The scope document, also sometimes called a scope statement, is an agreement between you and your contractors (also known as suppliers, vendors or providers) that will be the basis for all project related decisions. Find out what you should include and exclude from your project scope document, and a few extra tips as well.
Your Scope Document Should Include:
- A strategy that provides an overview of the project itself.
- A summary of the deliverables and when they should be delivered.
- The goals of the project in terms of time, money and the standards of quality that the project must meet in order for it to be considered successful.
- A section consisting of supporting detail that describes all of the assumptions and constraints that could be associated with the project.
- A thorough description of how the project will be managed.
Your Scope Document Should NOT Include:
- A contract for payment.
- A schedule for payment (unless milestones for delivery are contingent on it).
- Personal references.
We strongly recommend reviewing your project scope statement with the partners or people who have invested in your business. If you choose to do so then the scope document should also include direction about how changes to the project plan might be approached.
Make it your mission to be as clear and definitive of your expectations of any provider as possible and use the writing of the document to get to know the contractors and sub-contractors you are dealing with better.
Your Turn
If you have a project scope document already drafted, take a moment to review it. Does it include the elements we listed?
It’s encouraging to see a small business serving small business that understands this level of contractor agreement and project scope definition. Most small business and sole practitioners working with social media marketing or any design and development that requires subjective customer approval, often disregard proper documentation. It is a real set-apart and point of difference for a company like yours to promote how it manages projects, how you manage your business and what makes your efforts sustainable. This is what is missing from most of the small business work out there in your space.
Thanks Jeff for your wonderful comment!
We definitely understand (being a small business ourselves) the challenges of running…a small business. Despite the popularity of social media, and the importance of proper web development, we feel it is absolutely crucial to understand how to also RUN a business with regards to your web strategy – that means learning about the sometimes tedious but exceedingly important tasks of scope documentation, project management, etc.
We hope that we can help small businesses grow from the ground up with a strong foundation!