Scope Control

5.5.01TS Scope Control - Process

The following process can be used to manage scope on your project. The process is flexible based on project size.

This supplemental content comes from the TenStep Project Management Process.

Overview (5.1.P1)

The processes used to manage change are described in this section. These processes can be modified as necessary for your project and then inserted into the Project Management Plan that is created during the 1.0 Define Work step.

Click here to view flowchart for this process.

Scope Change Management - Small Projects (5.1.1.P1)

Since small projects are much easier to define and they are usually completed very quickly, they typically do not have many change requests and those that do occur are generally scope change requests. If scope changes occur, they are typically also small in nature. The following simple process should be able to be performed quickly.

	Role	Scope Change Management (Small Projects)
1	Project Manager, Team Member	Identify scope change request Scope changes can be surfaced by anyone on the project team. They should be sent in writing to the project manager by paper, email, etc. No formal form is needed.
2	Project Manager	Validate it is a scope change The project manager validates that the request is, in fact, a scope change.
3	Project Manager	Determine the impact of the request The project manager determines the impact of the scope change to the project in terms of cost, effort and duration. If there are multiple viable options, the project manager determines their impact as well.
4	Project Manager, Client Manager	(Optional) Resolve small change requests if there is no impact on schedule and budget If the change request can be accommodated within the original project cost, effort and duration, the project manager and client manager have the flexibility to make the decision on whether the change should be approved. However, the sponsor must have agreed to delegate this responsibility – usually up to a certain threshold of cost or effort.
5	Sponsor	Take the information to the sponsor The appropriate analysis, impact and alternatives are taken to the project sponsor for resolution (if the request was not already approved in step 4 above). If the sponsor does not approve the request and the corresponding impact, the scope request is not pursued.
6	Project Manager	Add the incremental work to the schedule If the scope change request is approved, the appropriate activities are added to the schedule to ensure the change is implemented.
7	Project Manager	Communicate through your Status Reports The request, current status and resolution should be documented in the project Status Report.

Scope Change Management - Medium Projects (5.1.2.P1)

Medium projects usually encounter scope change requests and also general change requests. Each process is described below.

	Role	Scope Change Management (Medium Projects)
1	Project Manager	Identify scope change request Solicit potential scope changes from any project stakeholders, including the project team, clients, sponsors, etc. Potential scope changes should be documented in writing to the project manager through a short Scope Change Request Form (optional) or email.
2	Project Manager	Validate it is a scope change The project manager validates that the request is, in fact, a scope change.
3	Project Manager	Enter the request in the Scope Change Log Enter the item into the Scope Change Log for tracking purposes.
4	(Person making request)	Request the business value of the change The person making the scope change request should define the business value to the project. The sponsor will need this information to make a final decision.
5	Project Manager, Team Member	Assign the scope change to a project team member for investigation The project manager could assign it to himself.
6	Project Manager, Client Manager	(Optional) Resolve small change requests if there is no impact on schedule and budget If the impact on project cost, effort and duration falls below a threshold (say less than 20 hours) and the project will still be completed within the agreed upon cost, effort and duration, the project manager and client manager may approve the scope change request. This threshold needs to be identified and approved in advance by the project sponsor. The purpose of this step is to keep from sending many small changes to the sponsor for approval. However, the sponsor must have agreed to delegate this responsibility – usually up to a certain threshold of dollars or effort.
7	Sponsor	Take the information to the sponsor Take the scope change request, alternatives, business value and project impact to the project sponsor for a resolution (if the project manager and client manager did not approve, as above).
8	Project Manager	Document the resolution on the Scope Change Log If the sponsor does not agree to the change request, then the request should be closed and given a status of ‘not approved’ on the Scope Change Log.
9	Project Manager	Add the incremental work to the schedule If the scope change request is approved, the appropriate activities are added to the schedule to ensure the change is implemented. The project budget and deadline should also be updated, if necessary.
10	Project Manager	Update the Abbreviated Project Charter, if necessary The current Abbreviated Project Charter should be updated if an approved scope change results in a substantial change to the scope of the project.
11	Project Manager	Communicate through your Status Reports Communicate scope change status and resolution to project team members and other appropriate stakeholders through the methods established in the Communication Management Plan, including the project Status Report.

