Scope Statement and Work Breakdown Structure
The Planning Documents
The charter told the team what the project would deliver. The scope statement and WBS tell the team exactly what that means: every deliverable broken into the discrete pieces of work that can be owned, estimated, and tracked.
Meridian Office Relocation — Project Scope Statement
The scope statement below was approved and baselined at the end of Month 1, Week 4.
| Document | Project Scope Statement |
|---|---|
| Project | Meridian Office Relocation |
| PM | Sam Torres |
| Prepared | Month 1, Week 4 |
| Status | Approved — included in baseline |
In-Scope Deliverables
Six deliverables define the project's output.
| # | Deliverable | Description | Acceptance Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Signed Westfield lease | Executed lease for 80-person minimum office in Westfield District | Fully executed document; rate confirmed within budget; minimum 3-year term; no terms requiring landlord approval for minor tenant changes |
| 2 | Fitted and furnished office | 80 workstations; 6 enclosed meeting rooms (minimum 6-person each); building signage; access control cards for all 60 staff; lobby configuration | QG-3 (Quality Gate 3) walkthrough signed by Sam Torres; zero open snag list items; all 80 workstations tested and accessible |
| 3 | Migrated IT infrastructure | All servers, telephony systems, and business-critical applications operational at Westfield; data integrity confirmed; security policy compliance verified | QG-4 sign-off: 2 consecutive weeks with zero critical system failures; all 5 department heads sign off |
| 4 | Completed physical move | All 60 staff relocated; all company equipment and files at Westfield | Zero company property remaining in current office; all staff have functional assigned workspace at Westfield by end of move week |
| 5 | Decommissioned current office | Current space vacated, all company property removed, surfaces restored to lease-required condition | QG-5: landlord walkthrough passed; written exit acknowledgment received from landlord |
| 6 | Staff communications program | 4 all-staff messages covering: move announcement, timeline and FAQ, move logistics, post-move confirmation; FAQ intranet page live and maintained | All 4 messages sent on schedule (see communications plan); FAQ updated within 48 hours of any significant change |
Out of Scope
The following items were explicitly excluded from this project during scope planning, with rationale documented.
| Exclusion | Rationale | Owner of That Work |
|---|---|---|
| New personal computers and peripheral hardware | Standard annual IT refresh cycle applies; hardware replacement is not triggered by physical relocation | Marcus Chen (IT budget) |
| Organizational restructuring or team reseating beyond the move | HR and management decision; outside the project's mandate | Elena Vasquez |
| Renegotiation of current office lease terms | Finance team obligation handled separately before the project existed | Rachel Kim (separate engagement) |
| New business software licenses not required by the move | Separate IT annual software budget; licensing decisions follow technology strategy, not relocation | Marcus Chen (IT budget) |
| Fit-out of landlord common areas or shared building spaces | Landlord obligation per lease | Not applicable |
| Personal items belonging to individual staff members | Each staff member is responsible for personal belongings; project covers company property only | Individual staff members |
Project Constraints
The following constraints are non-negotiable boundaries the project must operate within.
| Constraint | Source | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Project must complete before Month 9 from charter (current lease expiry) | Business case; lease agreement | No milestone slippage beyond 2 weeks without emergency plan activation |
| Total spend may not exceed $185,000 without new executive approval | Charter; finance policy | PM escalates immediately if cost forecast breaches ceiling |
| All IT work must comply with Meridian's existing security and data policy | CTO policy | Marcus Chen confirms compliance at QG-2 and QG-4; any deviation requires CTO written approval |
| New office must have minimum 80-person seated capacity | Business case requirement | Lease negotiation cannot proceed on any property below this threshold |
Project Assumptions
The project relies on the following facts being true. Each assumption has an owner responsible for monitoring it.
