Project Scope: Managing Complexity and Uncertainty

  Governance   Scope Management   Knowledge Shelf  

Introduction
Project scope management involves not only defining and controlling what is needed going into a project, but also helps ensure that what is not needed is not getting into the project. Scope management starts with developing a scope management plan by describing how scope shall be defined, developed, monitored, and controlled for the project. Following the scope management plan, requirements are collected from stakeholders—which forms the basis for defining the project scope and product scope. Accepted scope is baselined and monitored for effective implementation, and is controlled through the change control board.

Requirements are the backbone for subsequent project activities like schedule, cost, quality, and procurement. Requirements are to be elicited, analyzed, and documented to create the scope baseline. It is necessary to remove uncertainties in requirements at the earlier stage of project development. Otherwise, it will result in adding complexity to the project. The project’s success is dependent upon the stakeholders’ involvement in providing needs and wants. Requirements analysis begins with information in the business case and stakeholder management plan.

Projects involving many influential stakeholders face difficulty in arriving at an agreed-upon scope. And even after this agreement, there is no guarantee that it remains stable…

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