deliver goods throughout Russia in order to increase sales. To do this, you need to create an online store.
Business Requirements. They describe the needs of the company: problems or favorable conditions, as well as factors that made the project necessary. Now the income in the store is 200,000 ₽, the expenses are also somewhere there. Profitability is so-so. The management decides to create an online store to attract people from other cities and increase profits by 20%.
Product Requirements. Describe the features and characteristics that will help you achieve your business requirements. For example, the site should have delivery systems and a chat with the manager. Then management will be able to increase profits by 20%.
Functional requirements. Describe the behavior of the product. For example, you need synchronization with a warehouse and a dimensional grid.
Non-functional requirements. Describe the conditions that are needed to ensure the effectiveness of the product: reliability, performance and security. The online store data is stored on one of the popular hostings, and the site itself loads in 100 ms.
Transition Requirements. The time frame within which to move from the current “as is” state to the “as it should be” state in the future. The store “Your dressing room” plans to launch the site in 3 months.
quality requirements. Criteria are described by which it is possible to determine whether the result meets expectations. Now the women’s clothing store “Your wardrobe” has an online store, and it receives traffic and orders.
Requirements Gathering Process
Identification of participants and interested parties.
Identification of requirements.
Analysis and distribution of requirements by class.
Formation of documents.
Coordination and approval.
Definition of content
Definition of content – the process of forming a point description of the project and product. It is necessary to describe the boundaries of the product, taking into account the identified requirements. To do this, use the charter and documents with requirements.
The scope of the project is determined during planning and changed when new information becomes available. It may include the following items:
Product content. For example, you need to build a house of 100 m2, which will have 4 rooms, 2 floors, as well as a rough finish, electricity and plumbing.
List of results. They built the foundation, erected walls, installed the front door, installed heating and electricity.
Eligibility Criteria. Whether the legal requirements for building a house and fire safety are observed, whether the building matches the development plan.
Restrictions. For example, construction work can only be carried out from 9:00 to 22:00, as this interferes with neighbors.
To determine the content, you need to conduct an assessment with an expert and a seminar with a moderator, analyze the product, find alternatives.
Creation of the WIS
Hierarchical structure of works is a way of breaking down project deliverables and tasks into smaller pieces that are easier to manage. The lower the RSI level, the more detailed the required actions are. Such a structure combines the current content of the project and the works indicated in it.
To generate an ISR, you need to use decomposition. That is, divide the results until the work packages are obtained.
Packages are the smallest unit of work into which a project can be broken down. This is the building block of the project. It consists of related activities that will help complete the project and create the desired outcome. The example below shows a breakdown of the task groups that make up each subsection.
Content Confirmation
Content Confirmation – the process of accepting the finished results of the project and their verification together with the customer.
This process is not like quality control. It is aimed precisely at accepting the results, and not at their evaluation. Quality control considers compliance with the specified product performance requirements.
In order to understand whether the work and results meet the requirements and parameters for product acceptance, it is important to conduct an inspection. It includes measurement, diagnostics and confirmation.
As a result of this stage, the team receives:
Accepted Results. For example, walls were erected for 4 rooms.
Bug Fix Requests. The customer initially wanted to combine the kitchen with the living room, but then changed his mind.
Completed Results, which were not formally accepted, are fixed in writing, indicating the reasons. Such results may require a change request to correct the defect. The team made 1 socket in the kitchen, and the customer needs 3.
Content control
Content management – the process of monitoring the status of the project and the content of the product, as well as change management. This includes reviewing all requested edits.
During the scope validation process, there may be additional requirements or changes that need to be made to the project. All of them are fixed at the stage of control.
Change requests may be denied or approved. In the first case, the team indicates the reasons for the refusal. If the change is accepted, then it is added to the scope of the project and analyzed at the stages of evaluation, development and verification.
Project Scope Control controls all possible changes as well as corrective actions. This process should be approached carefully. If edits are not managed, then there is a high probability that the project will “bloat”. This means that more time resources will be required.
Conclusion
In the article, we showed what a content management plan consists of. It will help stakeholders to understand what work is planned and what results to expect. The more precisely the requirements are formulated, the less likely changes will occur. This is convenient for both the project team and the customer. After all, why experience unnecessary stress if you can form the content of the project and product and be confident in the results.
