Writing a scope the client can argue with

Most scope documents are written to be signed, not read. They are vague in exactly the places where the risk sits, which means the disagreement happens later, when it is expensive.

Say what is out

The most useful section in any scope is the one listing what is not included. It is also the section clients read most carefully, which is the point. If a line makes someone uncomfortable, that discomfort is cheaper now than in week six.

The structure we use

• The problem, in the client's words. If we cannot restate it back accurately, we do not understand it yet.
• Approach. What we will build and why this shape rather than another.
• Milestones, with what is reviewable at each one.
• Explicitly out of scope. The section above.
• Assumptions. Every one of these is a risk with a name.
• Cost, against the milestones.

A scope nobody argues with is a scope nobody read.

Why it is free

Nothing is chargeable until the scope is accepted. Writing it is how we find out whether we understand the problem, which is worth doing whether or not the project goes ahead.