| Print | Back | Close |

Scope Management and the Process Groups

Scope management processes

Scope creep happens easily, without anyone realizing it. The unmanaged, unnoticed changes it causes can disrupt a project terribly.

The Project Scope Management Knowledge Area includes all the processes, that define and control what is and isn't involved in a project, throughout its life cycle. The methods that will be used in controlling scope throughout the project are described in the scope management plan. This plan is developed during the Plan Scope Management process and provides guidance on how project scope will be defined, documented, validated, and controlled.

Project Scope Management consists of six processes:

1. Plan Scope Management – Plan Scope Management is the first process you perform in Project Scope Management. This process includes documenting the plan for how project scope should be defined, validated, and controlled during the project.
2. Collect Requirements – Collect Requirements is the second Project Scope Management process. This entails investigating, defining, and documenting stakeholders' needs and expectations about the project, and about a product's features and functions.
3. Define Scope – Define Scope involves creating the project scope statement, which is a detailed description of the project work required and the product or service it must deliver. This document is used throughout the remainder of the project. It elaborates on the deliverables, assumptions, and constraints for a project.
4. Create WBS – The fourth Project Scope Management process is Create WBS. This document subdivides each step into smaller, manageable work packages. The execution stage of the project relies heavily on this document.
5. Validate Scope – Validate Scope is the final Project Scope Management process. It's the process of formally accepting the completed deliverables and confirming that the project has met its objectives, as defined in the scope statement.
6. Control Scope – The Control Scope process involves monitoring the status of the project and product scope, and managing scope changes. It is integral to controlling change in all parts of the project, including the other Knowledge Areas.

Each Scope Management process that falls in the Planning Process Group has an output that guides project activities:

• Plan Scope Management – The Plan Scope Management process produces the scope management plan and the requirements management plan. These two plans detail how to carry out all the other activities when managing project scope.
• Collect Requirements – The Collect Requirements process results in requirements documentation and the requirements traceability matrix. You use requirements documentation in the Define Scope process to produce the project scope statement, as well as during the Create WBS, Validate Scope, and Control Scope processes. The requirements traceability matrix is used to validate and control scope.
• Define Scope – The Define Scope process produces the project scope statement, which details the work required to complete the project. This provides the starting point for the work breakdown structure. It also forms part of the scope baseline, which is used in the Validate Scope process. The Define Scope process also results in project documents updates, such as updates to the requirements documentation and the requirements traceability matrix.
• Create WBS – The Create WBS process results in the scope baseline. The scope baseline encompasses the project scope statement, the work breakdown structure (WBS), and the WBS dictionary. The scope baseline and its components provide the benchmark information that all work is measured against during the Validate and Control Scope processes. The Create WBS process also results in updates to requirements documentation.

As part of the Monitoring and Controlling Process Group, the Validate Scope and Control Scope processes have implications throughout the project. In particular they impact the Knowledge Areas dealing with time, cost, and quality. By validating and managing scope, you ensure that the project's requirements are met, on time and within budget.

The Project Scope Management Knowledge Area includes all the processes for defining and controlling the scope of a project. The Planning Process Group contains Plan Scope Management, Collect Requirements, Define Scope, and Create WBS. The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group contains the processes required later in a project, namely Validate Scope and Control Scope.