General Change Control (5.1.2.P2)

	Role	General Change Management (Medium Projects)
1	Project Manager	Document the change in the Change Log Sometimes change comes as a result of a predefined request. Other times the change just happens and needs to be managed reactively. These changes should be documented in a Change Log.
2	Project Manager, Team Member	Assign the change to a project team member for investigation The project manager could assign it to himself.
3	Project Manager, Client Manager	Resolve small change requests if there is no impact on schedule and budget If the impact on project cost, effort and duration falls below a threshold (say less than 20 hours) and the project will still be completed within the agreed upon cost, effort and duration, the project manager and client manager may approve the change request.
4	Sponsor	Take the information to the Sponsor Take the change request, alternatives, business value and project impact to the project sponsor for a resolution (if the project manager and client manager did not approve, as above).
5	Project Manager	Document the resolution on the Change Log Close out the change request on the Change Log with the final resolution.
6	Project Manager	Update the schedule and budget If the change request is approved, the appropriate activities are added to the schedule to ensure the change is implemented. Since this is not a scope change request, there is no guarantee that you will receive incremental schedule and budget to deal with this change.
7	Project Manager	Communicate through your Status Reports Communicate scope change status and resolution to project team members and other appropriate stakeholders through the methods established in the Communication Management Plan, including the project Status Report.

Large Projects (5.1.3.P1)

In a large project there are potential three types of changes – scope changes, general changes and configuration changes. Each of these could be defined as unique project management processes, or you could try to combine them in one broad change process. The scope change process is documented in the Scope Management Plan. See 5.0.2 Create Scope Management Plan for more details.

In this section the processes are described individually.

	Role	Scope Change Management (Large Projects)
1	Project Manager	Identify scope change request Solicit potential scope changes from any project stakeholders, including the project team, clients, sponsors, etc. Potential scope changes should be documented in writing to the project manager through a short Scope Change Request Form or email.
2	Project Manager	Validate it is a scope change The project manager validates that the request is, in fact, a scope change.
3	Project Manager	Enter the request in the Scope Change Log Enter the item into the Scope Change Log for tracking purposes.
4	(Person making request)	Request the business value of the change The person making the scope change request should define the business value to the project. The sponsor will need this information to make a final decision.
5	Project Manager, Sponsor	Determine the impact of the investigation on the project The project manager must estimate the impact of the investigation to the project in terms of effort, cost and duration. If the time to investigate the impact of the change is minor, the project manager will proceed. If the time required to perform the scope investigation will cause deliverable dates to slip, the request must first be taken to the project sponsor to determine whether the request itself should even be investigated. If the sponsor gives the initial approval to proceed, the schedule and budget may need to be updated to reflect this new scope change investigation. If the sponsor does not agree to investigate the change request, then the request should be closed as ‘not approved’ on the Scope Change Log.
6	Project Manager, Team Member	Assign the scope change to a project team member for investigation The project manager could assign it to himself.
7	Project Manager, Client Manager	(Optional) Resolve small change requests if there is no impact on schedule and budget If the impact on project cost, effort and duration falls below a threshold (say less than 20 hours) and the project will still be completed within the agreed upon cost, effort and duration, the project manager and client manager may approve the scope change request. This threshold needs to be identified and approved in advance by the project sponsor. The purpose of this step is to keep from sending many small changes to the sponsor for approval. However, the sponsor must have agreed to delegate this responsibility – usually up to a certain threshold of dollars or effort.
8	Sponsor	Take the information to the sponsor Take the scope change request, alternatives, business value and project impact to the project sponsor for a resolution (if the project manager and client manager did not approve, as above).
9	Project Manager	Document the resolution on the Scope Change Log Close out the change request on the Scope Change Log with the final resolution.
10	Project Manager	Close the Scope Change Request Form The project manager should update the Scope Change Request form and then close and file this document.
11	Project Manager	Update the schedule and budget If the scope change request is approved, the appropriate activities are added to the schedule to ensure the change is implemented. The project budget and deadline should also be updated, if necessary.
12	Project Manager	Update the Project Charter, if necessary The current Project Charter should be updated if an approved scope change results in a substantial change to the scope of the project.
13	Project Manager	Communicate through your Status Reports Communicate scope change status and resolution to project team members and other appropriate stakeholders through the methods established in the Communication Management Plan, including the project Status Report.

Configuration Change (5.1.3.P2)

See 5.1.3.1 Configuration Management for more details on this topic.

