The scope of work document is a simple yet necessary piece of the project management process.
As a project manager, it’s imperative that everyone involved in an upcoming initiative feels informed, heard, and included every step of the way. A scope of work (SOW) document is key to achieving this before the planning stage even ends.
Think of the scope of work as a tool—something you, the project team, and all key players will revisit multiple times throughout the project management process, and something that evolves as your timeline progresses.
Before opening a fresh document to embark on your scope of work writing process, consult this detailed guide to inform your framework.
Find detailed breakdowns, examples, and best practices for writing a valuable scope of work document. Plus, access a free scope of work template to standardize your process and contribute to alongside the team!
Defining the scope of work is one of the most important steps when starting a new project. The scope of work outlines exactly what will be included in the project, the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved, the schedule and budget, and the expected deliverables. Having a well-defined scope sets clear expectations and ensures the project stays on track. Follow this step-by-step guide to learn how to write a scope of work that clearly communicates the details of your project from start to finish.
The introduction is where you provide some background on the project and state the main goals and objectives. Give readers context about why this project is being undertaken and what challenges or issues it aims to address
For example, if you are launching a website redesign, the introduction could explain that the goal is to update the site navigation, layout, and content to create a more modern, user-friendly, and responsive site. The updated site aims to improve visitor engagement and conversion rates.
Keep the introduction brief and focused. Two or three paragraphs giving the background and summarizing the objectives is sufficient
Define the Scope – What Will Be Included
This is the meat of the document where you clearly define the scope by listing what tasks, deliverables, and responsibilities will be included in the project.
Outline the Major Tasks
Breakdown the project into a list of all the key tasks required to complete the work. For the website redesign example, this could include:
- Conduct user research and analyze site metrics
- Create sitemap and wireframes
- Develop page layouts and template designs
- Build new site pages and functionality
- Migrate and optimize existing content
- Test site and perform quality assurance checks
- Launch updated website
Specify Deliverables
Clearly state the tangible deliverables that will be produced during the project. Deliverables refer to documents, plans, designs, products or other outputs. For our example, deliverables may include:
- User research report
- Sitemap, wireframes, and page layout designs
- Style guide documentation
- Redesigned homepage, product pages, blog, etc.
- Content strategy plan
- SEO audit report
- Launch plan
Define Roles and Responsibilities
Specify who will be working on the project and what their roles will be. This ensures there are no gaps in responsibility and makes each party accountable for their part. For the website redesign, this could include:
- Client – Provide brand assets, content, and feedback on deliverables
- Project Manager – Manage project timeline, tasks, and communication
- Designer – Create sitemap, wireframes, designs, and style guide
- Developer – Build new site and functions
- SEO/Content Strategist – Optimize content, technical SEO
Set the Schedule – Project Timeline
Include a detailed schedule that specifies timeframes and deadlines for each phase and milestone throughout the project. This helps keep everything on track.
For our example, the schedule could look something like:
- Month 1 – Conduct user research, analyze metrics, create sitemap and wireframes
- Month 2 – Develop page layouts and styles, begin building new pages
- Month 3 – Finalize homepage design, migrate and optimize existing content
- Month 4 – Complete all site pages, perform quality testing
- Month 5 – Launch new website
Define the Budget – Project Costs
Specify the total budget or estimated costs for the project. Outline what expenses are covered and how/when payments will be made.
Costs may include:
- Project management fees
- Design and development rates
- Research expenses
- Paid tools or software
- Advertising and marketing costs
For a fixed-price project, state the total project cost. For time and materials projects, provide an estimate of expected hours and rates.
List Deliverable Acceptance Criteria
For each project deliverable, define the acceptance criteria that must be met for signoff and approval. This includes specifications for elements like:
- Format, layout, and structure
- Required content, copy, images
- Functionality and technical requirements
- Quality standards
Clear acceptance criteria prevents misalignment on expectations.
Describe the Review and Approval Process
Explain the process, timelines, and steps for reviewing and approving deliverables. For example:
- Designer will submit wireframes for initial review and feedback
- Client has 5 business days to provide revision requests
- Designer has 3 business days to revise and resubmit for approval
- Client has 2 business days to provide final approval or additional feedback
Specify Adoption Plan and Rollout Schedule
If relevant, include a plan for the adoption, rollout, or launch of the project deliverables. This may involve:
- Testing or piloting with a small group first
- Developing training materials and documentation
- Gradually rolling out to wider audience over time
- Creating a marketing or communications plan
- Setting a hard launch date
Outlining this upfront aligns everyone on how new products, designs, or services will be implemented.
Define Governance and Project Management Protocols
Specify how the project will be governed and managed including:
Communication Plans
- Status update meetings or reports and their cadence
- Methods for sharing updates and communicating (email, chat, project management software, etc)
- Rules for contact and response time (24-48 hours)
Change Request Process
- How changes in timeline, budget, resources, or scope will be handled
- Change request approval procedures
Risk Management
- How risks and issues will be logged, prioritized, and addressed
- Adding contingency to the timeline or budget
Wrap up the scope of work with a summary of the key points and details covered in the document. Provide a space for signatures indicating agreement from all stakeholders involved in the project.
An accurate, well-defined scope sets clear expectations between client and provider. Following this template helps you create a thorough scope of work that covers all aspects of your project from start to finish. With a solid scope in place, you can kickoff your project with confidence that all parties understand what needs to be done, when, and how.
