Module 4-Developing the Project Schedule scoping the project for success – Agree
Module 4-Developing the Project Schedule scoping the project for success – Agreeing the expectations
In project management, defining and agreeing on the scope of the project is probably the most important task. Burke (2017) defines scope management as the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required to complete the project successfully. It is primarily concerned with defining and controlling what is or is not included in the project. The challenges in defining the project scope and aiming for successful completion are more around “agreeing with everyone’s expectations” and having a clear project definition. The Japanese practice of “Nemawashi” which involves negotiating with all stakeholders to obtain agreement from everybody, is a good example/technique aiming for all processes to be near perfect. Try to research the term ‘Nemawashi’ and review how this approach may be of benefit in agreeing to the expectations in a project.
It is critical to have a clear and well-defined scope for the success of the project. Project Scope Management includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required to complete it successfully. Project scope management is primarily concerned with defining and controlling what is and is not included in the project. The following figures provides an overview of the Project Scope Management processes, and a process flow diagram of those processes and their inputs, outputs, and other related Knowledge area processes.
In the project context, the term scope can refer to:
- Product scope. The features and functions that characterise a product, service, or result
- Project scope. The work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.
This module focuses on the processes used to manage the project scope. We will examine the concept stage (the first stage) of a project and discuss the importance of ‘scoping’ and ‘scope creep’.
Note: Not all process interactions and data flow among the processes are shown.
Project Scheduling and developing a Work Breakdown Structure is a topic that some people perceive as being slightly ‘technical’. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Projects involve a beginning and an end date and a series of tasks to deliver the required outcomes. Scheduling is simply listing these tasks, linking them as appropriate, and determining not only how the various tasks are interdependent, but which ones occur independently, sequentially, and concurrently. It’s a bit like a flow chart.
Scheduling involves breaking down the tasks required to complete the project into individual activities, hence the term Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). A WBS is a series of parent and child tasks. Imagine if you had to prepare a plan of how you wake up, get out of bed in the morning, have a shower, dress yourself, have breakfast, and prepare to leave for work or u