An effective SOW (Statement of Work) can be a project leader’s best friend.
A well written SOW provides project leaders with a structure on which their project plans can be built on. The SOW helps avoid conflicts in the project and keeps everyone that’s involved in the project on the same page and works to leave confusion to a minimum.
In general,a SOW is a formal project management doc that is aimed to define the entire project scope of work and clarify deliverables, costs, and timelines.
SOW is used in cases when projects involve vendors and external contributors. This document is usually created as a part of a contract. Project managers should pay enough attention to make SOWs clear to all stakeholders to avoid disputes involving deliverables, budgets, or timelines.
What’s really important about a SOW is that it shares what the project entails with people who are working on it, whether they are collaborating or are contracted to work on the project.
It’s about vendors and contractors.
When a SOW is not top-notch (as in vague and even confusing) organizations stand to experience delays and resultant loss of revenue.
No two SOWs are exactly alike, but there are certain constant elements they should all include, such as:
- Scope and purpose
- Expected outcomes
- Due dates
- Terms, conditions and requirements
- Deadlines
- Costs and payments
- Project milestones and deliverables
Want to learn more? Tonex offers SOW Writing Training, a 2-day course that provides participants with concepts, tools, approaches, and configuration of Statement of Work.
Additionally, Tonex offers over five dozen other courses in Business Skills. Training covers everything from business writing and briefing skills to SOW Writing and Risk Management. Here are just a few of our courses in Business Skills:
Strategic Planning and Management Training (3 days)
Time Management and Organizational Skills (2 days)
Writing for Engineers, Scientists and Technical Managers (2 days)
Scope Management and Baseline Development (2 days)
Conflict Management Training (1 day)
Corporate Social Responsibility Training (2 days)
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.