1
Callaway Press Release. Callaway Golf Introduces ERC II Forged Titanium Driver—Its
Hottest and Most Forgiving Driver Ever. Accessed 03 January, 2019, ir.callawaygolf.com.
6. Technical requirements. More frequently than not, a product or service
will have technical requirements to ensure proper performance. Technical
requirements typically clarify the deliverables or define the performance
specifications. For example, a technical requirement for a personal
computer might be the ability to accept 120-volt alternating page 109
current or 240-volt direct current without any adapters or user
switches. Another well-known example is the ability of 911 emergency
systems to identify the caller’s phone number and the location of the
phone. Examples from information systems projects include the speed
and capacity of database systems and connectivity with alternative
systems. For understanding the importance of key requirements, see
Snapshot from Practice 4.1: Big Bertha ERC II versus the USGA’s COR
Requirement.
SNAPSHOT FROM PRACTICE 4.2
Scope Statement
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
To construct a high-quality, custom house within five months at cost not to
exceed $700,000 on lot 42A in Greendale, Oregon.
PRODUCT SCOPE DESCRIPTION
A 2,200-square-foot, 2½-bath, 3-bedroom, finished home.
DELIVERABLES
A finished garage, insulated and sheetrocked.
Kitchen appliances to include range, oven, microwave, and dishwasher.
A high-efficiency gas furnace with programmable thermostat.
Aluminum roofing.
MILESTONES
1. Permits approved—March 5.
2. Foundation poured—March 14.
3. Drywall in. Framing, sheathing, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical inspections
passed—May 25.
4. Final inspection—June 7
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
1. Home must meet local building codes.
2. All windows and doors must pass NFRC class 40 energy ratings.
3. Exterior wall insulation must meet an “R” factor of 21.
4. Ceiling insulation must meet an “R” factor of 38.
5. Floor insulation must meet an “R” factor of 25.
6. Garage will accommodate two large-size cars and one 20-foot Winnebago.
7. Structure must pass seismic stability codes.
Ufulum/Shutterstock
LIMITS AND EXCLUSIONS
1. House will be built to the specifications and design of the original blueprints
provided by the customer.
2. Owner is responsible for landscaping.
3. Refrigerator is not included among kitchen appliances.
4. Air conditioning is not included but prewiring is included.
5. Contractor reserves the right to contract out services.
6. Contractor is responsible for subcontracted work.
7. Site work limited to Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
CUSTOMER REVIEW
Linda and Dave Smith.
7. Limits and exclusions. The limits of scope should be defined. Failure to
do so can lead to false expectations and to expending resources and time
on the wrong problem. The following are examples of limits: work on-
site is allowed only between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 page 110
a.m.; system maintenance and repair will be done only up to
one month after final inspection; and the client will be billed for
additional training beyond that prescribed in the contract. Exclusions
further define the boundary of the project by stating what is not included.
Examples include: data will be collected by the client, not the contractor;
a house will be built, but no landscaping or security devices added;
software will be installed, but no training given.
8. Acceptance criteria. Acceptance criteria are a set of conditions that must
be met before the deliverables are accepted. The following are examples:
all tasks and milestones are complete, new service processes begin with a
less than 1 percent defect rate, third-party certification is required, and
customer on-site inspection is required.
Scope statements are twofold. There is a short, one- to two-page
summary of key elements of the scope, followed by extended
documentation of each element (e.g., a detailed milestone schedule or risk
analysis report). See Snapshot from Practice 4.2: Scope Statement for an
example of a summary page.
The project scope checklist in Step 1 is generic. Different industries and
companies will develop unique checklists and templates to fit their needs
and specific kinds of projects. A few companies engaged in contracted
work refer to scope statements as “statements of work (SOWs).” Other
organizations use the term project charter. However, the term project
charter has emerged to have a special meaning in the world of project
management. A project charter is a document that authorizes the project
manager to initiate and lead the project. This document is issued by upper
management and provides the project manager with written authority to use
organizational resources for project activities. Often the charter will include
a brief scope description as well as such items as risk limits, business case,
spending limits, and even team composition.
LO 4-2
Describe the causes of scope creep and ways to manage it.
Many projects suffer from scope creep, which is the tendency for the
project scope to expand over time—usually by changing requirements,
specifications, and priorities. Scope creep can have a positive or negative
effect on the project, but in most cases scope creep means added costs and
possible project delays. Changes in requirements, specifications, and
priorities frequently result in cost overruns and delays. Examples are
abundant—the Denver Airport baggage handling system, Boston’s new
freeway system (“The Big Dig”), the Sochi Winter Olympics, and the list
goes on. On software development projects, scope creep is manifested in
bloated products in which added functionality undermines ease of use.
Five of the most common causes of scope creep are
Poor requirement analysis. Customers often don’t really know what
they want. “I’ll know it when I see it” syndrome contributes to wasted
effort and ambiguity.
Not involving users early enough. Too often project teams think they
know up front what the end user needs, only to find out later they were
mistaken.
Underestimating project complexity. Complexity and associated
uncertainty naturally lead to changes in scope, since there are so many
unknowns yet to be discovered.
Lack of change control. A robust change control process is needed to
ensure that only appropriate changes occur in the scope of the project.
Gold plating. Gold plating refers to adding extra value to the page 111
project that is beyond the scope of the project. This is common
on software projects where developers add features that they think the
end user will like.
In many cases these causes reflect a misfit—traditional project
management methods being applied to high-uncertainty projects (remember
