PROJECT PLANNING
2. SCOPE PLANNING
Project scope planning is about defining all the work that needs to be done in order to
meet the project objectives. In this section, we will deal with three fundamental issues,
namely, we will have a closer look at the scope management plan, objective setting
and the identification of the target audience.
2.1 SCOPE MANAGEMENT
The idea behind project scope planning and management is to get a better picture of
all work required by clearly determining what we want to achieve exactly when we
start the project. Therefore, we need to decide on what we want and what we do not.
In other words, it is about answering the question: How far do we want to go?
As we have mentioned, the scope is concerned with defining the objectives and the
work necessary for attaining them. It serves as a guide for the project manager when
making decisions concerning possible changes that need to be made in the established
plan. It is important to mention that the scope of the project, together with the
planning of the costs and the temporal planning, allow controlling and ensuring a
correct management of projects.
In relation to the scope, and before proceeding to the process of its management and
planning, two dimensions need to be considered: the one referring to the product or
service and the other concerned with the project as a whole.
The scope of the product or service refers to the characteristics and functions that will
customize the product or service that we want to offer. In this way, we need to include
technical features and characteristics of the product related to the completion time
and the cost of the final product. When talking about the project scope, we refer to
the work that should be done in order to deliver the product or service with these
specified characteristics and functions. For example, if our company is devoted to
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manufacturing mobile phones, the scope of the product refers to features and
functions that we want our phone to have, while the scope of the project implies
everything that needs be done to manufacture a product including all previously
determined characteristics.
Let us now turn to the different stages of scope management.
2.1.1 Scope management
As we have just seen, scope planning involves the determination of what we want to
achieve when implementing our project. It is a process of utmost importance as it is
directly linked to planning and management processes.
We need to ensure a balance between the different areas that make up the project;
otherwise we will hardly achieve anything. Thus, the balance between the following
management areas is essential:
- Project integration management, which seeks the coordination of the
elements involved in the project.
- Management of project scope, whose objective is to ensure that the planning
includes all processes that will take place during the execution of the project.
- Project time management, with the main objective of meeting scheduled times
for the development of each of the tasks that will make up the project.
- Cost management, which seeks not to exceed the budget set for each activity
or process.
- Quality management, which ensures compliance with the agreed standards in
this field.
- Management and administration of human resources, which ensures
efficiency within the management of people participating in the project.
- Communication management, which allows a good distribution of information
and a fluid communication between all members of the project.
- Risk management, whose role is to identify, prevent and minimize risks that
may arise during the start-up and execution of the project.
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- Procurement management, in charge of cost efficiency and responsible for
meeting deadlines.
Let us now turn to the different stages that we need to follow in order to ensure
successful scope planning and management.
It is a process composed of five phases or stages:
- Requirements gathering
- Scope definition
- Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)
- Scope verification
- Scope control
Let us see then what should be done in each of these stages.
Requirement gathering
The first step in order to achieve effective project-scope management and planning
involves gathering the requirements that should respond to the needs and
expectations of stakeholders (we will talk about this in the last section of this chapter).
Thus, in this first stage we need to identify, collect and report features and functions of
our product or service and, therefore, of our project, taking into consideration the
needs of all those interested in the project. It is worth mentioning that this is a key
stage, since it will involve the preparation of the time schedule, cost planning and
quality management, which should be established according to the needs of those
involved and interested in the execution of the project. Therefore, the requirements of
our project should reflect such needs and expectations of stakeholders.
Scope definition
Once we have determined the requirements that we want our project to meet in order
to respond to the needs and requirements of stakeholders, we will go on to define the
scope. We should describe our project and the product or service we want to offer as
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accurately as possible. It is a process focused primarily on establishing deliverables
(tangible objects produced as a result of the project that need to be delivered to the
client). At this stage we should use a tool known as the Scope Statement, which
outlines the deliverables of the project, as well as the work required to obtain these
deliverables.
At the content level, the Scope Statement should deal with:
- Project goals and objectives.
- Description of the scope of the product, including features, requirements and
specifications.
- Boundaries of the project.
- Project deliverables.
- Acceptance criteria for deliverables.
- Restrictions of the project.
- Assumptions of the project.
- Other issues such as the initial organisation of the project, preliminary
estimation of costs, schedule or milestones to be achieved, among others.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Next, we will proceed to the development of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
We could describe WBS as a hierarchical subdivision of a project into manageable work
areas (tasks).
Main features of WBS:
- WBS describes the scope of the project in terms of deliverables and their
breakdown into work packages.
- Depending on the tasks, WBS enables assigning work to people responsible for
doing it.
