Preliminary Scope Statement

Most of what is in the preliminary scope statement is in the final scope statement. The preliminary scope statement is developed in the Initiating process group while the final scope statement is developed in the planning process group. On large projects, each phase could have a preliminary scope statement. In small to medium projects you can generally go straight to the final project scope statement.The purpose of the preliminary scope document is to:

• Describe the characteristics of the project.
• What is and what is not included in the project scope. (Boundaries)
• How the final product, service, or result of the project will be accepted.
• How scope will be controlled.

The preliminary scope statement should contain:

• Project objectives
• Characteristics of the project
• Product objectives
• Project deliverables
• Requirements
• Exclusions from scope (Boundaries)
• Constraints
• Assumptions
• High level risk list and definition
• Milestones
• Initial WBS
• Cost estimate (order of magnitude)
• Configuration management requirements
• Project acceptance criteria