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Questions about the Project
being Answered by SOW |
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purpose
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goals
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scope
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deliverables
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constraints
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success criteria
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management guidelines
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assumptions
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Minimum Content of SOW4 |
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Purpose Statement
– answers briefly the question: Why are we doing this project?
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Scope Statement
– puts some boundaries on the project; specifies what is
within and beyond the project's scope; names major activities
clearly enough to define what the project will and won't do; lists
major activities that are critical to success of the project, but
beyond the scope of the project; defines a project place in a larger
scenario
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Deliverables
– tells the stakeholders, especially the project team, what the
project is supposed to produce; lists both intermediate and end
deliverables; references product descriptions
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Cost and Schedule Estimates - explains budget and
deadline; not deliverables
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Constraints
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Success
criteria
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Chain
of command or management guidelines
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Assumptions
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Why Statement of Work?
Developing the statement of work
is required to provide clear direction to projects and project managers if
they are to succeed. Statement of work (SOW) sets the rules for the project
once the key stakeholders formally agree to its content. SOW lists the
goals, constraints, success criteria, and management guidelines. It
clarifies responsibilities and actions of project stakeholders in a
relationship
The written SOW is an effective
tool for managing stakeholders and their expectations. Developing SOW and
responsibility matrix
balances the project based on high-level estimates of the cost, schedule,
quality, and resource requirements.
Project Management: Business Synergies Approach
50 Rules of Project Management
A project is one small step for the project sponsor, one giant
leap for the project manager.
The person who says it will take the longest and cost the most
is the only one with a clue how to do the job ..
GREAT Model
By: Michael S. Dobson
To make your project team function
effectively, the first thing you need to know is the GREAT model:
Goals; Results;
Expectations / Performance;
Accountabilities / Abilities;
Timing.
The GREAT model specifies what people must know before they can work
together effectively.
Managing Change
SOW is a tool for managing
expectations and
change. In
case the original agreements or assumptions change during the course of a
project, all stakeholders must be kept up to date, agree to these changes,
and the project manager must write them into the statement of work.
Murphy's Law in Project Management
Firmness of delivery dates is
inversely proportional to the tightness of the schedule..
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