Lauren JohnsonDevelopment Specialist PM| ExperientFrederick, Md, United States
What exactly is the difference between the Statement of Work and the Scope Statement? Saving Changes...
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George JucanManaging Partner| Organizational Perfomance Enablers NetworkWoodbridge, Ontario, Canada
In PMI definitions we have:
- the Statement of Work (SOW) is a narrative description of the project purpose, used as input to create the Project Charter.
- the Project Scope Statement is an output of Define Scope planning process and includes a detailed description of project deliverables and necessary work to accomplish them.
Hope it helps.
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Rob MartinConsulting (Contract)| Microsoft (Thailand)Lam Luk Ka, Pathum Thani, Thailand
George is correct of course. There are times when the SOW is more prescriptive, depending on the environment you are in. I have had several circumstances where a new SOW is requried for each change in scope from the third party vendor(s).
If the two are not saying the same thing, albeit in different levels of detail and rigour, then you're in a spot of bother
Rob Saving Changes...
Mary Elizabeth DiabDirector| Leadership FormationTallassee, Al, United States
I also wanted to add that in the consulting world, SOW often refers to the document signed with a client to kick-off a project. As such, it includes the scope statement, terms and conditions, and such. The difference depends on the environment in which the term is being used... Saving Changes...
Mohit JainAssociate Director| Ramco SystemsFaridabad, Haryana, India
Scope Statement is the work given by customer (to procure the services or product) whereas Statement of Work is given by the service provider (could also consider as proposal) with detailed understanding of the scope along with the assumptions, risk and out of scope items. Saving Changes...
Engdaw AdmasuConstruction Project Manager| Water Works Corporation (WWC)Kombolcha Town, Ethiopia
Project scope focuses on the project content, meaning the project's actual boundary, comprising of its inclusions (the expected project deliverables) and its exclusions--things outside the project's boundary. In view of its tight relationship with the WBS, it is clear that it is an agreement between the project owner(s) and the project team as to the unique product, service or result the project is expected to create. On the other hand, the statement of work is the supplier's documentation of what and how he hopes to meet the project's requirements in order to satisfy the project's scope. Therefore, it is an input to scope planning. Saving Changes...
The scope statement is a document that outlines all the work required to deliver the project's deliverables to meet its requirements. If any part of this scope is to be delivered by a vendor or contractor, a Scope of Work (SOW) will be developed to provide detailed descriptions of that portion, allowing potential vendors or contractors to submit their bids. The SOW is included in the bidding documents, and the selected vendor or contractor will use it to create their own scope statement to guide their work on the project.
