A Complete Guide to Avoid Out Of Scope

There are many factors that will affect the project’s completion. And out of scope, a deviation from the original scope is one of them. So project managers are continuously searching for solutions to avoid out of scope. But how to succeed to do it? This article will discuss all you need to know about out of scope and how to avoid it step by step.

What Does Out Of Scope Mean?

Out of Scope means anything above or beyond the set scope of a project. Project exclusions is another word for out of scope.

Project scope can be defined as the necessary work or requirements required to be completed to meet the stakeholders’ and customers’ needs. So anything that does not belong to the original agreed work or requirements is out of scope.

In another work, the project scope is a set boundary and anything outside this boundary can be considered out of scope.

Out of scope can have a significant impact on the duration of work, the budget required, the quality of service from team members, and the satisfaction of the stakeholders.

Now, we are sure you know the answer to “What does out of scope mean?”

But to help you have a better understanding, we will compare Out of Scope with in Scope in the following part.

Out Of Scope Vs In Scope

As project managers, it is important to know how the project scope works. We will compare out of scope and in scope to provide you with more insight about them.

Out of scope as stated earlier is anything outside the initial parameters or boundaries of a project scope.

An example for clarity: Assume you provide professional painting services and a client contacts you requesting that you paint the main building of his house. While painting the main building, the client requests that the main gate should be painted as well; this was not in the original agreement. Painting the main gate is out of scope here, which will increase the budget and duration of the project.

In scope, on the other hand, means that the job falls within the parameters or boundaries of the project’s scope. Using the same example as before: If the client and you agree on all work that you should do is to paint the main building, what you need to do is complete the project as planned, therefore keeping the project in scope.

Out Of Scope Examples

A project’s lifespan can change for a variety of reasons. It is prudent to be aware of some of the out of scope examples that can lead to scope creep after a project begins. There are numerous examples of out of scope projects, but we will focus on the most common ones here:

Additional jobs or tasks.
Adjustment of the initial project requirements.
Increase in project duration.
Change in customer or consumer needs.
Change in stakeholders’ requirements.
Additional funds requirements.

These are some examples of out-of-scope projects that can result in an unplanned prolongation of project duration, also known as Scope creep. Every project manager needs to make plans for possible scope creep and how to avoid it. We will show you the guide about how to do it step by step.

Step by Step Guide to Avoid Out Of Scope

You now understand the concept of out of scope and its examples,. In this section, we will discuss how to avoid going beyond the scope of a project.

● Step 1: Identify the goal and objective of your clients

Before beginning a project, you must thoroughly understand your client’s primary goal and how to achieve it. The project’s goal and objective should be at the center of every decision made by you, your team, and your clients during brainstorming, meetings, and group discussions.

● Step 2: Clearly state what is and is not in scope of the project

It is important to make a list of what’s in scope of the project and what is not. This makes it easy for you and your team to focus on every component of the scope without being distracted by additional tasks. An additional job or anything out of scope can be added to a new project or dealt with by other methods, ensuring that the duration and budget for the first project remain intact.

● Step 3. Manage and Keep track of your project

Once you know what you should do and what should not, the next step is to break down your project, assign sub-tasks to your team members, and keep track of the process to make sure everything is going on well. This step can help you avoid the unexpected out of scope caused by your inner members. There are many project management tools like ClickUp, Monday, Asana, NTask, Proofhub, etc which can help you finish these tasks effectively.

ClickUp - The tool to avoid out of scope.

● Step 4: Accept or reject new addition tasks

Sometimes, it is inevitable that change needs to occur in projects because clients may request that you perform additional tasks. For this case, you need to control, review, and judge whether these changes can be accepted or not. As a manager, you need to understand the change, analyze its impact, and decide whether it is accepted or not. If the changes can be accepted, you need to plan, schedule, and update your project timeline. That will be awesome if you can find a way to make the updates without out of scope.

● Step 5: Communicate with your team and keep track of the process

Communicate with your team members about the changes. Let them understand why you accepted this change, how to achieve it, who is responsible for it, and what updates you made to the project. It is very crucial to make sure everyone is on the track. And it will be better for you to keep track of the process.

Conclusion

Avoiding out of scope means sticking to the original budget, resources, and timeframe. Understanding your client’s needs, list all of what you can do and can not, then, following up on them are important ways to avoid out of scope and scope creep. But you cannot be so naive to think that you can avoid all changes. Sometimes, you have to make changes per customers’ requirements. In this case, you need to judge whether they can be accepted, figure out steps to make the changes, and communicate with team members about the update.