Page 47 - DCAP304_DCAP515_SOFTWARE_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Unit 2: Step Wise Project Planning

2.1 Project Scope Notes

Project scope is the total amount of work done to attain a project management team’s project.
It is the sum total of all the products, necessities and outcome as one project. In terms of project
management, scope is the process preferred to make sure that the project is done. In the planning
process, the scope of the project is examined. A project’s requirements, products, and results are
defined. The definition of the scope is the most essential part of project management. It assist the
team know what needs to be done and what achieving the project will entail. Specially, the
project management team discusses the needs, risks, strategies, effort and cost. Then the project
management team splits the project scope into short-term objective to be accomplished. The
project managers then allocate different people to accomplish the goals. After the scope is done,
it is checked and approved to make sure the project meets the product requirements, services
and results. It is the final step where project objectives are analyzed critically to make sure that
the project meets the quality outcome.
When people talk about scope, they instantly think time and cost. Time and cost are outputs of
scope. Determining scope is a different exercise. When we talk about identifying the scope, we
are talking about developing a ordinary understanding as to what is included in, or excluded
from, a project. We are not talking about deciding how long it will take, or how much it will
cost. That comes after the scope is described.

Anyone who has ever done a software project will have stories of how scope changes caused
pain. Scope is bound to change, and this is to be expected. As the detail becomes clearer, more
complications creep in. These are not foreseeable at the start and hopefully we build in a
contingency for what we cannot see. The scope changes that usually cause problems are those
where the perception of what was in and out of scope was different between various parties. The
Project Manager assumed there would only be four or five reports, and the business assumed ten
to twenty. No one felt it was worth talking about because they assumed the other person
thought the same way they did.

Example: If we were looking for an economical car, we would first define the scope. For
example, we want a 4-cylinder front wheel drive with seating for 2 adults and 2 children, and
less than 2 years old. Maybe you also want it to be a red convertible. Having defined the scope,
you can calculate cost and time. How much you will have to spend and how long you will take
to buy it. If you get the scope wrong, the time and cost will be wrong.
The project scope contains the following aspects to be managed:
1. Scope Planning
2. Scope Definition
3. Create WBS
4. Scope Verification
This sort of organization contains the processes required to guarantee that the project includes all
the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project effectively. It is essentially
concerned with the defining and controlling of what is or is not included in the project.
The processes, tools, and procedure used to administer product’s scope differ by application area
and are often described as part of the project life cycle. The project’s output is a single product
but that product may comprise subsidiary components, each with its own separate but
interdependent product scopes.

Example: A new computer system would generally include four subsidiary components—
hardware, software, training, and implementation.

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