31+ Sample Project Scope of Work

What is a Project Scope of Work?

Project scope of work is a document that contains a list of specific goals, tasks, and deliverables for a project. It determines the planning of the project where you can show its costs and deadlines. Project scope of work can also be called a scope statement. It is written as an important section of a proposal that freelancers submit to clients. Project management is involved in project scope of work where you can make the clients see that you have a good work plan for the project. It is a formal statement of what you can do for clients. It has a good format and details the services you can provide.

Whether you are going to make a consulting project, a project in architecture, a design project, or an electrical project, you need a project scope of work to define all your tasks to let the clients see what they can expect from you. Whether it is a construction project scope of work, electrical project scope of work, project management scope of work, project engineer scope of work, or project coordinator scope of work, all of them are the same that you need to provide a term of reference to the clients. Even in research or app development, you need to be specific about your projects. This is the only way how you can define the things that you should do for the clients.

The boundaries of the project are established in the project scope of work. You can profess your responsibilities and you can state the procedures that you will have for the job. This documentation is needed so that you can focus on all your tasks. The scope statement helps you with your decisions and it can be used if ever there can be a change in the project. This is especially needed for large projects. It will be easier for you to manage large projects through this. Stakeholders should be specific in stating scope of work to prevent scope creep, a situation where the worker needs to provide more work that is a result of miscommunication.

To have the best scope of work, you need good communication. You should know the extent of the project and you should be specific on how you can reach your goals. The scope of work is something that clients look closely at. You need to present a great scope of work to convince clients that you are the best for the project. Just be sure that the goals of the project scope of work will be met. So, you must set realistic goals for the project for the clients to see that you can deliver the job. You have to set a project scope of work that you can accomplish.

Elements of a Project Scope of Work

A project scope of work statement has components. Without these components, your clients may not consider your proposal. The details should be complete or it will look like you will not be able to do the project right. Read the following and know some of the elements of project scope of work:

Problem Statement: You can define the project objectives by stating a problem statement. You should tell the problem that you can address. This is the situation that you are facing that you have to solve. You should state what you want to attain with the project. If you can determine that you can solve the problem of clients, then clients will know that you are apt for the job. Make a clear problem statement that can tell the things that you can do. Enumerate your solutions for the clients to see how good your services are.Deliverables: These are the end products of your project. Deliverables are the things that you can deliver to clients. If you do a design project, this may be a PSD file or a PNG file. If you are a writer, you should deliver the articles that you have written. Deliverables are the things that you have to submit to clients. These are the products of your services. In submitting deliverables, be sure that you are submitting the best ones. The quality of your work will depend on the quality of your deliverables. So, if you want clients to hire you again, you should submit the best deliverables.Milestones: Milestones can be a set of deliverables. Through milestones, clients can track your progress on the project better. For example, if you are a writer who was about to submit a scope of work of 10,000 words, you can have milestones of articles of 1,000 words. For every 1,000-word article, you can finish 1 milestone. Having milestones can be negotiated by both parties. It is also done to make the job easier. It makes the job lighter because you can face smaller portions of the job where you do not have to experience stress. Doing tasks by milestones is very recommended because it can help any freelancer to finish their job easier.Timeline: The work schedule should be clearly defined in the scope of work. You should also provide a timeline where you can state the time when you will give the deliverables. The timeline is the set time when you will do the whole project. This should be given to ensure clients that you will work on the project at that specific time. Provide a good timeline that will not make clients wait for too long. Through this, if you can provide a realistic timeline, clients will have an interest in your work. An overly long timeline will not satisfy any client. You should not keep them waiting. They need to have the project at the earliest time possible.Individual Tasks: These are all the things that you should do to complete the projects. List all the tasks that are needed in the project. Clients have a right to know all the tasks that are involved in the project. You can also satisfy them if they will see that you will do the tasks that they are looking for for the project. Be definite in enumerating the tasks. You can include the skills that you need for you to accomplish the tasks. Write small and big tasks. You can write them in a bulleted list or a numbered list. Do not forget any task that you should do. The clients have to know that you will work diligently on the project.Payment Details: The scope of work includes the payment that clients have to give for the project. You should include the price for the project. Include the payment terms that both of you should follow to make your agreement work well. You should provide a payment method for how your client can pay you. Be sure that both of you have negotiated and agreed on the payment details. Doing this can eradicate any kind of dispute between the two of you.Reports: This is the part of the project scope of work that will tell how you can demonstrate the progress of your work. You need to make a task report to clients to ensure them that you are properly doing the job. The reports should be accurate and should tell the actual progress of the project. You can send reports daily, weekly, or monthly.Terms and Requirements: This part includes the terms that you have for the project. You and the client should follow these terms. You also need to comply with all the requirements for the job. On the other hand, you should state the requirements that you need for you to start the job. Both of you should talk about the important things needed for the job. Terms are needed so that boundaries will be clear.

