Transition from Job Descriptions
In the recent past, the majority of workers had their day-to-day working lives governed by the contents of their job descriptions. These descriptions explained their key duties, the outcomes the business expected from their employment, and critically, how much they would be paid for their time.
However, as more and more companies outsource work, an increasing number of people find themselves working as third-party providers for businesses, either as consultants or service providers. Their day-to-day activities are no longer defined by job descriptions and organizational charts but by proposals, purchase orders, and Statements of Work. These documents outline what they will deliver and, consequently, what their daily work will entail.
Making a mistake in the scope of the project, the planned deliverables, or the promised outcome can lead to working long hours to fulfill expectations drastically different from what was initially anticipated. This can result in working for next to nothing. That's why we believe that, for many people, the scope is the new job description.
The Need for Guidance
The challenge, however, is that in many cases, nobody has been trained or shown what an effective scope should look like or how to write one. This lack of skills and knowledge can lead to confusion and misunderstandings on both the buy and sell sides. Don't get us wrong; there are some fantastically good commercial professionals who are great at articulating what people will do. However, they are often busy and remote, and a new generation is coming up who lack the experience to explain what people will do on a project and how their output will be measured. Projects can be agreed to where there are too many unknowns or where durations are too long to foresee the outcomes and work that's needed in the long term.
HR professionals, who previously crafted detailed job descriptions, are often not involved in the scoping process, their skills at expressing the work that people should do are not included in the scope and deliverables. We are committed to helping people on both sides of the equation gain a better understanding of the process involved in creating a robust scope and how to articulate it clearly and measurably.
As someone who was a sole trader for 10 years, it makes me happy knowing that our training is helping save people the pain of poorly defined projects! But what things are helping people create better scope?
What are key Scoping skills?
Creating good scope begins with understanding why the work is being done. Good scope flows directly from understanding the goal of the work. This allows you to agree on work that will produce the outcomes the business needs. Communication is critical, and there is no substitute for discussion, which leads to clarity and understanding, helping you craft better Scope and Deliverables. Then, there are the writing skills themselves—the ability to write clearly, without jargon but with technical language when needed, as well as ensuring absolute clarity in who is responsible for which aspects of the work.
Contact me for more information on our learning offering: polly.lindley@deployed.co
