I often preach extensively about project management at design and creative conferences around the globe. The one piece of paperwork that I always emphasize is completing a scoping document for a project then getting the client to sign off and accept it. This one piece of paperwork can solve all sorts of problems and is really worth the 2-5 hours it takes to write. The outline is as follows.

Project Scoping Document
( 2 – 1 0 p a g e s )

• Project Name
• Executive Summary
• Background
• Project Scope (High Level)
• Project Objectives
• Deliverables
• Organizations
• Interfaces Required
• Assumptions
• Constraints
• Evaluation Criteria
• Risks
• Rewards
• Budgets
• Schedules (Due Dates)
• Project Team Readiness
• Key Roles
• Executive Sponsor
• Project Manager
• Business Experts
• Technical Experts
• Signature Lines – Sign Off “Charter”