	Role	Configuration Change Management (Large Projects)
1	Project Manager	Identify configuration change request Solicit potential configuration changes from any project stakeholders, including the project team, clients, sponsors, etc. Potential scope changes should be documented in writing to the project manager through a short Configuration Change Request Form (optional) or email.
2	Project Manager	Validate it is a configuration change The project manager validates that the request is, in fact, a configuration change.
3	Project Manager	Enter the request in the Configuration Change Log Enter the item into the Configuration Change Log for tracking purposes.
4	(Person making request)	Request the business value of the configuration change (optional) Some configuration change is discretionary and is requested because of some underlying business value. In this case, the person making the configuration change request should define the business value to the project. The sponsor will need this information to make a final decision.
5	Project Manager, Sponsor	Determine the impact of the investigation on the project The project manager must estimate the impact of the investigation to the project in terms of effort, cost and duration. If the time to investigate the impact of the configuration change is minor, the project manager will proceed. Some configuration changes can have a dramatic impact on project schedule and cost through having to change many of the project components and assets. If the time required to perform the investigation will cause deliverable dates to slip, the request must first be taken to the project sponsor to determine whether the request itself should even be investigated. If the sponsor gives the initial approval to proceed, the configuration change request process can continue. Since this is not a scope change request, the project manager may not receive incremental schedule and budget for the investigation, but this all needs top be negotiated with the sponsor. If the sponsor does not agree to investigate the configuration change request, then the request should be closed as ‘not approved’ on the Configuration Change Log.
6	Project Manager, Team Member	Assign the configuration change to a project team member for investigation The project manager could assign it to himself.
7	Project Manager, Client Manager	Resolve small configuration change requests if there is no impact on schedule and budget If the impact on project cost, effort and duration falls below a threshold (say less than 20 hours) and the project will still be completed within the agreed upon cost, effort and duration, the project manager and client manager may approve the configuration change request.
8	Sponsor	Take the information to the sponsor Take the change request, alternatives, business value and project impact to the project sponsor for a resolution (if the project manager and client manager did not approve, as above).
9	Project Manager	Document the resolution on the Configuration Change Log Close out the change request on the Configuration Change Log with the final resolution.
10	Project Manager	Close the Configuration Change Request Form The project manager should update the Configuration Change Request form and then close and file this document.
11	Project Manager	Update the schedule and budget If the configuration change request is approved, the appropriate activities are added to the schedule to ensure the change is implemented. Since this is not a scope change request, you may or may not receive incremental schedule and budget to implement the configuration change. This all needs to be negotiated with the sponsor based on the nature of the change.
12	Project Manager	Communicate through your Status Reports Communicate change status and resolution to project team members and other appropriate stakeholders through the methods established in the Communication Management Plan, including the project Status Report.

General Change Control (5.1.3.P3)

	Role	Change Management (Large Projects)
1	Project Manager	Identify change request Solicit potential changes from any project stakeholders, including the project team, clients, sponsors, etc. Potential scope changes should be documented in writing to the project manager through a short Change Request Form (optional) or email.
2	Project Manager	Validate it is a change The project manager validates that the request is, in fact, a change.
3	Project Manager	Enter the request in the Change Log Enter the item into the Change Log for tracking purposes.
4	(Person making request)	Request the business value of the change (optional) Some change is discretionary and is requested because of some underlying business value. In this case, the person making the change request should define the business value to the project. The sponsor will need this information to make a final decision.
5	Project Manager, Sponsor	Determine the impact of the investigation on the project The project manager must estimate the impact of the investigation to the project in terms of effort, cost and duration. If the time to investigate the impact of the change is minor, the project manager will proceed. If the time required to perform the investigation will cause deliverable dates to slip, the request must first be taken to the project sponsor to determine whether the request itself should even be investigated. If the sponsor gives the initial approval to proceed, the change request process can continue. Since this is not a scope change request, the project manager may not receive incremental schedule and budget for the investigation, but this all needs top be negotiated with the sponsor. If the sponsor does not agree to investigate the change request, then the request should be closed as ‘not approved’ on the Change Log.
6	Project Manager, Team Member	Assign the change to a project team member for investigation The project manager could assign it to himself.
7	Project Manager, Client Manager	Resolve small change requests if there is no impact on schedule and budget If the impact on project cost, effort and duration falls below a threshold (say less than 20 hours) and the project will still be completed within the agreed upon cost, effort and duration, the project manager and client manager may approve the change request.
8	Sponsor	Take the information to the sponsor Take the change request, alternatives, business value and project impact to the project sponsor for a resolution (if the project manager and client manager did not approve, as above).
9	Project Manager	Document the resolution on the Change Log Close out the change request on the Change Log with the final resolution.
10	Project Manager	Close the Change Request Form The project manager should update the Change Request form and then close and file this document.
11	Project Manager	Update the schedule and budget If the change request is approved, the appropriate activities are added to the schedule to ensure the change is implemented. Since this is not a scope change request, you may or may not receive incremental schedule and budget to implement the change. This all needs to be negotiated with the sponsor based on the nature of the change.
12	Project Manager	Communicate through your Status Reports Communicate change status and resolution to project team members and other appropriate stakeholders through the methods established in the Communication Management Plan, including the project Status Report.

[ Previous Page - 5.5 Scope Control] [ Next Page - 5.5.02TS Scope Control - Techniques]