Unit 2 Project Scope Statements and Project Integration Knowledge Areas -Including the Project Charter

Overview

Welcome to Unit 2 of PMPP 201. In this Unit, we begin by diving into the 10 “Project Management Knowledge Areas,” as listed in the Project Management Institutes Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). As noted in Unit 1, the PMBOK is at the core of our curriculum and Learning Outcomes. This unit will consider the knowledge areas of Integration and Scope.

Every organization that takes the steps to perform project work can only do so by integrating it into their organizational structure and culture. Project success depends on the proper assimilation of PM concepts and processes (AND how these fit into the values and mission of the organization). A project manager must understand their leadership role and its effect on project work. We target our assignments to prepare you for use in real-world project management.

At the core of Scope Kowledge Area, is the Charter Statement. It is the single sentence that defines what the project does. It does not have to be complicated. In fact, a simple Charter Statement is typically more effective.

There is constant pressure during a project to add additional tasks/deliverables, or to adjust these in some manner. These requests can come from several sources, but need approval from the group (the project team and the top level stakeholders) to incorporate that into the project. Avoiding these new or adjusted tasks will likely help the project to complete and close.

Topics

This unit is divided into the following topics:

  1. The Project Charter
  2. The Project Scope
  3. Change Management Systems
  4. Integrating Project Deliverables – Important Considerations

Learning Outcomes

When you have completed this unit, you should be able to:

  • Develop a Project Charter (Also called Executive Summary)
  • Create a Scope Statement, including items that are ‘outside of scope’
  • Apply conflict-reducing options when there is pressure to adjust the scope

Activity Checklist

Here is a checklist of learning activities you will benefit from in completing this unit. You may find it useful for planning your work.

Learning Activities

  • Developing a Charter and Scope Statement
  • Identifying Change Management Systems and Other Useful Tools
  • Identifying Integration Challenges

Assessment

  • In this course you demonstrate your understanding of the course learning outcomes in different ways, including papers, projects, discussions and quizzes. Please see the Assessment section in Moodle for assignment details and due dates.

Resources

Here are the resources you will need to complete this unit.

  • Other online resources will be provided in the unit.

Planning Ahead

Before you examine the topics in this unit, take a moment to watch this video that has been provided by the instructor. This video will introduce each topic and help support your learning. You are encouraged to re-watch this video if you are struggling with any of the concepts you will be learning about in this section.

Watch: PMPP 201 - U2

Activity: Read

To help you prepare for what you will be learning in this unit, read the following:

Insert text

2.1 The Project Charter

The first step in project work will always be to decide to do something. Sometimes it is easy to define, and at other times it can be rather challenging. Given that, denoting exactly what to do it critical to achieve the desired objectives. To achieve this, a statement is to be formed – this is called the Charter Statement (also referred to as the Project Charter), and it drives the entire project.

The Project Charter identifies what the project is to accomplish. It is usually a single sentence, composed of 25 to 50 words. The Project Charter is almost always built at the same time as the Preliminary Scope Statement.

The statement is rather formulaic, and is simple. It typically follows this format:

“We want to _____ by _____ date for _____ dollars to achieve these deliverables: _____.”

2.2 The Project Scope

In the first topic, you learned about the Project Charter. It is critical to understand that the Charter Statement is NOT the same as the Scope Statement(s). The fundamental difference is that the Scope Statement will identify what tasks are to be INCLUDED in the scope of work - there are also, however, tasks that can be identified to be EXCLUDED from the scope of work. These items are to be considered and listed as “out of scope.”

To develop a Scope Statement, you will need to use the Project Charter as this statement will contain the key activities that will be included as part of the project. Much like the Charter Statement, the Scope Statement will also need to be a statement, or series of statements, that clearly denote what is to NOT be included during the project.

Activity: Developing a Charter and Scope Statement

Using what you have learned about Project Charters, you will practice drafting a Charter Statement. Below, you will find a list of scenarios provided below. Your task, for this activity, is to draft a Charter Statement and a Scope Statement (identifying what is IN SCOPE and what is OUT OF SCOPE).

As you draft each one, recall that the Charter Statement will likely NOT change – whereas the Scope Statement may undergo several revisions.

Practice drafting statements for each of the following scenarios:

Scenario #1

DeWanCo has hired your team to guide their next Project. They are a growing company but suffer from growing too fast. Real Estate is very expensive near them and they may choose to move the whole company.

They want to move to a new building to house their Research and Development Team.

  1. Your budget is for $1.2 million for the building.
  2. $0.5 million for outfitting the building.
  3. You have 4 months to complete the move. A VERY ROBUST TARGET. Thus, a straight ‘purchase’ may not be the best choice.

