Q 357. In the world of Project Management, it is common practice to create Project Charter in Initiation phase. This does not contain the scope. Definition of scope is done in Planning phase. (The five phases are Initiation, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing). In the Lean Six Sigma world, the DMAIC Project Charter includes the scope. What is the reason for this difference in approach towards managing a project?

 

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It is recognized in the world of PMP as well as in DMAIC Projects that Scope is essentially the narration of all the work that needs to be done to deliver or achieve the objectives of a project.
 

However, there is a different relevance of the scope in both the approaches, when comprehended separately.

At the onset we must understand the difference in the approaches between the PMP Project and DMAIC Project including the relevance of scope
 

Sr#	PMP Approach	DMAIC Approach
1	Focus is on improving the Success rate of projects	Focus is on finding and eliminating defects within a specific process
2	Objective through the 6 Steps of Initiation, Planning,Executing,Monitoring & Controlling and Closing is to plan and execute a project 100% as per specification approved by the “SPONSOR” or the defined “authority”- "Not more , Not Less"	The objective through the 5 Steps of Define, Measure,Analyse,Improve and Control is to reduce wastages and spends on a specific process
3	Aims at completing a project by a specific deadline	Has a continuous control phase
4	Standardised Practices are used to efficiently deliver a activity that meets a predefined goal	Uses data driven methods and statistics to identify and solve a Challenge in a Process
5	Project Scope refers to the detailed set of deliverables or features of a project. These deliverables are derived from a project's requirements.  a scope statement outlines the entire project, including any deliverables and their features, as well as a list of stakeholders who will be affected. It will also include any other major project objectives, deliverables and goals to help measure success. The tools that best describe a project scope are -      Project Scope Statement -      Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) -      WBS Dictionary	The project scope statement defines the boundaries of the project. The project scope keeps the team on purpose, in alignment, contained, focused, and motivated. The scope might include: -      The start time and stop time -      The duration -      The process boundaries (what is within scope, and what is out of scope) -      The sub processes involved -      The product lines -      The locations (the divisions, the states, the territories, the countries, etc.)

 

What stands out significantly in the above differentiation is that;

-      The PMP approach is activity based which is time bound and handed over to the operations after the project is over, whereas the DMAIC approach is process level oriented  is taken during the operations itself.

-      There is a closing in the PMP approach which means that the project is over once the defined objective is made. Whereas in the DMAIC approach the control phase is continuous.

 

The scope, hence, needs to be more in detail and specific with timelines in the PMP approach. Therefore the Project Charter contains an overview of the project scope only and the charter is presented to the “Sponsor” for approval and to ensure the rights and power of the Project manager and the involvement and contribution of all stakeholders. The start date and end date may be mentioned.
 

As the scope in the PMP approach has to be specific and the sub activities and coordination’s also are to be time bound the project scope statement is made separately. The idea is to avoid any ambiguity around how and what the outcome of the project will be. This allows the project manager and his team to track timelines of the detailed WBS and ensure that the success rate of the project is at 100%.

The same compulsion does not exist in the DMAIC approach as though the scope boundaries are mentioned, it can be changed if the efficiency and effectiveness of the process is impacted positively in the improve and control phase, through many improvement tools available in Six sigma. The same applies if the impact is not visible, then the method of Improvement and relevant control also can be changed and there is no rigidity. Therefore, the overview of the scope is mentioned in the Project Charter itself. Betterment of the process output is the objective of the Green belt or Black belt who leads the project or set of projects. (To lead a Six Sigma project, a person typically needs to have reached the Black Belt level)

It is prudent for the top management of an organization to believe that, as put forth above, a six sigma professional is proficient at finding and solving a problem and a PMP project manager is adept at correctly implementing the project itself. Merging both the approaches “smartly” is the best idea to ensure that the organization benefits from the outputs of the efficient and effective implementation of solutions derived for defects in any process that has potential to add value. 

The charter keeps the project from drifting off course by focusing on predetermined goals and objectives. It also forces management to justify the project by answering questions including the benefits, impact, and successfulness of the project.

Although Project Management world and Lean Six Sigma world go hand in hand, In lean six sigma world  the project scope is defined to outline the project boundaries to avoid the scope creep. In Project Management, the  basic project scope needs to  be defined in Initiation phase and then refine it as the project unfolds while you learn  more about the project and customer's needs in Planning phase 

 

Project management is process of execution of work to meet the goals.
It contains five phase`
•    Initiation 
•    Planning
•    Execution
•    Monitoring

Initiation: 
Initiation phase in project defines Goals, objective of project. As before starting of project, we need to 
Define objective goals of project which should be known before start of project. 
Planning:
Scope for projects included in planning as we can get to know more drill down as we work more on 
Concepts.
Scope also can be define as work to be done in order
Scope defines business need,deliverables,key milestones. In project management it include in planning stage as it may varies or changes as per scenarios. Variation in Target or concept of stake holder  may happen. This is one of reason scope is align in planning phase
Some time Scope is  unclear, incomplete. Planning Phase help improvisation on this leading to project success.
In Lean Six Sigma Project charter is done in define phase which included Scope 
Here scope defines the improvement and benefit out of output what we are willing get.
It gives clarity of financial impact  to overcome,  example :avoid penalty, winning rewards

Both approaches have ther own advantages in their way.
In Six Sigma we get mor clarity and more drill down in analysis if scope define well i
Also Lean six sigma   approach is more in sequence in order to work on project.

There is no best answer to this question.

 

In terms of Project Management, scope refers to the detailed list of expected deliverables after the successful completion of the project. In the initiation phase, there is a high level of understanding of scope which is then detailed out (using tools like WBS) in the planning phase along with resource requirements and predecessors. In DMAIC approach, scope refers to the boundaries of the process within which the improvement or change is required.