Develop Preliminary Project Scope Statement

The inputs into developing this process are the project Charter, project statement of work, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets according to the PMBOK. The Charter has been described previously. The project statement of work, or SOW, is created at this stage and contains narrative that describes the products or services that will be the output of the project. The SOW shows the business need for the project, which links it closely to the Charter. In addition, the scope definition gives the product requirements. Finally, the Charter has a clear link to the strategic plan of the organization. Because all projects support the organization's overall strategic vision, the strategic plan (or at least the main points in the strategy) should be part of the development of the early project scope statements.

One of the techniques of managing an organization or project is to manage the variance between what was planned and what actually occurs. This is also one of the tools and techniques found in project management methodology. We have already encountered one of the techniques used in project management through the use of earned value (EV), as discussed in Chapter 4. This technique measures the variance in projects and is an accounting form that is not often seen in general management. In Project Integration Management, the term used to describe the process of managing by variance is called Earned Value Management (EVM). EVM is a project integrating methodology, whereas EV is the technique. EVM is the way project management uses variance management to assess the state of the project. It measures performance against the project plan.

Q.	The methodology that is used to measure variance in projects is:
		A.	Earned Value (EV)
		B.	Accounting
		C.	Scheduling
		D.	Earned Value Management (EVM)

The answer is D. The methodology is EVM; the technique is EV.

Q.	EVM is generally not seen in:
		A.	Big projects
		B.	Schedules
		C.	Small projects
		D.	General management

The answer is D. (Be sure to note when the question is asked in the negative. This will occur on the exam.) Earned Value Management is a project management methodology. It is important to note this when you are reporting to a sponsor who does not understand what EVM is. You can try to use EVM with an explanation of what it represents, but you may have to rewrite your status reports so that you are expressing the variance between the plan and reality in terms that the sponsor understands. In some cases, the sponsor will learn new terminology, but in most cases, they will not want to do so. The professional project manager must make sure that he or she passes information to the sponsor and other stakeholders in forms that they understand.

EVM is an excellent methodology, but you probably will use it more for yourself and the project team than for stakeholders outside of the team.

Q.	EVM is a methodology that deals with ________ management.
		A.	Natural
		B.	General
		C.	Variance
		D.	Customer

The answer is C. Although variance management is a common business technique, Earned Value Management is specific to projects.

The output of developing a preliminary Scope Statement is the document itself. Remember that everything is preliminary until you lock the Scope Statement under version control. As you do preliminary work, you look for as many inputs as you can find in order to finalize your baseline Scope Statement.