Product Scope vs Project Scope

Projects are undertaken to deliver a product, service, or result. It will be difficult to achieve your objective if you don’t understand both the project and product scope. In project management, you will find many important concepts vital to complete your project with minimal obstacles. Among these terms and concepts, project scope and product scope stand out.

Project scope depends entirely on the product scope. You must understand the product scope to define the project scope. These are the most important concepts in project management. I have noticed that many professionals incorrectly use these terms synonymously.

I saw a related question posted in a PMP forum a few days ago. Someone was asking for clarification on the differences between project scope and product scope. There were many replies; however, some were incomplete, and a few of them were wrong. It seemed like the posters were more concerned with supporting their own opinions.

None of the answers met the asker’s expectations, and honestly, the query was left unanswered.

This is one of the main disadvantages of a forum: you cannot identify the correct answer. It is possible that you may accept any wrong answer that fits with what you already believe. Forums are good for reading lessons learned and other stories but not good for getting your technical questions clarified.

因此，我决定撰写有关项目范围和产品范围的博客文章。

Before starting the discussion, let’s make sure we understand the terms product, project, and scope.

What is a Product?

The PMBOK Guide defines a product as an artifact or a quantifiable that can either be an end item in itself or a component item. These items are also called materials or goods.

In other words, a product is defined as a substance or article produced during a natural, chemical, or manufacturing process. You can characterize a product in many ways, such as by its physical properties and chemical properties.

例如，如果计算机是产品，则其特性是其处理器，屏幕尺寸，内存和硬盘。

What is a Project?

According to the PMBOK Guide, “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.”

The first half of the definition says the nature of the project is temporary. This means that once you deliver the output,your projectwill cease to exist because you’ve achieved the objective.

The second half says that theproject produces a deliverable。项目是为了产生特定的输出而进行的，该输出可能是有形的或无形的。

What is Scope?

A scope can be defined as the range, detail, or boundary of a term it is attached to. The word scope is not always standalone; it is used as a suffix or a prefix of another term.

If used with the term product, it means the details of the product, or when used with the project, it means the details of the project.

According to the PMBOK Guide, the scope is the sum of the products, services, and results to be provided as a project.

Product Scope

In short, product scope is about the product details; what the product will look like, how it will work, its features, and more.

根据PMBOK指南，产品范围是表征bob手机客户端产品，服务或结果的功能。

例如，如果产品是桥梁，则产品范围可能是其长度，宽度和负载强度。如果产品是手机，则其产品范围将是其屏幕尺寸，电池备份，处理器速度，相机类型和内存。

However, for services, the product scope will give you details on the tasks and responsibilities of the person who will deliver.

In the case of a result, the product scope can be the information required from the result.

How to Determine the Product Scope

Most of the time, the product scope is defined by the people who have higher levels of business expertise. Usually, a business analyst defines the product scope, and although the project manager can be consulted, their role is limited.

The business analyst will meet with everystakeholder了解他们对最终产品的期望和要求。一旦完成，分析师将使他们由利益相关者签署，然后对其进行处理以供批准。

确保在此过程中均未遗漏任何要求，因为在项目结束时增加更多的要求可能会很昂贵。产品范围的略有变化可能比最初的更改要花费更多的钱project scope statement。The product scope should be well defined because the project scope is defined according to the product scope.

The product scope is what binds you and your organization to the user who will use the product. You should make every effort to get these specifications exact and complete.

However, if you have a contract to deliver the product to the client, you will find the product scope attached to the合同文件。

Project Scope

The project scope defines the requirements of the product and the work required to create it. This also defines what is inside and outside of the scope, which helps you avoidscope creep。

According to the PMBOK Guide, the project scope is the work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.

The project scope statement explains the expected result along with theconstraints and assumptions。This helps in achieving the product scope.

If you are given a project to construct a bridge, the project scope will provide insight into how to build the bridge. It gives you all the required information. In this case, the project scope defines what exactly you need to construct the bridge. Nothing more.

How to Determine the Project Scope

项目经理定义了项目范围，这取决于许多因素。

例如，如果您收到firm-fixed-price contract, the client will give you a well-defined product description, which helps you in developing the project scope statement. In this case, you won’t have to worry too much about the project scope.

However, this isn’t always the case. Let’s consider another case.

Your organization initiates a project, and you are the project manager.

In this case, you may have to build the project scope statement from scratch. You contact the concerned stakeholders to collect the requirements and compile them, and then you get them approved by management.

Likewise, there might be several factors that determine the project scope, such as the client asking you to do everything on their behalf.

写得很好的范围声明使项目经理的生活更加舒适，并且该项目将在更少的障碍物中完成。项目范围是您与客户或您的客户之间的协议组织。

Project scope binds you and your project team to your organization; therefore, it should be very lucid and detailed. This document must be completed at an early stage of the project. An effective scope statement is necessary to guide a project to successful completion.

Determining the project scope is the first step in establishing the project’s schedule, budget, and resource allocation. Project management plans are made after the project scope is defined.

我希望现在您了解产品范围和项目范围。

Now it is time to explain these concepts to you with our trademark school building example.

A Real World Example of Project Scope and Product Scope

You get a project to construct a school building. The client gives you their requirements, such as the size of the building, number of rooms, details of the playground, number of toilets, and paint color.

You start working on the project. You estimate the budget, develop the plan, and create a schedule.

After developing and approving the plan, you gather the team and move on to the execution phase. You bring workers to the site and start construction. You complete the school building and then verify with the client whether it is as per their requirements.

Once the client is satisfied, you hand the school building over to them, get the final payment, and the project is closed.

上述示例有两个部分。

In the first part, the client asks you to make a school building and gives you their requirements for it. The school building is the “product,” and the requirements are the “scope.” Therefore, the client gave you is the “product scope.”

In the second part, you construct the school building within the specified time and budget, meeting all the client’s requirements. Lastly, you deliver the product. In this part, the work you have done to construct the school building is the “project scope.”

How Product Scope and Project Scope are Monitored and Controlled

The most important tool to monitor the product scope is the requirement traceability matrix. This ensures that all features of the project are produced, thoroughly analyzed, reviewed, and approved throughout theproject life cycle。

This also helps manage change in the product along with the配置管理计划。

使用方差分析对项目范围进行监控和控制。

The Difference Between Project Scope and Product Scope

These are a few differences between project scope and product scope:

• 项目范围是提供产品的工作，而产品范围是产品的所有功能和特性的总和。
• Product scope is oriented towards the “what” (functional requirements), while project scope is oriented towards the “how” (work-related).
• Product scope is defined by the business analyst, though the project manager may have a role. The project scope is totally defined by the project manager.
• An example of the project scope is constructing a bridge, while its product scope might be its technical specifications such as length, width, and the amount of load it has to withstand.

Summary

Product scope and project scope are covered in the scope management knowledge area in the PMBOK Guide. The product scope is the end result of the project, and the project scope is how you are going to achieve it. The project is defined according to the product scope. These are fundamental terms, and you must understand them. To complete the project, you must achieve these two scopes successfully. Product scope is the characteristics of the product, and the project scope includes all the work you will do to make the product.

深入讨论项目范围，而产品范围则短暂涵盖，因为它不在PMP认证考试的范围内。您将从该主题中看到许多问题，因此可以很好地了解这些概念。

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您如何管理组织中的产品范围和项目范围？请通过评论部分分享您的经验。