ABSTRACT
When you conduct a project, you should have a precise set of aims, and a plan and a budget to enable you to achieve them. You should be aiming to deliver specific outputs to identified stakeholders for a pre-defined purpose within a pre-defined period. Many projects encounter difficulties directly related to scope. If the project scope is inadequately defined from the outset, you will be left unsure whether to include or exclude certain tasks. If you ask, you risk being told to include them, but with no extra budget. If you do not ask and stick to what you think, one or more stakeholders may say: ‘I did not get what I expected from the project.’ On other occasions, the scope is well defined and agreed at the outset, but then grows to include tasks never originally planned.
