| A scope of work is a document that captures the plan, timeframe, resources required, and completion milestone of a project. It is crucial for ensuring a mutual understanding between you and the customer. A scope of work is a preproject overview prepared for a proposal, and should not be confused with a statement of work, which is a final project overview prepared for billing. Among other things, a scope of work must list resources critical to success. Essential to this is executive support; without leadership from management, implementing an IT project is more difficult. Generally, a scope of work should have the following components: Introduction A description of the type of work provided, the service provider, the customer, and key points about the document itself. Assumptions A list of any assumptions made by the service provider about the customer. Objectives A list of what the plan aims to accomplish. A key point of the document. Customer responsibilities A statement of what the service provider and the customer agree on that the customer must do to implement the plan. A key point of the document. HP services A list of what the service provider will do. A key point of the document. Resources required A list of what resources the service provider and/ or the customer must provide to implement the plan. Location of work A statement that the work will be performed at the customer's address. Project timeline A description that details when the plan will commence and how long it is expected to take. It can also include any mitigating statements, such as a delay in the start of the project of the customer does not receive or provide resources in a timely manner. A key point of the document. Completion criteria A statement of a milestone indicating completion of the plan. This can be an achievement of the objectives, com-pletion of the estimated consulting hours, or a date. Change-management procedure It is important that any agreed-upon plan have a change-management procedure. This provides a formalized way to alter the project plan after the initial terms of the work statement have been accepted. Typically, it describes the vehicle for submitting the request (usually a form), a description of the change requested, a statement that all parties must agree to the change for it to be implemented, any costs associated with implementing the change, and any exceptions to the agreement that would automatically trigger a change form, such as the estimated hours required to complete the plan being exceeded by 20%. Company contacts A list of the names, positions, telephone numbers, addresses, and e-mails of the responsible parties. Costing schedule A key point of the document, the schedule lists and describes any fees estimated for the project. It should also describe what can be charged in the event of unforeseen problems, and the expected business hours.
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