| Assumption | Owner | Monitor At | If Wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westfield property available at quoted rate through letter of intent execution | Rachel Kim | Weeks 1-3 of Month 1 | Activate backup property; notify sponsor; timeline at risk |
| IT systems compatible with standard commercial cabling without major remediation | Marcus Chen | Month 2 discovery sprint | R-07 response activates; budget draw from contingency possible |
| Staff average productivity recovers within 10 business days post-move | Priya Kapoor | Week 2 post-move check | Escalate to Elena Vasquez; client communications may be needed |
| Current landlord will release with proper written notice at lease expiry | Rachel Kim | Review current lease by end Month 1 | Legal team engaged; costs draw from contingency; scope of R-06 |
Work Breakdown Structure — Meridian Office Relocation
The WBS breaks the project's six deliverables into manageable work packages. Each work package can be owned, estimated, and tracked. Activities within work packages appear in the schedule, not here. The Estimated Cost column is included because this is a worked example showing the full project picture; many organizations maintain a separate WBS for scope decomposition only and hold cost separately in the cost baseline.
| WBS Code | Work Package / Deliverable | Owner | Estimated Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Meridian Office Relocation Project | Sam Torres | $185,000 | Project total (base $163K + contingency $22K) |
| 1.1 | New Office Space (BRANCH) | Tom Walsh | $80,000 | |
| 1.1.1 | Site evaluation and letter of intent | Priya Kapoor | $5,000 | Site visits, shortlisting, LOI drafted and executed |
| 1.1.2 | Lease negotiation and legal review | Rachel Kim | $7,000 | External legal counsel; lease terms review; signature coordination |
| 1.1.3 | Office fit-out | Tom Walsh | $63,000 | Furniture (80 workstations, 6 meeting rooms); partitions; painting; signage; access control |
| 1.1.4 | Building access and lobby configuration | Tom Walsh | $5,000 | Access cards for all staff; lobby signage; directory |
| 1.2 | IT and Communications Infrastructure (BRANCH) | Marcus Chen | $45,000 | |
| 1.2.1 | Infrastructure design and procurement | Marcus Chen | $3,000 | Network design; procurement list; vendor selection |
| 1.2.2 | Network cabling and hardware installation | Marcus Chen | $18,000 | Cabling contractor; switches, routers, hardware installed at Westfield |
| 1.2.3 | Server migration and parallel run | Marcus Chen | $20,000 | Data migration; 2-week parallel run period; cutover |
| 1.2.4 | System testing and documentation | Marcus Chen | $4,000 | Acceptance testing; QG-4; configuration documentation |
| 1.3 | Physical Relocation (BRANCH) | Priya Kapoor | $18,000 | |
| 1.3.1 | Moving contractor selection and contract | Priya Kapoor | $1,500 | RFQ; bid evaluation; contract signed |
| 1.3.2 | Move schedule coordination | Priya Kapoor | $1,500 | Department-by-department move schedule; logistics planning |
| 1.3.3 | Physical move execution | Priya Kapoor | $14,000 | Moving company contract value; all staff and equipment moved |
| 1.3.4 | Old office decommission and return | Tom Walsh | $1,000 | Final removal; cleaning; landlord walkthrough (QG-5) |
| 1.4 | Staff Transition (BRANCH) | Priya Kapoor | $5,000 | |
| 1.4.1 | Staff communications program | Priya Kapoor | $2,000 | 4 all-staff messages; FAQ intranet page |
| 1.4.2 | Seating assignments and floor plan | Priya Kapoor | $1,500 | Seating plan developed with department heads; floor plan finalized |
| 1.4.3 | Move-week transition support | Priya Kapoor | $1,500 | Help desk coverage; move-day coordination; issue resolution |
| 1.5 | Project Management (BRANCH) | Sam Torres | $15,000 | |
| 1.5.1 | Project management plan | Sam Torres | $3,000 | All subsidiary plans; governance sections; baseline lock |
| 1.5.2 | Biweekly status reporting | Sam Torres | $4,000 | 16 biweekly reports over 8 months; sponsor meetings |
| 1.5.3 | Change control management | Sam Torres | $2,000 | Change register; review meetings; documentation |
| 1.5.4 | Project closure | Sam Torres | $6,000 | Lessons learned facilitation; all vendor contract close-out; final report to sponsor; archive package; supplier acceptance documentation; team recognition event |
| Base Estimate | $163,000 | |||
| Contingency Reserve | $22,000 | Risk-based sizing (see risk register); PM authority per risk management plan | ||
| TOTAL APPROVED BUDGET | $185,000 | |||
WBS Dictionary — Work Package 1.1.3
The WBS dictionary entry for WP 1.1.3, as recorded in the project management plan.