How to Write a Project Scope of Work

Do you need a project scope of work template or a project scope of work example? Are you about to send a project scope of work to clients? Whether you are in the marketing or engineering field, you may want some steps that can help you in writing it. Applying these steps can make you have the best scope of work document. So, before you make a project scope of work outline or a project scope of work format, you can consider the following steps:

  • Step 1: Begin with Clear Objectives

    The first thing that you need in creating a project scope of work is to start with your objectives. You should set clear objectives for the project. These things can make your project feasible. You can show your clients that you can deliver a good job. You can cite a few objectives that can make the clients impressed. If you do not know how to write a project scope of work, starting with objectives will help you to begin it. You will know the direction you are heading to and you can cite the right details for the project. It is because you can assess the work that you can do better. Set good objectives so that the project will have a good result.

  • Step 2: Create a Resource Plan

    The next thing that you should do is to consider all your resources. Create a resource plan that can help you while you are doing the project. You can be sure that all resources will be available to you when you are working and you will not experience a lack of materials. You can work properly because you have planned on all the things that you need. The resources can be the budget or the bandwidth. Do project management that can help you to have complete resources. Through a resource management plan, you will know how you will use your resources. Plan this before you make the project scope of work. Through this, you can adjust the scope of work according to the availability of resources.

  • Step 3: Gather Project Requirements

    Projects requirements impact your project scope of work. You need to gather all the project requirements first for you to do the project. List all the requirements that you need and start collecting them afterward. Before you work, all the requirements should be prepared so that there will be nothing that will hinder your work. If you need some requirements from the clients, get them before the start of the project. For this reason, you need to be clear with all your requirements even at the time of negotiation for the project. Make all the requirements complete so that you will know that you will do a good job.

  • Step 4: Make a Scope Statement

    Then you should have to make a scope statement. This will detail the project that you can give. It states the things that you will do and what you will not do. The scope statement can be in a bulleted list or a paragraph. It is the statement of work (SOW) that will define your services. It is up to you to create the length of the SOW. But be sure that it will cover the things that you can provide for the project. You can state why you are working for the project, stating your goals and deliverables. You can tell your restrictions and enumerate your resources. Provide a timeline and the exact scope of your work.

  • Step 5: Get Approval from Stakeholders

    After creating your scope statement, you should start asking for the approval of the stakeholders. Show them the SOW. Ask their opinion. Is it good enough for the client to approve of it? You will have the chance to change some things in the SOW with the help of stakeholders. You should do this before the project begins or you may not be able to change anything anymore. Follow the advice of stakeholders so that you can make your SOW better.

  • Step 6: Create a Change Control Process

    You should make a change control process. It is needed for large projects where there can come a time that you have to change some things. You can find your timeline insufficient and you may need more time. Or you can receive not-so-good feedback for the milestones that you have submitted. You need flexibility when these things happen. A change for the project should be possible to avoid scope creep.

  • Step 7: Present the Scope of Work to Clients

    After you have completed the project scope of work, you must start showing it to clients. Wait until the time that they have approved the scope of work or the proposal. After the proposal is accepted, you can refer to the project scope of work as you work on the project. It can guide you on all the things that you should do. You will be able to submit good deliverables with the help of the project scope of work.

FAQs

What are the tips for the project scope of work?

Some of the tips that you can use for a project scope of work are you need to be specific and you can use visuals. Being specific can give the right expectations to clients. While using visuals like PowerPoint can enhance the service that you can provide.

What are the benefits of project scope of work?

Some of the benefits are ensuring the boundaries that you should give to the clients, having less risk on the project, having the right budget and resources, attaining your objectives, and avoiding scope creep.

Creating a proposal that will be sent to clients is not easy. You need to ensure that every section will be approved by clients. Especially the project scope of work that will define your services. You need to make it great so that you can convince clients to give you the project. Well, are you looking for a template for a project scope of work? This post has 31+ SAMPLE Project Scope of Work in PDF | MS Word. Download now!