When it comes to your technology projects, they should be outlined in great detail long before they’re initiated. Ideally, as part of the proposal process. We already took a moment to lay out some red flags for IT projects, but perhaps one of the most important points in that blog was to ensure that the proposal had a full scope of work outlined within it. If you’re in the process of bidding out a technology project and want to know what the ideal project scope looks like and what to look for, here are the most important elements of technology project scope:
- Project overview
This one seems pretty logical, but all IT project proposals have to start with a general overview of the project. The overview should give a general idea of what the project is for, timelines and what the expected results of the project are. This helps to identify expectations as you continue to read through the proposed scope and ideally interpret the other elements of the proposal as supporting the goal mentioned in the overview. - Project Inclusions
This is probably the most important section of the proposal to read in detail. You need to have a very close understanding and comprehensive outline of what is included in the project scope. This includes lists of all hardware that will be included, a list of steps for project execution and an outline of exactly how it is to be executed. - Project Exclusions
This section serves to offer a line of delineation for what is excluded from the project and any activities that are non-project related that a client or prospect can expect to pay for separately. An example of an exclusion might be something that is being covered or handled by other vendors. - Project Team
Before starting any projects, you should have a complete understanding of who the people are that will be working on the project. This would include a list of names, titles, and qualifications of the team members that will be delivering on your behalf.
Keep in mind that project scopes come in many forms, but these elements should be contained in each proposal without exception. If you receive a quote without these elements, be sure to insist that you are provided with a detailed scope of work. Have your scope reviewed by a third party to ensure that nothing is being missed. A great partner will welcome feedback and additions to the project scope to ensure 100% clarity and scope creep that would take the project outside of the promised delivery timeframe.