Scenario #2

BunCo has hired your team. They want to grow, but… they are a fledgling company and can only increase capacity about 5% a month. They have asked you to develop a marketing plan to raise funds for ‘portable dog housing units for use in rescue situations.’

  1. Your budget is 10,000.
  2. You have to determine the best demographic to target to maximize the effectiveness of the money spent.
  3. Their leadership may not have the skills to bring the growth to fruition.
  4. They need to obtain a certain level of commitment from the market to achieve their goals.

Scenario #3

Willie, Limited is an aging company that needs some internal ‘invigoration.’ They have decided to replace the HR Manager and have hired your team to select the next candidate. Your job is to dig into the best hiring channels and develop a world-class plan to bring in the next HR Manager.

  1. Your international marketing budget is $15,000.
  2. You have to find the best avenue to spend the money.
  3. There will be no additional funds, so you have to find the right person soon.
  4. The company would like to have this new person within the next 6 weeks.

Scenario #4

The Boo-Boo 5 is an Indie Rap Group that has barely survived the last year. The team suffered the death of an important member. The death was due to extreme gang violence in their home town. Although they were a regional hit, they were on the brink of a national touring contract that would lead to substantial growth and income.

Your job is to develop a plan to promote a 40-city tour. This is a feasibility study that just creates the plan. But it could turn out that your team gets the contract to deploy the plan.

  1. Your budget is 20,000.
  2. They need the plan in 2 weeks, but you’ve estimate that it will take about 4 to put this together.
  3. The band has earned $150,000 in the last 12 months.

Be prepared to share your statements with other members of the class.

2.3 Change Management Systems

With an understanding of Project Charters and Project Scope Statements, this section shifts focus and highlights a reality of all project work: change management. As a project manager, you will be responsible for making “adjustments” to a project throughout the process. Controlling and monitoring these changes will be critical to the success of a project. To do this, Project Managers use a Change Management System (CMS).

A proper Change Management System permits all changes – regardless of their source – so that they can be documented, and considered, by the appropriate stakeholders. An important point of awareness to be mindful of is that not all organizations have a Change Management System. In these situations, it is common for a Project Manager to deploy a CMS prior to the start of a project.

Activity: Identifying Change Management Systems and Other Useful Tools

For this activity, you will perform a web search to build a Change Management System of your own. As part of this, you will need to create and/or modify a Change Request Form and establish an Excel-based log.

Note: In the real world, you would have several forms but only one log - archiving them into the log (and maybe archive paper copies, too) when they close - no matter approved or disapproved.

Next…

After developing your Change Management System, perform another web search to identify some software tools that a Project Manager could use to increase project success. You will notice that some are free, while other cost money. Your task, here, is only to identify ones that you think would be helpful to your role as a Project Manager.

Be prepared to share these with other members of the class.

2.4 Integrating Project Deliverables – Important Considerations

With an understanding of the importance of Change Management Systems, it is critical for every Project Manager to be aware that every deliverable within the project needs to integrate into the organization. There is one exception, however, and this happens when the project deliverables are designed to add to the core competencies of the organization.

Be aware that it is quite common that the intention of the actual project deliverables are to “stretch” the organization into new functions. Sometimes these “stretches” fit within an existing Competency - but sometimes the project’s purpose is to create a NEW Core Competency. In either case, it is critical to navigate careful steps to ensure the project deliverables are healthily integrated into the organization.

A successful Project Manager must carefully consider the challenge of integration. To do this, a Project Manager must constantly consider the following questions:

  • Do the project outcomes fit the organization’s core competencies?
  • Do the project outcomes fit the organizational culture? (not only the organizational chart – but also other cultural aspects)

Activity: Identifying Integration Challenges

For this activity, you will revisit the four scenarios presented in the first activity of Unit 2. They were:

  1. DeWanCo
  2. BunCo
  3. Willie, Limited
  4. The Boo-Boo 5

Your task is to analyze each of these scenarios and identify some challenges that integration may present. To guide this process, use the following questions:

  • Do the project outcomes fit the organization’s core competencies?
  • Do the project outcomes fit the organizational culture? (not only the organizational chart – but also other cultural aspects)

Be prepared to share the challenges you identified with other members of the class.

Assessment

Refer to the course schedule for graded assignments you are responsible for submitting. All graded assignments, and their due dates, can be found on the “Assessment” tab.

In addition to any graded assignments you are responsible for submitting, be sure to complete all the Learning Activities that have been provided throughout the content - these are intended to support your understanding of the content.

Checking your Learning

Before you move on to the next unit, you may want to check to make sure that you are able to:

  • Develop a Project Charter (Also called Executive Summary)
  • Create a Scope Statement, including items that are ‘outside of scope’
  • Apply conflict-reducing options when there is pressure to adjust the scope