- It is responsible for providing the project management team with an adequate
frame of reference for making decisions concerning the progress of the project.
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- It facilitates communication between the project manager and those interested
in it.
- it is a key element in the rest of the project management and planning
processes.
- Each activity of WBS has a tangible deliverable.
- Jobs and processes that need to be carried out for the successful execution of
the project are subdivided into smaller areas which are easier to manage
(tasks).
- WBS is structured in a hierarchical way, divided in several levels. Each
downstream level represents an increasingly detailed definition of the work of
the project. We call these lower-level components work packages.
- The planned work, included in work packages, can be programmed, supervised
and controlled and costs can be estimated.
In order to successfully develop a correct WBS, we need to adhere to the following
steps:
- The first stage refers to the identification of the final product/s of the project,
which need to be delivered for the success of the project. Here, in order to
ensure the consistency between WBS and project requirements, a full review of
the project scope is recommended.
- The second step will be to identify the main deliverables of the product, as well
as the necessary predecessor deliverables of the project that do not satisfy a
business need, for instance design specifications.
- Next, we must break down the main deliverables which allows us to manage
the project efficiently and effectively.
- Finally, we will review and refine the WBS until those involved in the project
reach an agreement, based on the premise that the planned project can be
completed in a satisfactory way and that execution and control will produce the
desired results.
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The component of the WBS template:
Identification of the project
- Name of the project
- General organisation responsible for the execution of the project
- Management organisation responsible for the sponsorship and/or procurement
of the project
- Scheduled start and end date of the project
- Project code and number
Control of versions
- Version
- Date
- Author
- Description of changes
Description of WBS and graphical view
- Project
- Description of work
- Manager
- Deliverable
- Work package
WBS dictionary
- WBS code
- Work package
- Description
- Manager
- Milestones
- Assigned personnel resources
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- Other resources assigned
- Inputs and outputs
- Associated activities
- Estimated cost
- Quality and acceptance criteria
Below is an example of WBS:
*Project Management Basic, 2018 [Link]
guide/#workbreakdownstructureexample
It is interesting to know the graphical structure of the different levels that make up a
WBS (Technical University of Denmark,
[Link]
nagement):
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Scope verification
Scope verification refers to the process of formalizing acceptance of the completed
project deliverables. This stage includes the review of the work products and the
stakeholders’ approval to ensure that the deliverables have been completed correctly
and satisfactorily.
Essentially, it is about verifying that the work has been done according to the needs
and expectations of stakeholders’, so that changes can be made whenever necessary.
Scope control
Scope control is a process concerned with monitoring the status of the project and
product scope. In other words, it is about verifying that the project execution is carried
out as planned.
It may be noted that this phase, like the previous one, allows changing the project
along the way. In this way, if we detect any incident during the monitoring, we can
solve it quickly and efficiently, in order to comply with the established scope.
Having seen the process of scope management and planning, we will go on to talk
about two fundamental elements in this process: objectives and target audience.
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2.2 OBJECTIVES AND TARGET AUDIENCE
2.2.1 Objectives
In all projects and planning, it is vitally important to determine the mission, strategy,
policy and objectives as these elements will contribute significantly to a successful
delivery of our project.
The mission is a statement that defines the purpose or raison d'etre (reason for
existence) of the organisation, whereas strategy refers to what the company will do in
order to achieve its mission. To do this, it is imperative to perform a SWOT analysis
(internal and external), to determine weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities
of the organisation.
When speaking about purposes, two types can be identified : general purposes, which
refer to company policies, and purposes of a more specific and precise nature, which
are the objectives.
§ Company policies
Company policies describe the general and qualitative purposes of the organisation, so
that they can be perceived as a general direction that guides the company’s decision-
making and strategic planning.
Policy of a company can be situated at different organisational levels, which can
present different degrees of detail. In this way, we can identify two types of policies:
the general policy of the company and the policies of the department.
General policy
General policy usually encompasses elements of a greater importance for the company
as well as those that require long-term alternatives.
With regard to the elements that require a general policy, we need to consider the
following:
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- Policy of product or service
- Commercial policy
- Team policy
- Financial policy
- Personnel policy
Department policies
It is vitally important that each department defines its own policy within the general
policy of the organisation, so that the relevant decisions can be made at the right time
by the different organisational units. This way, the compatibility with the other actions
of the company is ensured. Department policies should be always integrated and in
line with the general policy.
Thus, we can say that these are more specific policies within the same general policy.
§ Objectives of the company
Objectives refer to a more specific, precise and quantified aim pursued by an
organisation.
