Scope
Management
Summary
Scope Management is a process that ensures a project or proposed project includes all the work that is required and that the work is planned and managed. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has developed a series of guidance documents that help to identify the scope of a project and manage that scope over the life of the project.
NJDOT Policy and Procedure 818,
Scope Management for Capital
Projects, requires that
projects and proposed projects
are properly authorized
by the Capital Program
Committee using a formal
Charter, and have defined Scope
Statements documenting specific
project work for each phase.
Objectives
The process goal is to ensure the work of the project or proposed project is authorized, defined, and managed over the life of the project. Accomplishing this goal helps to eliminate unauthorized work, minimize unwarranted changes, and ultimately minimize the cost of the project and the time required to complete the project.
Major Tasks
The Scope Management Process has two key functions:
- Authorizing Work: During
the Problem Screening
phase, problem statements
are reviewed and screened
to determine appropriate
action. If a Problem
Statement is to be recommended
to advance into the Concept
Development (CD) phase,
Capital Investment Strategies
(CIS) coordinates with
Subject Matter Experts
(SME) and creates a formal Charter (xls
35k). CIS then presents
the Charter, and all
other relevant documentation,
to the Capital Program
Screening Committee (CPSC)
for recommendation to
the Capital Program Committee
(CPC). In the end the
CPC formally authorizes
the Problem Statement
to advance into the CD
Phase.
- Defining
and Managing Scope: For
all phases following
Problem Screening, the
scope of the effort must
be formally defined
and approved. This
is accomplished by
using a Scope Statement.
There are separate
Scope Statement templates
for CD, Preliminary
Engineering (PE)
and Final Design
(FD). Each
Scope Statement template
is based on the documented Work
Breakdown Structure (WBS) for
the Project Delivery
Process and lists all
of the products for the
phase. Each Scope Statement
is customized based on
the project or proposed
project specifics and
is used to manage and
control work.
Products
Charter
The Charter is the document, created by CIS and approved by the CPC, that formally authorizes a proposed project’s
advancement from Problem
Screening to CD. The Charter provides
the NJDOT Project Manager
with the authority to apply organizational
resources to project activities.
The Charter typically includes
the name of the proposed project,
justification, objectives, recommendation,
responsible unit and authorizing
signatures.
Scope Statement
Each Scope Statement is based on
a standard template and
documents the scope of
work for the phase. It
provides both the consultant
and NJDOT the scope of
work with the detail necessary
to estimate the staff hours
of work associated with
the project phase. The
Scope Statement also provides areas
for the SME units to state any
assumptions, customize
standard activities and add new
activities and descriptions. It
is used as a quality control measure.
Some of the files below are in
Portable Document Format (PDF).
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader,
which is available free from the
state Adobe
Access page, to view the files.
Flow Charts
Guidance Documents
Templates
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