Defining project scope is the key to a healthy freelance-client relationship. It details what services will be provided, what won’t be included, and when the services will be delivered to properly manage expectations before the project starts.
For this reason, I start all of my new client relationships by crafting a project scope statement. But what exactly does that mean?
In this blog post, we will explore what project scope is, what is included within a scope statement, the benefits that defining a project scope has on project management processes, and the steps you should take in creating your own.
What is Project Scope?
Project scope is an important part of project planning that involves defining clear and concise boundaries for your project. A clearly defined project scope document includes the goal, deliverables, tasks, costs, and deadlines for the project, ensuring an aligned focus throughout the project life cycle and preventing unexpected deviations from the established plan.
For team members, this defined scope helps keep individual contributors on task while at the same time managing the expectations of involved stakeholders to ensure an effective and communicative workflow.
Why is it Important to Define a Project’s Scope? 5 Benefits
Detailing a project’s scope is one of the best ways of maintaining a clear and cohesive workflow on a project. It benefits both team members and stakeholders by:
- Defining what the project involves to ensure a clear vision among all stakeholders.
- Managing stakeholder expectations and setting clear boundaries for the project.
- Offering a framework that helps project managers assign tasks, plan schedules, and manage budgets.
- Aligning the focus among team members on defined objectives.
- Preventing complex projects from expanding beyond the established vision.
8 Steps to Define the Scope of a Project
1. Define the project goals & objectives
Defining a project’s scope starts with establishing clear goals and objectives. Begin with your goal. This is the target end result you hope to achieve, providing a sense of direction throughout the execution of the project.
Similarly, your objectives are the assets you plan to deliver at the end of the project. Your objectives should align with your project scope and your overarching goal.
2. Identify additional project requirements.
With your goals and objectives established, you now need to collect any additional requirements that may affect your project scope. These can include anything from a projected timeline or budget to secondary objectives.
It is your job to identify these boundary-setting limitations so that you can incorporate them into your project scope and properly manage expectations among stakeholders.
3. Collect and allocate resources.
An essential part of planning scope management for any project is the collection and allocation of resources, including project budget, personnel required to perform each task, and a timeline.
It is the project manager’s job to create a resource management plan. In doing so, you can adjust your project scope to accommodate your available resources, reducing the risk of exceeding your capacity before the end of the project.
4. Define deliverables
Defining deliverables is arguably the most important step in establishing your project scope. After all, these are the products stakeholders will expect to receive at the end of the project, and the last thing you want at the end of a project is for a stakeholder to feel under-served.
A work breakdown structure communicates what needs to be accomplished by separating tasks into manageable tasks with clearly set timelines. By including this within your scope statement, you encourage healthy communication among stakeholders that will reaffirm confidence and support for the project and future initiatives.
5. Establish exclusions and constraints.
Establishing the exclusions and limitations of a project is just as important as defining its deliverables. Just as you want to share what stakeholders can expect to receive from a project, you also want to communicate what they shouldn’t.
Every project has its limitations, whether it’s by budget, available personnel, or time restrictions. It is the project manager’s job to identify and clearly define the constraints of the project to prevent scope creep and ensure all efforts are maintained towards achieving its established objectives.
6. Get buy-in and approval from stakeholders.
Before finalizing your project scope, you first need to acquire buy-in approval from all stakeholders. This way you include all stakeholders within the planning phase, making sure all expectations are clearly aligned on project goals and deliverables and allowing you the opportunity to make adjustments should stakeholders have a differing vision.
By getting stakeholder buy-in before starting on a project, you ensure everyone understands the objectives and limitations of the project’s scope, limiting the potential of scope creep once the campaign begins.
7. Create a change control process.
Very rarely does a project go perfectly as planned, and requirements are bound to change, be it your projected timeline or an alteration to your deliverables.
This is when having a change control process is pivotal to the success of the project. By having a set process in place to submit a change request you ensure the required flexibility of your project scope while maintaining accountability and limitations to prevent scope creep.
8. Share the project scope statement with the team.
Once you have your project scope established and approved by your stakeholders, you can now share it with your team.
Not only should all project team members be aware of the project scope at the beginning of the campaign, but they should also have access to it throughout the entirety of the project to ensure an aligned vision and a cohesive workflow for the effective execution of each objective.
What is a Project Scope Statement?
The project scope statement is a detailed written outline documenting the scope of the project, including its goals, objectives, constraints, and timeline.
By writing out a project scope statement, a project manager can definitively set the boundaries and expectations of a project while easily sharing them with stakeholders and team members.
What is Scope Creep?
Scope creep is when unforeseen circumstances force a project to perform tasks beyond the established plan without submitting a formal request. This can lead to several issues further down the line, including budget issues, missed deadlines, and increased stress.
Having a clearly defined project scope and clearly communicating it to stakeholders is the best way to avoid scope creep.
Project Scope Example
A project scope statement is a comprehensive outline detailing the goals, restraints, and limitations of a project. Here are a few key elements that should be included in a scope statement.
- Introduction – Defines the purpose and goal of the project.
- Project Scope – Specifies the project requirements, including budget, timeline, and tasks, along with the personnel designated to perform them.
- Deliverables – Clearly states the deliverables that will be provided at the end of the project along with a specified delivery date.
- Acceptance Criteria – Details the project objectives and the metrics that will be used in evaluating their success.
- Exclusions – Lists what will not be included within the project, clearly defining the scope boundaries.
- Constraints – Establishes hard limits of the project, detailing things that cannot be changed, such as budget, timeline, or technical issues.
Project Scope vs Product Scope
Project scope and product scope are not the same thing, although they do complement each other.
So, what is product scope?
While project scope management establishes the limitations and boundaries of the tasks to achieve various objectives, product scope is a detailed statement that outlines the capabilities, features, characteristics and functions of the project’s deliverables.
When created alongside one another, a project scope and product scope provide valuable insight into what stakeholders can expect as an end product and the different objectives project managers will target to achieve the intended end product.
Transparent Freelancing Services
Are you nervous about working with a freelancer? Don’t be.
While there are many SEO and content marketing agencies that promise the world but lack in deliverables, my freelance services all start off with an extensive discovery process that culminates in a clearly defined project scope statement with established project deliverables, goals, and scheduled reporting check-ins using project management software.
This means you are involved and kept up-to-date with the project throughout the entire process and can quickly pull the plug should I not be delivering what I promise.
Contact me today to schedule a consultation and discover how my SEO and content writing services can benefit the future of your marketing projects.
Kurt Norris is the founder of Kurt’sCopy, where he helps B2B, e-commerce, SaaS, and local businesses craft compelling content and SEO strategies that deliver measurable results. With over six years of experience, Kurt specializes in creating data-driven campaigns that drive traffic, increase conversions, and establish brand authority.
