Writing a clear scope of work (SOW) is a key part of effective project planning, ensuring that you, your teams and your client have a clear understanding of the work involved with a project.
In this guide, we'll outline the importance of an SOW, best practices and key elements, and take you through the SOW writing process.
What is a scope of work?
A scope of work, often abbreviated to SOW, is a document that outlines the work your business will perform on a specific project.
Elements include deliverables, a timeline and end date, key milestones in the project, and details about how and when you will report on your progress.
Why is writing a scope of work important?
Writing a scope of work is important because it gives you, your team and your client a clear outline of the tasks involved in meeting your project goals.
As the name suggests, an SOW defines exactly what your project does and does not cover.
Being specific about what the project entails helps you avoid unplanned, un-budgeted work — known as scope creep — that could throw your project off course and blow your budget.
Of course, an SOW doesn't mean you can't tweak elements or add work during the course of a project.
It just helps clients, contractors and other stakeholders understand what's included in the initial plan.
If changes are needed, you can manage them through a formal change request process, ensuring that budgets and timelines are updated to reflect additional work.
What should a scope of work include?
A scope of work should include deliverables, a clear project timeline, work milestones and a reporting process.
Essentially, it needs to outline all key details around what, when and how your project will happen.
If you use job management tools, they should be able to help you track and manage these details throughout your project. Detailed job reporting is available in MYOB Business AccountRight Plus and Premier.
Project deliverables
Project deliverables are the concrete results of your work, and may be big, small or somewhere in between.
Depending on the type of work you do and the specific details of your project, deliverables could include a product launched, a business process re-designed, a training course completed or a stage of construction finished.
Project milestones
Project milestones mark transition points or achievements within a project. While milestones may line up with deliverables — for example, a new website going live could count as both a milestone and a deliverable — they're not interchangeable.
Milestones show the progress of the project, helping you ensure that work is keeping pace with your planned timeline and giving your teams smaller goals to work towards.
Project timeline
A project timeline is a planned schedule for your project from start to finish, with an overall completion deadline as well as dates for key milestones and project tasks.
A clear timeline is crucial for your business, your client and other stakeholders, as it helps you meet expectations and spot potential timing issues early on.
For example, if early deadlines are missed or if the project scope changes, later dates may have to shift as a result.
Project reporting
Project reporting documents the progress of a project or the status of a particular project element.
When you create an SOW, you include reporting guidelines — for example, you might run a monthly report on spending, or create a detailed report when you reach each project milestone.
Scope of work example
For a simple example of a project scope of work, let's look at a residential construction project.
While building a house involves hundreds of tiny tasks and activities, this SOW document outlines just the main elements. It is for illustrative purposes only:
Scope of Work - JB Construction
Business name: JB Construction
Project title: Home build, 11 Elm Ave
Date: 21 March 2024
Project summary
Construction of a one-storey, three-bedroom residence, including concrete foundation, timber framing and exterior, and steel roofing. Flat site with existing sewer and electrical lines.
Project deliverables
Pour foundation.
Install and connect sewer lines.
Build wooden framing.
Install sheathing.
Install air conditioning system.
Install wiring, fuse box and electrical panels.
Install roof.
Place interior gib board and flooring.
Paint and finish interior walls.
Install kitchen cabinets and appliances.
Install bathroom components and tiling.
Project milestones and timelines
Milestone — Projected date
Foundation and framing completed — Feb 26
Plumbing and electrical inspections signed off — April 30
Exterior panelling and roof completed — July 31
Walls and flooring completed — September 15
Interior details completed — November 10
Council consent granted — project delivered — December 10
Project reporting
Daily construction logs — shared with construction team
Weekly status reports — shared with client and construction team
Project meeting at each milestone — client, construction team and relevant contractors
Signed off: JB Construction, <Client name>
Date: 21 March 2024
How to write a scope of work
Writing a scope of work document involves providing an overview of the project and its goals before going into detail about tasks, deliverables and dates. Before you start, you need to set broad objectives that you and your team intend to accomplish during the project. These can include tangible deliverables and intangible ideas — for example, building the knowledge of your team.
Although every business does SOW documentation in its own way, here's a look at the key elements:
Introduce and define the project
Introduce the project with a brief explanation of the work being done, along with location, client details and other relevant information.
Determine and list all deliverables
Listing all deliverables means determining the measurable outcomes of your work on the project.
Deliverables can be physical items, like a built structure or a product prototype, or intangible outcomes, like a training course completed by 100% of employees or a new process that will be used in your client's business.
List project tasks
Project tasks are the activities that need to be completed for the project to move forward. Depending on the size of your project, you can choose to include tasks in a single list, or break down tasks by project milestone.
For example, for a construction project, your first milestone could be ‘laying foundations’ with sub-tasks including hiring contractors, ground levelling and preparation, building a framework, and pouring concrete.
Identify project milestones
Project milestones are the key progress touchpoints during the project. These don't have to be detailed — they're the bigger steps that show that you’re moving towards your goal.
