In this lesson, we will look at the three steps in the project scope development process. First is the project charter. This is a formal authorization for the project to provide us the context and background for the project. At a high level it contains the scope description and list of the project requirements along with the acceptance criteria. It's the starting point for our project scope statement. Next, is the stakeholder register. This documents the key players who can provide input on the requirements. These are the people we will want to reach out to when we prepare the project scope statement. Next, is the stakeholder management plan. This plan contains the information on how we're going to engage the stakeholders. The project management plan, this includes any prepared sections of the plan and helps us to find the scope. Finally, we have the enterprise environmental factors. This includes the company culture and strategy, plus information on general market conditions and other key elements. These factors may influence how we develop the product and provide the services. Now let's look at the contents of a good project scope statement. The project scope statement is the end product of our project scope development process. The project scope statement includes many of the same elements that are included in the project charter that you learned about in the last course. The difference here is the level of detail. The project scope statement should be a fairly detailed statement about the product scope and the services scope. It will include all the requirements, specification details for the products of our project. While the project charter is typically one to two pages, the project scope statement can be quite extensive. The project scope statement should be developed by the project team as part of their planning process. It's important that the project team develop the project scope statement, as this is their commitment to the project manager of what they will produce as part of the process. For larger projects, it's generally best practice to divide the project scope statement into several sections, one section for each function on a project. Each section contains a similar table of contents, and then there's an overall summary plan prepared by the project manager that ties them all together and summarizes the result. It's also good to include the project acceptance criteria as part of the project scope statement. These criteria let us know when we have met the requirements and the deliverables are complete. It's important to define these upfront, as they are a key element of the project scope statement. The first step in the scope development process is developing the scope management plan. This plan lays out how we will develop the project scope for the project. It defines how we will collect the are requirements for a successful project. This might include interviews with stakeholders, or it might include research on key aspects of the product. Whatever process we decide on, it should be documented in the scope management plan. The plan will also include the table of contents for the project scope statement along with the process for how we will develop the statement, get it reviewed, and then approved. Will we have each functional leader prepare their part in a separate document? Or will it be done in one document prepared by a single group? Who has to review and approve the statement? What's the process for final sign off? All of these questions should be answered as part of the plan. Finally, how will we develop the work breakdown structure? How will we review and approve the entire plan? And finally, how will we monitor, control, and modify the scope statement as the project develops? This last element, the controlling and modifying the scope statement process is particularly important. It'd be nice if we set up the scope statement, we did the work, and nothing ever changed. But the one constant in a project is change. If we do not have a process for addressing new developments and new learnings as we go, we are doomed to a confusing and unorganized process. Change control is essential. As part of this lesson, we have discussed the contents of a project scope statement and the work process to develop one. We have discussed the project scope statement process and the elements of a scope management plan. In the next few lessons, we will review how to develop the project requirements, how to validate the scope, and ultimately, the scope control process.