4 tools to define the scope of a project

15 de January de 2015, by Administrador, Posted in News, 0 Comment

The scope of planning is one of the main processes in managing a project. A poorly defined scope invariably will lead to a customer dissatisfaction

Profession that is gaining more market share, the project manager needs to be a complete professional. In addition to good communication and leadership, he must know specific techniques of project management area.

With this, more and more professionals seek certification in the area, especially the PMI (Project Management Institute), the most recognized in the market. Certification is not necessary to be a good project manager, but to conquer it, you have to know very specific techniques that can make a difference in managing a project, especially those large.

Following the metodoogia PMBOK, manage a project involves 10 groups of processes: integration, stakeholders, scope, cost, schedule, communications, procurement, quality, human resources and risks. Among these processes, the scope is one of the 3 that require more attention project manager, together with the cost and the time. A poorly defined scope will certainly have a negative impact and can be on customer satisfaction with the product, with the price or the delivery time.

Therefore, the project manager must be open to different tools that can help you set a good scope.

1) Mind Maps (mind maps)

Good project managers create the so-called EAP (Work Breakdown Structure Project), which is nothing more than a hierarchy chart to break down a project into parts (deliveries). The best tools to design an EAP are the mind maps. I personally recommend the Mindmeister (www.mindmeister.com) or Mindomo (www.mindomo.com), both with free versions for demonstration.

2) Nouns Abstract

Another tip to decompose a project is making use of abstract nouns. As an example, imagine you have a project to renovate a house. You can break it down with abstract nouns, such as aesthetics, comfort, security and other qualities that you want to have in your home. Then, within each of these abstract nouns, you can describe the items you would like in each area. For example, in “Security”, you can insert installation of locks, alarms, fences etc. In “Beauty”, you may think a new lighting system, new paint etc.

3) Expert Judgment

The expert opinion is one of the tools mentioned in the PMBOK. In the case of the reform of a house, you could see, for example, an engineer or an architect with experience in similar projects.

4) Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a tool already widespread in various areas of knowledge. It starts with the premise that “many heads are better than one.” Usually involves getting people connected to the project where a mediator encourages them to give and validate ideas for the scope. Again, as an example, in the case of home improvement, imagine that the family is gathered in the living room discussing what they would like to change the house, and one of these people write down all these ideas. In brainstorming is essential not suppress any idea. All should be noted them and, after no longer be any idea to be given, discuss with the participants which of them should come to the scope. The idea is to encourage the participation of all.

Initially, try to apply some of these concepts in small projects. It may seem laborious, but a project manager knows how a poorly defined scope can bring headaches for a long time.

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