Purpose And Scope

Technical Purpose

The technical purpose of the work in this chapter is to define the specific elements of the international project in terms of purpose, scope, roles, issues, overall cost, and schedule. By doing this you can determine the technical feasibility of carrying out the project.

Business Purpose

The business purpose of this chapter is to define the international project from a business view. This is often very different from the technical view. Consider the project of installing a system in multiple locations. The technical purpose is rather straightforward. The business purpose is to achieve positive results through change resulting from achieving the technical purpose.

Political Purpose

The political purpose of this chapter is to get management to agree on the project. But this is not just upper management. It is also management at each location or within each business unit. Now sit back and consider the three purposes. You can most easily define the project from a technical view. However, if you achieve the technical objectives, there is nothing to say that either the business or political objectives have been achieved. Furthermore, if you achieve both the technical and business goals, you can still fail because you did not get support for the project.

Scope

At this stage in the international project, everything is included. There are no restrictions since you are trying to define the project. Thus, it is wise to consider many options.