It is very important that objectives comply with the SMART technique, which
determines that the objectives should be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Let us now take a careful look at the characteristics that make up the SMART
technique.
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Specific
Objectives should be as specific and detailed as possible, so that they are easy to
understand, and they are not misleading. To ensure that the objectives are specific, we
have to answer the following questions:
- What do we want to accomplish exactly? And why?
- Who is involved?
- In which field are we going to work to achieve what we want?
- What is the time frame in which we want to and should achieve it?
- What strengths and weaknesses do we have?
- What threats and opportunities can we come across externally?
- What benefits will it bring us?
Measurable
It is very important that the goals we set can be measured. Thus, if we are devoted to
sales we should not simply want to boost sales, but we should set the specific
percentage by which we want to increase it, so that, by analysing the results, we can
measure what we have achieved and what we have left. Thus, if our objective is to
increase sales by 10% over the next 6 months, it will be easier for us to measure the
achievement of this objective than if we simply set for ourselves to increase sales,
since we will not be able to compare what has been achieved with the established
objective.
Attainable
As we have already seen, it is important that the objectives that we propose are
achievable. Of course, we need to be ambitious and never settle for less, but we
should always be realistic about the goal we set.
Regarding this aspect, we need to highlight the motivation of workers. In this case, if
an enterprise establishes a target which is beyond their reach, it risks discouraging its
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workers as they see that it is impossible to achieve the goal, while if it sets goals that
are achievable, employees will feel motivated seeing that, step by step, the set
objective is being reached.
Realistic
As we have already mentioned, objectives should be realistic, so they must be in line
with the values of the company and its vision. In addition, it needs to be achievable
with the use of the tools already available in the company.
Time-bound
Finally, it is important to establish these objectives according to a specific time, i.e., we
should set a time frame in which the objective should be achieved.
In relation to time, we can distinguish three types of objectives; long-term, medium-
term and short-term.
Regarding its classification, we can talk about four types of goals:
- Result goals
- Cash goals
- Product and/or service goals
- Customer goals
2.2.2 Target audience
Target audience refers to the demographic of people most likely to acquire our
product or service. It is the intended recipient of what we are offering.
It is essential that every project is intended for a specific audience; depending on their
characteristics, the way we present our product may vary. We will use different
language, channels and information to appeal to university students, families or to a
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retired couple. To ensure the success of our project, we need to first identify our target
audience and then tailor our actions accordingly.
§ Identification of the target audience
As we have mentioned, determining the target audience is a key to the success of the
project. However, it will be necessary not only to identify it, but also to understand it,
learn as much as possible about our potential customers - their preferences, needs,
habits, expectations so as to ensure that our product fits into their lifestyle and
satisfies their wishes and needs.
In the analysis phase of the target audience, the main goal is to analyse all available
data in order to obtain different profiles, so that we can segment and catalogue the
client base. Here, we should analyse aspects such as:
- Demographic profile
- Cultural profile
- User profile
- Origin
- Purchasing level
- Consumption habits
The analysis should be based on two main sources of information; external and
internal data. This will allow identifying types of potential customers by comparing the
data from our client base with the sectorial data, thus discovering new market niches.
Regarding the internal analysis, it should be noted that when planning a new project,
it is not be an option since we still do not have information about our clients. However,
we should be familiar with it in case we need to analyse this information in the future.
For this type of analysis, we will have to study all the data that we have collected about
our clients throughout our activity, so that they can give us information related to:
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- Criteria of segmentation of the database according to client type: volume of
income, number of orders, frequency and volume of purchase, profitability, etc.
- Socio-demographic segmentation of the client, taking into account aspects such
as consumption habits, purchase preferences, purchasing motivations and level
of satisfaction, among others.
- Definition of the type of client: new, recurrent, loyal, prescriber or fan.
- Segmentation by another type of variable, such as the commercial effort versus
the average return of the portfolio or annual average income versus the
volume of purchase.
The analysis of all this information will help us to accurately determine our target
audience.
When it comes to developing a new project, what would definitely come in handy is
the external analysis, which enables us to obtain information about the different
audiences and, thus, to define our target audience based on a whole series of variables
such as:
- Product or service we offer.
- Price.
- Goals and objectives.
It is vitally important to consider these three elements when identifying our target
audience, otherwise we risk addressing a wrong target.
Having in mind those elements we should specify our target audience in relation to
aspects such as:
- Age
- Gender
- Level of income
- Education
- Buying habits
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- Occupation
- Civil status
- Family status
- Location
- Ethnic group
- Political inclination
Essentially, depending on the type of product, its price and the objectives that we
pursue, we will have to segment and specify the type of target we will focus our
campaigns on.
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