Scoping & Working Agreements
Explore how to define clear program boundaries through scoping by identifying decision rights, clarifying in-scope versus out-of-scope elements, and creating a concise program elevator pitch. Understand how to develop working agreements that promote collaboration, set communication norms, and build trust among team members, forming a solid foundation for successful program initiation.
Scoping
Scoping is a way of defining what we'll work on. You spend time identifying, clarifying, and documenting core program requirements. During program initiation, this should stay relatively high-level but give some firm boundaries to the program.
Your specific responsibilities around scoping are to:
Drive clarity around who has scoping decision rights
Drive clarity on the problem/opportunity
Drive clarity on in-scope vs. out-of-scope
Document and communicate the results in the program charter
Scoping decision rights
Early on, you need to identify who has the authority to make final decisions about what is in and out of scope. This is often an executive sponsor, product manager, engineering manager, another domain expert, and sometimes yourself.
Leaving this ambiguous causes issues later in the program's life. If the program runs into major challenges around the timeline and a ...