Essay On Project Scope

Kerzner (2009) tells us that the “Project scope defines the work that must be accomplished to produce a deliverable with specified features or functions.” The scope must be an accurate and agreed statement of what the customer wants delivered in order for them to view the project as a success. It is important that both the project team and the customer have a clear, unambiguous understanding of what is expected from both parties. If there are any open questions, then there’s the possibility that assumptions are made. This may not be an issue, but any assumptions must be documented and agreed throughout the project.

The project team worked to avoid the possibility of scope creep by having a well defined and agreed set of deliverables. Both BECA and AAL produced a project delivery methodology report which highlighted six other key objectives;

These objectives were the foundation of the project charter for the team, which comprised member from BECA, Fulton Hogan and Adelaide Airport Limited.

In order to reduce the possibility of scope creep, a project management needs to implement a stringent Change Management process once the scope has been agreed by all parties. Any changes to the scope must be investigated for potential impact – negative or positive – on the overall cost, quality or timeline. Any change to one of these elements, traditionally called the iron triangle or the triple constraint of project management, will impact the other areas.

A work Breakdown Structure may be used to define the projects deliverables. This divides the overall project into smaller work packages, which can be easier to allocate costs and estimated timeframes for delivery against.

A thorough Work Breakdown Structure can be used to guide the a...

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... the risk matrix.

The use of a Stakeholder Communication Plan is essential in managing good communications. This depends on the soft and the hard skills of the project team, its ability to build strong relationships and bonds of trust with the stakeholders, but it also relies on good planning. The level of detail and frequency of data is different for each group and needs to be scaled to match the size and complexity of the project against the interests of the audience. A small project with formal, data rich communications or and a large formal complex project with ad hoc informal communications will be poorly received by stakeholders - the appropriate communication strategy should be chosen in relation to the project’s size and complexity.
The communications plan should identify each of the stakeholders and cover the various aspects of the interaction