Importance of Effective Project Scope Management  

Friday 13th September 2024

1.    Ensures Both Clients and Vendors Appreciate The Impact of Scope Changes on Time and Cost – Scope changes do not occur in a vacuum. Initial Project Time and Cost estimates are established using a baseline set of requirements, which form the initial Project Scope. When these requirements are changed or additional requirements are brought ‘in-to-scope', this initial scope is altered. This can have a knock-on effect on the associated delivery timeline and costs. Whilst Vendors will be keen to please clients and tend to adopt a ‘can do' attitude when to comes to implementing additional requirements, it is important that both Clients and Vendors are aware of / aligned on the associated time and cost impacts. These impacts should be complied by Vendors and subsequently reviewed / accepted by Clients before changes are implemented.

2.    Resources Are Clear On Their Responsibilities & Solely Focused on ‘In-Scope' Requirements – When a Project's scope has been well-defined and is understood by the Delivery Team, each Developer is clear on their responsibilities. In turn, these resources can exclusively focus their time and effort on building a solution which satisfies the requirements agreed between the Client and Vendor, without distraction. Attention is not diverted towards developing for emerging / additional requirements which may or may not come ‘in-to-scope' in the future. This ensures the allocated time for project delivery is used wisely and avoids ‘Scope Creep’ which can extend timelines & significantly increase costs.

3.    Increased Project Control – A defined scope for a given Project Phase allows for a baseline to be established. This baseline is captured as a part of Project Planning and allows for project progress to be monitored and measured at regular intervals. This allows Clients to hold Vendors accountable, ensuring they deliver what is promised, on time and within budget.  

4.    Increased Client Stakeholder Satisfaction – When Clients' have a clear understanding of what will be delivered, when it will be delivered and the associated costs; they are less likely to be dissatisfied by the Project Outputs. It is important to reiterate Project Scope on a regular basis to ensure both the Client and Vendor are aligned on what the built solution ‘Must Have' and ‘Should Have'. Continuous dialogue also helps to highlight any potential Scope Changes which may be required and allows for the necessary impacting / conversations to take place before such changes are implemented.

5.    Decreases The Risk of Building The Wrong Solution – If the Scope is not clearly defined or understood, development is likely to venture off-course. When this happens, time is likely spent developing features / functionality that do not meet End Users' expectations. As a result, precious time and money is lost. Clients can be left with a solution which does not realise the intended benefits and will not be accepted by End Users. Vendors can ultimately experience severe reputational damage which destroys Client relationships and severs lucrative revenue streams.

Is your engagement suffering from a lack of effective Project Scope Management?

Contact CA Project Management Services today to discuss how we can help.