How to Write a Scope of Work
Now that we’ve discussed best practices of a scope of work, let’s dive into how to write one. Here is a step-by-step list of how to write a scope of work:
- Define the project: Start by defining the project and its objectives. This should include what you are trying to achieve, why you are undertaking the project, and what benefits it will bring.
- List deliverables: Make a list of all deliverables that will be required for the project. This should include any documents, reports, software, or other items that will be needed.
- Determine tasks and timelines: Break down the project into smaller tasks and determine the timeline for each one. This should include start and end dates for each task and the overall project timeline.
- Identify resources: Identify the resources that will be required for the project, including personnel, equipment, and budget.
- Define quality standards: Outline the quality standards that will need to be met for the project. This should include any requirements for testing, quality control, and quality assurance.
- Determine communication procedures: Define the procedures that will be used for communication during the project. This should outline how often communication will take place, who will be involved, and what methods will be used.
- Identify risks: Identify any potential risks that could impact the project. This should include risks related to timelines, resources, quality, and other factors.
- Define acceptance criteria: Define the acceptance criteria that will be used to evaluate the success of the project. This should include specific metrics or measures that will be used to determine if the project has been completed successfully.
- Review and finalize: Review the scope of work with all stakeholders to ensure that it accurately reflects the project requirements. Once finalized, distribute the scope of work to all stakeholders and use it as a reference throughout the project.
What to Include in a Scope of Work Document?
Let’s take a closer look at the essential elements of an effective scope of work document and best practices to adopt ahead of your next project.
Are you providing a product or a service? Let the project team know! Even if it seems obvious to you, keeping a record of all project deliverables is helpful to keep on hand and refer back to later on. Plus, this document isn’t just for the project team—key players like stakeholders, other department heads, and higher-ups may be accessing this document as well, making the process of grasping the project scope critical.
Embedding s, diagrams, or media for context and additional visuals are a great way to convey details about your deliverables. Especially if your team creates wireframes using digital whiteboard software or uses specific reporting documents to break down your work structure, make that information as accessible as possible.
The option to embed information from other tools is a major benefit of using a dynamic document editor to manage your scope of work records, stakeholder approvals, SOPs, and more.
ClickUp Docs allows rich formatting and
In ClickUp Docs, you have the power to embed virtually anything—including tasks, tables, media, assets from other tools, and more. With Slash Commands for quick keyboard shortcuts, collaborative live editing, rich formatting, and easy sharing via URL, ClickUp Docs are ideal for creating a thorough scope of work document with ease.
Your project management timeline is the start-to-finish journey of a project’s development. This section will outline the phases your project will pass through and detail the deliverables expected along the way.
You have to map out your timeline in order to define a project’s scope, but you can build your timeline in a variety of ways. Gantt charts, tables, and flowcharts like mind maps are highly visual project management solutions for creating your timeline and ensuring all major details are included. These resources are also excellent for identifying task relationships and dependencies which will make the project execution phase more efficient overall!
Gantt view in ClickUp makes it easy to achieve this level of time management with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface to draw relationships between tasks, visualize bottlenecks, and prioritize action items. Even calculate your critical path or track your progress percentages for a birdseye of what’s happening and what’s to come.
For complex projects especially, the timeline alone can be daunting. In these situations, it can be helpful to break up and define a larger timeline by its key deadlines when the project moves from one stage to the next. These major moments are known as project milestones.
Reaching a project milestone is a great opportunity to regroup, get back on the same page, and reassess where your project is headed. It’s the perfect time to touch back with important stakeholders and ensure the project is developing as expected or discuss any issues faced along the way.
Use the Gantt Chart view in ClickUp to schedule tasks, keep up with project Milestones, manage deadlines, and handle bottlenecks.
Milestone templates help eliminate some of the guesswork involved in identifying the most significant milestones in a project while guaranteeing your team is making the best use of them. In ClickUp, Milestones are visually represented with a diamond-shaped icon on your timeline or Gantt chart. This helps you quickly identify your major achievements and can be created from any ClickUp task.
Reporting is not a one-and-done task on your list. Reliable insights and updated reports are key elements of any good scope of work document, as many managers and stakeholders will refer back to it multiple times throughout the project management process—not just the planning phase.
This is another area where it’s best to lean into more visual assets. No one wants to lose time deciphering lengthy datasets or clicking into additional research. Summarize the most important and data-driven points in a way that’s easy to digest.
Dashboards in ClickUp excel on this front. Choose from over 50 widgets to pull up-to-date data on recent project activities using customized charts, progress tracking, calculations, tables, and even other apps to build presentation-ready Dashboards for your projects.
How to Write a Scope of Work Document – Project Management Training
How do I write a scope of work?
Use a work breakdown structure to identify project tasks: The first step when writing a scope of work is to identify all your project tasks. This is done by using a work breakdown structure (WBS), a project management tool that lets you break down projects and work packages into individual tasks, so you can better plan and schedule them.
Why is a scope of work document important?
A scope of work document is important for a variety of reasons, including: SOWs provide all information about a project, so everyone involved in it remains informed. Outlining all project information can help a team ensure it can address all aspects of the project. SOWs also provide a well-rounded, descriptive plan of action for the project.
What is a scope of work?
A scope of work is a descriptive document or working agreement that contains all information regarding the size of a project, the goals a team should accomplish by the end of the project and steps required to complete the project.
Why is writing a scope of work beneficial for projects?
Here are some of the reasons why writing a scope of work is beneficial for projects. The main purpose of a scope of work is to define the scope of a project. This means defining the work that’ll be done as well as project exclusions, activities or deliverables which aren’t part of a project. Scope creep is a risk that can affect any project.
