Statement of work
A statement of work explains the requested scope: outcomes, boundaries, contributions and prerequisites. It helps put quotes on the same basis.
A statement of work explains which outcomes and activities are requested or agreed for a project. It includes understandable boundaries, participants' contributions and prerequisites. A requirements catalogue can provide part of the foundation.
In a hypothetical portal project, the request covers customer prices and transferring orders to ERP. Payment processing is explicitly excluded. The retailer supplies test data and test-environment access; the ERP interface's write capability remains unresolved. Scope and uncertainty become visible together.
“A portal with integration” would be too vague for this. A statement of work should explain how the result will be checked and which unresolved points affect delivery. The number of planned screens alone says little about those issues.
Sources
Related terms
- Requirements catalogueA requirements catalogue organises requirements with identifiers and verifiable details. It helps track scope, unresolved questions and changes.
- Requirements analysisRequirements analysis clarifies what a solution must achieve and why. Requests are examined for meaning, conflicts and verifiable outcomes.
- Acceptance criteriaAcceptance criteria state verifiable outcomes used to assess whether a requirement meets its intended need.
- Exit strategyA prepared route to switch, take over or retire an IT service in an orderly way.
- Migration costsEffort and expenditure for the planned move of data or functions to another environment.
- Investment costsCosts of building a new or expanded IT capability, as considered in project planning.
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