How to Determine the Purpose and the Scope

Determining Purpose and Scope

Consider this:

"If we could first know where we are and whither we are tending,
we could better judge what to do and how to do it."
-Abraham Lincoln

"Over the past few weeks you have been introduced to the strategic planning process, various models, and participants. This week we will begin the actual planning process by determining the Purpose (why) and Scope (parameters). This step is crucial and must be done early to avoid miscommunication or false assumptions. One of the most common errors in strategic planning occurs when participants do not discuss the purpose and scope of the planning process. Thus, one person may believe the scope is to generate a plan that addresses technology needs for the entire company, while another assumes the scope to be limited to the technology needs within one department. A lack of communication and clear direction can lead to false assumptions and the eventual failure of the planning process. To avoid this type of failure and to provide specific focus and direction to the planning process the purpose and scope must be identified and agreed upon by those involved. In essence, the purpose and scope specifically identify why the planning is occurring and the boundaries surrounding the process. By clearly identifying the reasons for and parameters of the planning process particpants can focus and plan with a common target in sight.

Determining the Purpose and Scope is a common practice in strategic planning, but Scope is also important within the realms of project management and needs assessment. Because knowledge of project management and needs assessment are sought-after skills, this lesson will touch on the process of determining scope in project management situations as well as for needs assessments. Some of the steps are common to all, but others (such as Work Breakdown Structure) are specific to project management. The readings related to project management and needs assessements are not meant to confuse the topic and detract from strategic planning. Rather, they have been included to demonstrate that determining Purpose and Scope is an important step for a variety of processes and that the methods for determining these are similar across situations. To complicate matters further, you will see that Vision is mentioned often in conjunction with Scope throughout the readings. These two items are often determined together so it was nearly impossible to find readings that did not contain both. You will read much more about Vision in next week's lesson, but until then let's get back to the task at hand and learn how to identify the Purpose and Scope of strategic planning."

Source:
Dr. Cheryl Murphy, University of Arkansas main campus professor of Strategic Planning & IDT Programs