| WBS Code | 1.1.3 |
|---|---|
| Work Package Name | Office Fit-out |
| Owner | Tom Walsh, Facilities Manager |
| Description | Complete installation of 80 workstations, 6 enclosed meeting rooms (6-person minimum each), interior partitions, wall finishes, building signage (exterior and interior), and access control system to bring the Westfield space from bare shell to occupancy-ready. |
| Scope Boundary | Includes all fit-out from bare shell to occupancy-ready. Excludes: IT network cabling (WP 1.2.2), security camera systems (landlord responsibility per lease), cleaning services post-move. |
| Estimated Cost | $63,000 |
| Estimated Duration | 10 weeks (Month 3 start; Month 5 QG-3 sign-off) |
| Acceptance Criteria | All 80 workstations installed and accessible; all 6 meeting rooms furnished and lockable; QG-3 walkthrough signed by Sam Torres; zero open snag list items at time of sign-off. |
| Dependencies | WP 1.1.2 (lease executed); fit-out contractor selected (procurement activity, Month 2) |
| Key Risks | R-03 (contractor delay), R-04 (cost overrun) |
WBS Dictionary — Work Package 1.2.3
The entry for WP 1.2.3.
| WBS Code | 1.2.3 |
|---|---|
| Work Package Name | Server Migration and Parallel Run |
| Owner | Marcus Chen, IT Lead |
| Description | Migration of all Meridian servers, telephony infrastructure, and business-critical applications from the current downtown data room to the Westfield server room, followed by a mandatory 2-week parallel run during which both environments operate simultaneously to confirm stability before the current room is decommissioned. |
| Scope Boundary | Includes all server-level migration, application cutover, and parallel run operations. Excludes: end-user workstation setup (individual department responsibility post-move), new software licensing, and hardware procurement (WP 1.2.2). |
| Estimated Cost | $20,000 |
| Estimated Duration | 6 weeks (Month 6 migration start; Month 7 Week 4 QG-4 sign-off) |
| Acceptance Criteria | All business systems operational for 2 consecutive weeks with zero critical failures; all 5 department heads sign the IT acceptance form (QG-4). |
| Dependencies | WP 1.2.2 (cabling and hardware installed); WP 1.1.3 (fit-out complete so server room is accessible) |
| Key Risks | R-02 (complexity exceeds estimate), R-07 (compatibility issues) |
What's Next
With the scope defined and the WBS complete, the planning focus shifts to time, money, and people. The next chapter builds the project schedule from the WBS activities, develops the cost baseline from the work package estimates, and creates the resource plan that maps each team member's capacity against the work.
Reflect
- The WBS assigns every work package to a single owner. WP 1.3.3 (physical move execution) is owned by Priya Kapoor, but the moving company does most of the physical work. What does it mean for Priya to "own" this work package? What specifically is she accountable for that the moving company is not?
- The out-of-scope table includes a rationale column. Most scope conversations focus on what IS included; the rationale for exclusions matters just as much. Think of a project where something was left out of scope without a documented rationale. What risk did that create when a stakeholder later argued it should have been included?
- WP 1.5.4 (project closure) costs $6,000 out of $15,000 in total project management. That is 40% of the PM budget. What work goes into closure that justifies that allocation? What happens on projects where closure is treated as a formality rather than a work package?
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