Difference Between Project Scope and Deliverables

Key Difference – Project Scope vs Deliverables
 

Project management is a very critical aspect for businesses since all businesses may have to engage in projects from time to time. Both project scope and deliverables are important aspects of a project. The key difference between project scope and project deliverables is that project scope is the process of determining and documenting a list of specific project objective, deliverables, functions, and deadlines along with costs and resources required to complete the project whereas project deliverables are tangible or intangible goods or services produced as a result of the project that is intended to be delivered to a customer.

CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Project Scope
3. What are Project Deliverables
4. Side by Side Comparison – Project Scope vs Deliverables
5. Summary

What is Project Scope?

Project scope is one of the most vital parts of a project that involves determining and documenting a list of specific project objective, deliverables, functions, deadlines along with costs and resources required to complete the project. In other words, project scope consists of all the work that should be completed in order to deliver the project. A project is a collection of tasks to be executed over a specific period of time to achieve a particular objective. Project management is the process that involves many stages such as initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a project to achieve a pre-determined objective. The scope of the project will be decided during the planning stage.

A project scope statement is prepared during the planning stage, which is a written confirmation of the expected outcome of the project including the constraints and assumptions under which the project team will work. Project scope statement should be precise and should clearly define the boundaries of a project.

Project Scope Statement

The main points that should be included in a project scope statement are,

Justification of the Project and its Objective

This is a brief statement regarding the business need the project addresses. The justification has to be strategic and economically feasible.

Acceptance Criteria

The conditions such as the time frame and quality that should be met in order for the project to be successful has to be clearly stated.

Deliverables

Description of tangible and intangible good or services should also be included in the project scope statement.

Figure 01: Project scope is a plan that includes all related aspects of a project from its beginning to the end

What are Project Deliverables?

Project deliverables is a term used to describe tangible or intangible goods or services produced as a result of the project that is intended to be delivered to a customer. Project deliverables should be measurable, specific and be completed by their respective due dates.

Examples of Project Deliverables

Below are some examples of project deliverables

• Product prototypes
• Design reviews
• Efficient customer service
• Faster response time
• Website/ web page
• Strategic report

In projects that are significant in scale and complicated in nature (e.g. Building a spaceship by the NASA), ‘project milestones’ are often used where the implementation of the project is conducted in stages. Project milestones are targets that must be achieved by specified points in time. The project will proceed to the subsequent stage once the current stage is completed. Each stage will be considered as a milestone. Meeting the milestones may include payments if the work is being done by a consultant, or it may be crucial to employees’ performance targets.

At the end of the project, a review should be carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the project deliverable and whether the project objective has been realized. This review is referred to as a ‘post completion audit’ or ‘post completion review.’ The objective of the same is to assess whether the customers or clients are satisfied with the deliverables and to provide learning for future projects.

What is the difference between Project Scope and Deliverables?

Summary – Project Scope vs Deliverables

The difference between project scope and deliverables depends on many aspects such as the stage in the project life they become important, nature and the overall impact on the project. Defining the project scope properly have a direct impact on the success of the project. Without a proper scope, the company will not be able to execute the project successfully. On the other hand, the deliverables are equally vital, since the exact impact of the project is measured through the deliverables.

Reference:
1. “What is Project Management | PMI.” Project Management Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.
2. “What is project scope? – Definition from WhatIs.com.” SearchCIO. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.
3.”What to Include in a Project Scope Statement.” Dummies. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.
4. “Examples of Project Deliverables.” Chron.com. Chron.com, 14 Oct. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.

Image Courtesy:
“Project planning” (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia

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