We have seen many projects that were initiated without a well defined (or well communicated) set of objectives and requirements. There are a lot of reasons for this, but very few good reasons.  The most prevalent reason is that the client and/or the person(s) who perform the actual project work jump into the project without taking the time to develop a scope statement or set of requirements. Too often a client company will award a contract or order without accurately scoping what it wants or needs, and a service provider will accept the contract without clearly scoping what it expects to provide. The result is that both sides have a cloudy view of what is to be done, and an even cloudier view of what it will take to conclude and close the project on a fair basis for both sides. While both sides may start with the best of intentions, it is often the case that one or both sides ultimately don’t get what they need from the project. Either the client doesn’t get the product or deliverable that she wants, or the vendor doesn’t get paid what he believes he has earned. Time passes, deadlines may be missed, … Continue reading Project Scoping