A scope of work or SOW has the potential to make an effective construction contract even better. It’s important to create a well-written scope of work template that’s comprehensive, clear, concise, and logical so that the construction manager and contract or can understand the information written on it.
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Scope Of Work Templates
Why do you need a scope of work?
At the very core, a scope of work is a type of document which covers the working contract between an agency and a client. Project managers can use a scope of work example to ensure that all of the agreed-upon expectations are very clear. Also, it’s important that both parties should know exactly what they need to do.
To ensure the effectiveness of your contractor scope of work, make sure it includes the following information:
- Project objectives
This refers to the problem statement – what’s the issue you’re currently facing and what would you like to achieve after this project? - Schedule and milestones
Before making a scope of work for house renovation or any other kind of SOW, think about when you plan to start the project and when you need to accomplish it. What are your project’s main phases or milestones that you can keep track of and measure your progress by? - Individual tasks
Think about all the tasks you need to do and the people you should assign these tasks to finish your project. - Deliverables
What are the things you need by the end of your project? Are the deliverables simple or complex? This information will also prove valuable when creating your scope of work template. - Payment information
Come up with an estimation of how much your project will cost and how you plan to pay the people you will work with. - Expected outcomes
This is the answer to the problem statement you’ve made at the beginning. What’s the business objective you’d like to achieve with your project and how you plan to measure or report on it? - Requirements, terms, and conditions
Come up with definitions of the terms you plan to use in your SOW along with any requirements or conditions which aren’t clear yet.
Scope Of Work Examples
How does a scope of work differ from a statement of work?
A scope of work typically includes the description and purpose of your project. For instance, in a professional service firm, the SOW is the name utilized for the document used for the client to sign when starting a new project.
All types of comprehensive statements involving work include a scope of work example. The SOW provides details like organizational charts for the people assigned to that project, a list of equipment and tools, and the identification of any additional resources.
Contractor Scope of Work
Steps for making a scope of work
A scope of work is a comprehensive document that the team must refer back to throughout a project. Therefore, a contractor scope of work requires very specific information for it to be both valuable and effective. Here are some steps for you to follow when creating a scope of work for house renovation or any other purpose:
- Create the introduction
Before getting into the specific details of your project, you must first acquire the highest-level information. What type of work do you need to do? Are you planning to provide a service or do you plan to build a product? Who are the people involved in your project?
The introduction also covers the kinds of formal agreements you would use your scope of work template to create later including:
Standing offer which is an agreement to purchase a product or service at an agreed-upon price for a certain amount of time.
Contract which is a formal agreement that’s legally binding to purchase a product or service at an agreed-upon price for a certain amount of time. - Come up with the overview and objectives of your project
The next thing to do is to address the reason why the project exists in the first place. Explain your project, the context surrounding it, and your business objectives. Come up with an outline of this information, you can add the details later. - Create your scope of work
This is where you outline all the work your project requires. It’s important to keep the information on your scope of work example at a higher level. Present the information in a bulleted list with simple, easy to understand explanations.
There are times when your scope of work may also contain technical requirements like any software or hardware needed for the completion of your project. - Come up with a task list
One of the most important aspects of any project is task management. This is especially important when you work with a team outside of your organization. To make your SOW easier, break it down into smaller tasks. This also makes it easier for everyone to be on the same page at all times.
It’s important to note that tasks aren’t the same as deliverable. These are the actions you need to take for your project, not the outcomes that you expect. Therefore, when you write these tasks down, provide a short explanation about them. - Create a schedule for your project
A contractor scope of work also requires a schedule that’s more than just the start date and the end date. This is where you outline when, how, where, and who will do the work for the project. Here are some questions to ask yourself when making the schedule for your project:
How long do you think you need to complete the project?
What are the major phases and milestones of your project?
Does your project have any specific or predetermined dates?
Should your project take place over a specific time period?
Does your project have an end date which coincides with a significant event which might have an effect on your business model?
Where will the work for your project take place?
Is your project remote or on-site?
Where will the meetings for your project take place?
What resources do you need?
What resourced does your project’s contractor need?
Who will do most of the work?
Do the current resources of your contractor match up with the expectations you have of your project?
How many workers do you need to complete the project?
These are some questions which may affect the schedule you create for your project. Write all of these questions down and if you think of any more, then include those as well. - List the project deliverables
This is when you must get down to brass tacks. This part of your scope of work for house renovation or any other kind of project is where you come up with a list of what you’re expecting to get by the end of your project. You can see these as natural conclusions you’ve acquired from the task list you’ve created.
In most cases, you may want to combine the schedule and deliverables to get a more accurate picture of when each of the deliverables should get accomplished and what are the things dependent on them. This gives you a clearer overall picture of how your project flows so you can see if any delays might potentially come up. - Come up with an adoption plan
Most people forget this step, which is sad because it’s very important. An adoption plan refers to the process for how you plan to put the deliverables in place. After you get the deliverables, what do you plan to do with them? Avoid wasting time by creating an adoption plan for a more seamless project flow. - Project management
By this step, you would already have most of the important information in place. Now all that’s left is to include some administrative work into your SOW. Here, come up with an outline and details of missing information that you need to keep yourself and everyone else involved in the project satisfied. This is where you include things like:
When and how you plan to make payments to everyone who worked on the project. Do you plan to give payments after each milestone, after each deliverable or on a regular schedule? What happens if the scope increases or if the team misses any deadlines?
Who will sign-off on the deliverables, approve any adjustments or changes in the scope or handle maintenance and support.
Any other standards or requirements which you need to agree upon. These may include security requirements, exclusions, assumptions, and more. - Think of the success criteria
In the last part of your scope of work template, decide how you plan to accept the deliverables. This means that you have to think about who will authorize these deliverables, how to review them, and who will sign off on them. Also, provide some criteria and guidance regarding “acceptable” work.
Although this information might not seem necessary upfront, it helps lower the chance of running into any issues in the future when you receive a deliverable which isn’t what you had expected.
