A scope of work appraisal functions as an insurance policy, of sorts, to ensure that everyone -- and everyone's ideas -- land on the same page.
By now, the conferences and lunch meetings are over and everybody has outlined the projects they want you -- as a consultant or independent contractor -- to undertake on their behalf. Now it's time for you to write a scope of work appraisal -- a document that, in broad brush strokes, outlines these projects on paper to ensure that everybody has landed on the proverbial same page. A scope of work appraisal often precedes a marketing or business plan -- a detailed, step-by-step summation of how the projects will be specifically executed and which methods you will use to execute them. For now, your job is to take a step back from the canvas and paint the bigger picture.
Instructions
1. Write your contact information and date at the top of the page, unless you have a company letterhead that lists this information.
2. List a description of the project -- a short summation that is easily identifiable by everyone who will read the scope of work appraisal.
3. Write the question -- Which business objectives is this project meant to address? -- and supply the answer in a paragraph.
4. Framing the appraisal in terms of questions rather than declarative statements has the subtle but important effect of being more open and accessible.
Write the question -- Which consumer/client (meaning the end-user) objectives is this project meant to address? -- and supply the answer in a paragraph.
5. Write the question -- What deliverables will be produced? -- and supply the answer in a paragraph. Deliverables are those specific and tangible items that the project will culminate in.
6. Decide whether to recast the three previous questions in terms of what will be excluded from the project. There are differing schools of thought about the merit of this idea. Some professionals believe it is a wasted exercise to list the exclusions -- the thought being that defining the scope of what a project is rather than what it is not demonstrates a stronger tack.
7. Provide an estimate for how long the scope of work, as defined herein, is projected to take, along with a targeted completion date.
8. Your appraisal may go back to the drawing board -- namely yours -- for revisions, if necessary. Remember that it's better to make tweaks early on rather than later on.
Sign your name at the bottom. If you are on especially friendly terms with the people in the organization, sign your first name only. (Remember: your contact information is at the top.)
