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Insight #7 Foundations for Success – Incomplete overall project scope
Dar Al Riyadh Insights reflect the knowledge and experience of our Board, executives and staff in leading and providing PMC, design and construction management services. Dar Al Riyadh believes in the importance of broadly sharing knowledge with our clients and staff to improve project outcomes for the benefit of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Large complex projects require strong foundations if they are to be successful. Arguably, these are the same foundations any project would require but experience suggests otherwise. When we look at recurrent weaknesses in foundations for success of large complex projects we see several recurring themes.
This Insight looks at another of these weaknesses.
Incomplete overall project scope
Inadequate scope definition and management has been identified as a major source of degraded project performance. The International Association for Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM) has identified 10 common pitfalls for contract management. Number 1 among these is “lack of clarity on scope and goals”. Others have identified that when scope is not clearly and accurately defined, overruns become systemic; scope creep is a consequence and the second highest rework indicator.
In addition to cost overruns arising from poor scope definition, delayed completion and disputes often occur as well.
If scope is prescriptive, identify all elements and services; document all elements required for a “complete” project which are not within the prescriptive scope and confirm they are to be provided by the owner or through another contract. Document critical interfaces and include them in the contract or in an early contract deliverable requiring owner’s acceptance.
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