Establish a project timeline
The project timeline sets dates for completion of key tasks or milestones. Your final date, of course, is the deadline for project completion, but it's crucial to have a clear timeline leading up to that date.
The project timeline gives your client and other stakeholders realistic expectations around delivery and helps you keep the project on schedule.
Determine acceptance criteria
Acceptance criteria — sometimes called deliverable acceptance criteria — are the conditions or guidelines that your deliverables need to meet to be signed off by key stakeholders.
On some projects, these are straightforward — for example, your deliverables may need to match specifications laid out in your project plan.
On more complex projects, acceptance criteria may involve getting experts to review the deliverable or test the product, or receiving consent from the council or other relevant government body.
Create communication and reporting procedures
Communication and reporting procedures should outline the content and frequency of your reports, as well as the key stakeholders to be updated throughout your project.
For example, you could plan to generate weekly progress and budget reports and share them with the client, management team and project delivery team.
You could also outline processes to follow if details need to change — for example, you might include an RFI (Request for Information) procedure that stakeholders can use if they have a query about project details.
Review and finalise
Reviewing and finalising your scope of project is the final step. All relevant stakeholders should get a chance to share their ideas as you develop the SOW, so everyone is happy with timelines, deliverables and milestones.
Scope of work best practices
Best practices for creating a scope of work are all about transparency and clear communication. The goal is to make sure everyone is on the same page as you start your project.
Be clear and concise
Make your wording clear, concise and specific. Define key terms if they are unclear, lay out guidelines for completion of tasks or deliverables, and assign tasks or sections to specific people.
Double-check your communication by sharing your SOW with other team members before it's signed off — can they see any confusing or vague elements? Do they know what's expected of them? If not, it's time to rewrite.
Use visual aids when possible
Visual aids can help you communicate the details of your SOW much more clearly, reducing the risk of misunderstandings and errors.
For example, for a construction project, include plans, material specifications and site drawings. For a web development project, you may have wireframes or rough sketches, depending on the stage of the project.
Include as much useful information as possible so expectations are clear from the start.
Collaborate and be transparent with stakeholders
Collaboration and transparency are key parts of any project — and developing your SOW should be no different. Involve key stakeholders from the beginning by asking them for input on your SOW and wider project plan.
As your plan gets going, it's also important to be transparent about your progress. Keeping people in the loop — particularly your clients — can help them feel more engaged with the project, which can mean less frustration or confusion if things are delayed.
Scope of work vs statement of work
A scope of work and statement of work are both part of project planning and use the same abbreviation — SOW.
While there are some similarities between the two, they have different purposes.
Differences between a scope of work and a statement of work
The key difference between a scope of work and statement of work document is the purpose.
A statement of work is a legal document that defines all the elements of your project, including budget, goals, work teams, stakeholder responsibilities and completion criteria. It's a broad project overview rather than a step-by-step guide to completion.
A scope of work document is often included as part of a statement of work. Scope of work documents, as we've seen, outline the specific tasks, milestones and deliverables needed to accomplish your project goals, along with a clear timeline for completion.
Similarities between a scope of work and statement of work
Scope of work and statement of work documents are similar in that they're completed as part of your project planning, and include details about the goals of the project.
Scope of work FAQs
What is the difference between a scope of work and deliverables?
The key difference between a scope of work document and a list of deliverables is the level of detail.
A scope of work document lays out all the elements needed to complete a project, including deliverables, specific tasks, timelines and stakeholders involved.
A list of deliverables, on the other hand, doesn't include those in-depth details, making it less useful as a project management tool.
What are some examples of SOW deliverables?
Examples of SOW deliverables depend on the industry your business works in and the details of your project.
Tangible deliverables could include an office building, a product prototype, a major product delivery, a bridge or other built structure.
Non-physical deliverables include apps, designs for new products or buildings or services like training in or implementation of a new software solution.
Deliverables are the measurable results of your project work — not just smaller tasks along the way.
Can a scope of work be used without a statement of work?
Yes, a scope of work can be supplied without a statement of work.
Some projects, particularly if they're smaller scale or internal, don't require a full statement of work, but still benefit from the clarity of a scope of work document.
Scope your next project with MYOB
Scope of work documents are invaluable tools for project managers — but only if you can effectively track and manage all the timelines, tasks, deliverables and reporting requirements outlined in your SOW.
That's where an ERP platform like MYOB Acumatica comes in. Designed to connect all your business processes through a single platform, MYOB Acumatica gives you a clear view of project details, budgets and tasks as they're ticked off.
Want to connect the dots on your next project? Talk to the team at MYOB.
Disclaimer: Information provided in this article is of a general nature and does not consider your personal situation. It does not constitute legal, financial, or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as a statement of law, policy or advice. You should consider whether this information is appropriate to your needs and, if necessary, seek independent advice. This information is only accurate at the time of publication. Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained on this webpage, MYOB disclaims, to the extent permitted by law, all liability for the information contained on this webpage or any loss or damage suffered by any person directly or indirectly through relying on this information.