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Once a proposal is accepted the next step is
to create a Statement of Work.
The proposal and the contract serve as
the basis for the Statement of Work.
Depending on how big the proposal is,
one or many Statements of Work could be
written to cover all aspects of the
proposal. The Statement of Work is
the project manager's agreement with
the client concerning the work required
for the project. The Statement of Work
has the following sections:
- Background
- Objective
- Scope
- Approach
- Risks
- Assumptions
- Constraints
- Client Responsibilities
- Project Completion Criteria
- Background
This section describes the client's
business and identifies why
the project has been initiated.
- Objective
This section specifies
what business objectives
and critical functions the
project should achieve.
- Scope
The scope identifies which aspect of the business,
such as customers, products, processes, organizations,
locations, or applications, are to be included in
the project and which aspect are to be excluded.
It determines what other external influences and
impacts, such as interfaces, customer needs, and
regulatory requirements are to be addressed.
It also describes the work activity to be completed
and the work products to be delivered.
- Approach
This section defines the approach that will
be used to achieve the results and the project
management standards that will be used to
control and monitor the project.
- Risks
This section describes the key project risks,
their areas of impact, and their potential
effect on project success. Risks may relate
to business policies, conflicting interest or
priorities, choices between alternatives,
commitment of resources, or unfulfilled
responsibilities. This section should include
only those risks the client should understand
and can help manage.
- Assumptions
Assumptions are expectations that form the
basis of decisions. This section contains
the major assumptions used to establish
the project estimates, plans, and approach.
Assumptions should also include each identified
issue if the project is to continue while issues
remain unresolved. The description of each
assumption should include the degree of criticality.
- Constraints
A constraint is a restriction associated with the project.
It may relate to project approach, priorities, personnel,
time, technologies, environments, decision cycles, tools
and techniques, or other aspects of the project.
Identifying constraints encourages management to control
them to ensure project success.
- Client Responsibilities
This section identifies client responsibilities.
The client must understand not only his or her
responsibilities but also the impact on the project
if these responsibilities are not fulfilled.
- Project Completion Criteria
This section identifies the major work products
that must be accepted before the project is
considered complete.
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