How do you write the scope of work for a psychological counseling system project?

Conflicts in systems projects are rarely over what was agreed upon, but rather over what was not stated. A good scope document not only describes what will be done, but also states what will not be done — and it is this second part that prevents disagreement.

What decision do you need to make?

You must define the project’s boundaries before it begins: What if not accomplished, the project will be considered incomplete, and what if requested later will be treated as a change request with cost and time.

Criteria to help you choose

Scope document has six sections:

• Included: Functions and services by name — not “System setup,” but “Set up 12 services, 4 documentation templates, and 6 roles.”
• Excluded: What will not be done explicitly at this point, even if it seems obvious.
• Assumptions: What the estimate is based on — “We assumed that the data is in one organized file.”
• Dependencies: What implementation is expected from you or a third party, and the effect of its delay.
• Outputs: What is actually delivered at each stage — a document, a system configured, or training implemented.
• Acceptance criteria: How the achievement of each deliverable is demonstrated, and who approves it.

List of questions and required evidence

• Does each output have a testable acceptance standard?
• Is every assumption written down and subject to correction if it turns out to be wrong?
• What is the change request mechanism? Who adopts it? How is it priced?
• What is the impact of a delayed dependency on our end on the schedule?
• Who owns the project from each party? What is its validity?

Mistakes to avoid before certification

• Ignoring the excluded section: Most serious omission — unless expressly excluded is assumed to be included by you and excluded by the Provider.
• Elastic phrases: “As needed” and “as necessary” mean in the contract what each party interprets in its favor.
• Non-standard output: “Team Training” mysterious exit; “Training 12 trainees in 4 sessions according to the role” is verifiable.
• Ignore your dependencies: What the provider expects from you is part of the document, not a courtesy.

The next step is to request a quote

Request that the scope document be attached to the proposal and approved before implementation begins. See Implementation plan page.