Can we have properly defined scope before the detailed project plan?

Can we have properly defined scope before the detailed project plan? I guess, this is the "best case" secario if you are the project manager who is to execute the work defined in the scope statement.

But, before a properly defined scope can be obtained, there are a lot of planning and coordination work to be performed by the team. There are many rounds of follow up to be done. There are many parties to be interviewed and met to obtain all necessary important information. So, the objective of the project plan is to include that portion of work as well.

The scope statement (some times it is known as System Requirement Specification for software project) will be a "living" document. This means that, the team will continuously update the scope document to ensure the latest and most accurate condition of the requirements are documented. When there is additional scope after further assumption clarification and exploration, this new requirement will be submitted for approval for inclusion as Change Request. When we say new requirement it means that it is totally outside the original intention of the requirement. For example, originally the scope statements specifies that there are two units of servers are required for hosting the database. After the project is started, some external government authority dictates that for all transaction audit, the system needs additional two units of servers to store archive-data. In this case, the two additional servers are considered as new requirement.

In another scenario, in the original scope statement, if it reads "The system shall be able to keep the sales transaction for 3 months on the production server." After further study, the team finds out that the "sales transaction" means sale enquiry record, quotation record, sales order record and payment record. But, the original team assumes the sales record is equivalent to sales order record only. In this case, the problems arise: For these four types of records, for three months, the production server storage capacity is not sufficient to store these records. So, additonal storage media or shorter duration of the record keeping needs to be decided. In this scenario, it is "wrong assumption or intepretation" of scope definition. It is not an additional requirement. It is an under-estimate of scope complexity. In this case, it is the vendor responsibility to "find out" what does "sales transaction" means, what to do after the "3 months", and where the "production server" is.

Then the next question will be, how can the vendor find out this requirement in a very short duration during tendering (or proposal) stage? Usually, the detailed study will be performed only after the contract is awarded to the vendor. But, the tolerance level for scope difference should be defined in the project flexibility. Some times, the buffer for the scope is built in to the quotation or proposal. It is part of the risk assessment. The buffer for wrong estimate is crucial especially for fixed price contract.

So, the conclusion is ... it is very rare chance you will have a properly define scope before you start developing your detailed project plan :-)

Understanding a Tender/Bid Documentation

If your project is going through a normal tendering (some times, it is called bidding) process, you will usually be required to submit your proposal to address client's requirements specified in the Bid document. The bid document is some times called Tender document too.

So, what are inside a tender document? Usually it will consist of the following parts:

1. Tender cover letter
2. Tender instruction to vendor (instructing the vendor how to response)
3. General requirements
4. Product requirements
5. Services requirements

For a good sample of RFP, click here to access the website of Office of Medical Procurement.

Within the Tender document, there will be one part named Request for Proposal (RFP) which details down all the client's requirements (general requirements, product requirements and services requirements) on the project.

As the name implies, RFP will expect the vendor to propose how they want to address the project requirements. The proposal should show your distinction on your solution - how different is your solution.

There are basically two parts of the requirements. First, there will be requirements for the product or products required for the project. For example, requirements on the hardware or software required for the project. The second type of requirements are those non-product requirements. For example, study, design, training, testing and implementation are all services. When we combine these two types of requirements, we call it solution requirements.

There is very high chance that more than one vendor is proposing the same product. For example, two vendors may be IBM product sellers. But, the quality of service may be different. So, through different approach in packaging the solution, it can differentiate the quality of the vendor.

Nowadays, especially for projects going through tendering process, the client (or customer) will look out for better solution (which implies a better product range plus better quality of service).

Understanding Earned Value Basics

This file shows some examples in using Ms Project 2003 and Ms Excel to produce S-Curve chart based on the data collected from Earned Value Analysis.

Here is the link to the Ms Excel file that you can try out the concepts discussed in the presentation file.

A case study - Setting up a PMO

This is a presentation that I prepared for the seminar last year. But, unfortunately, I fell sick on that day. Eventually, the presentation was taken over by my colleague :-)

This presentation is about my experience as part of the pioneer team in establishing a PMO (Project Management Office) for one of the biggest ports in Malaysia.

Project Manager Survivor Guide

This is the slides that I prepared when I conduct and in-house training for our technical specialist. Some of the project management skill may be still applicable eventhough they are not put into the position as project manager.

Hope this guide is useful to you too :-)

PDU Calculation Worksheet

If you are rushing to submit the PDU (Professional Development Unit) claim within this year, you can use this Excel Worksheet to calculate how many points more you need here. There are a few restriction on certain type of activities such as professional work experience, self initiative learning activity, etc.

Reference for Writing Style and Grammar

I believe most project managers will face demands for clearer writing for their work on proposal, letter, memo, email, etc. When you are expected to write, people will expect you spend some time "to think" before you type. A clear message is always expected from your written document.

Here are some useful reference points for writing style and grammar :-)