A Scope of Work (SOW) is an agreed upon guideline between a company and its vendor detailing the time, resources, man power and price of a given project. Some of these items might change once the project begins due to varying factors, but having a clear and detailed SOW at the start of the project has multiple benefits for the company and the vendor as well.
- Time Saving
Spending more time initially on the details of the SOW can save time in the long run for everyone involved in the overall project. There is obvious information, like how many people and what equipment is needed before a project begins, but other details are often necessary as well, or example, if the work needs to be completed after hours or on weekends.
- Cost Saving
Sending more people or having to return to a project because the scope was inaccurate or not detailed exponentially increases the service costs. Not only service costs, but there are times that revenue-driving businesses and equipment need to be shut down while work is completed. The more information shared with all parties involved, the faster business can be up and running again.
- Reputation Saving
Vendors want to make each project as cost efficient and hassle-free as possible to encourage repeat business and referrals. Poor SOWs often leave people and/or companies appearing unprofessional even when the fault is not there own.
Andee Feenell, Project Manager for CUSITech states, “A poor scope of work equates to pricing differences from the project plan changing once the work begins, reschedules due to poor planning and redefined material needs once on site and the project will more than likely take longer due to the lack of preparation. A clear scope sometimes takes longer initially but saves time on the project as a whole and we can get a much clearer picture of the project cost.”
Save time, money and reputation with clear and detailed scopes of work on all projects. If you have a story of how a poor SOW affected your business in time, cost or reputation, please tell us in the comments.
