Scope Documents

When engaging with any third party, it’s paramount that you both have a clear agreement on what is to be delivered, and the terms of that delivery.

While a legal contract or agreement is often used for the overall terms such as payment and delivery dates, it is less likely to go into full detail on what is to be delivered, and only contains a high level summary.

Unfortunately, a high level summary doesn’t always ensure everyone is truly on the same page. When you want to be specific about what you expecting, you want a Scope Document. At minimum, a Scope Document lays out the deliverables you expect.

When you purchased that website, were you picturing just a one page website, with your name and phone number, or a site with at least five pages: contact information, your menu, a gallery of photos showing people enjoying your restaurant, a printable coupon page, and an upcoming events page? If your contract just says”website”, you may not get exactly what you expected, no matter how clear you tried to be, verbally.

Especially when you are dealing with software developers, even if you do not create a Scope Document, you will likely receive one because it is the best way to ensure understanding. Sadly though, just having one doesn’t always mean you’ll get what you expect either, especially if when you read it you see a lot of technical terms you don’t understand.

We can help you create a Scope Document or assist you in reading and revising a document you’ve already received, starting at $125 per hour or $500 per day.

A few hours effort upfront can save you disappointment, potentially hours of clarification meetings during the project, and in the worst cases even fees paid for the project or a legal battle.