Build the Project Statement of Work

In my last post, Create Effective Project Proposals, I mentioned another powerful document that will help you manage client relationships and improve your level of professionalism. The traditional statement of work is a formal document that adheres to a handful of required elements. If you ever intend to perform any work for a government agency or government contractor, it’s possible that you will need to provide a statement of work in a format dictated by that agency or contractor.

Even if you never intend to do government work and only work for private enterprise, you will find your projects running much more smoothly if you write and stick to a statement of work.

What Is a Statement of Work, Anyway?

It’s exactly what it’s called: a statement of the work you will do for the client, the scope of the project, and the costs. The sample I provide at the end of this post also includes exclusions, stating what’s not included in the project. You may choose to use this clause or eliminate it. But, in any case, you always have the option.

Clients like statements of work because they define the specific deliverables and milestones of the project. They know what they are getting and the statement of work makes you accountable.

The reality is that the statement of work is even better for you than it is for your clients.

• Writing the statement of work forces you to really think through the project and identify every step that could cost you time and money.
• Defining the actual tasks you’ll perform allows you to effectively block scope creep.
• Scoping the tasks in terms of time and cost helps you become more accurate with your scheduling and pricing.
• Documenting your work allows you to learn from your experience and build a repository of project and task estimates.

Alone or Together

While it’s not required, you can usually include the statement of work along with the proposal. It’s also acceptable to provide the proposal and the statement of work separately, but for most small projects, submitting them together is often preferable.

After you close a deal and begin work on the project, make sure that you always carry a copy of the statement of work with you whenever you meet with the client. The statement of work is a tool just like your phone, computer, or calculator. Use it to confirm regular progress on the project and to clarify the client’s expectations. Clients sometimes forget the agreed-upon scope. Use the statement of work to remind them, gently but firmly.

A Form of Leverage

If it turns out that the client wants additional reviews, revisions, or expanded services, use the statement of work to confirm the original plan. Then go ahead and offer to create an addendum to the statement that will include the new work or revisions, for the added hourly rate, as described in the statement.

Summarize Your Success

When you complete the project, make sure that you spend some time with the client prior to or immediately following the presentation of the final product and review each deliverable on the statement of work. Project a positive attitude and tell the client how happy you are to have completed the project and successfully brought the client’s vision to life as defined in the statement of work.

Always close a project on an upbeat note.

The Sample Statement of Work

As with the sample proposal, the sample statement of work details all of the major components. After you download and review this sample, you might want to check out some other standard examples. You’ll find a couple of interesting examples at the Consultant Commons and at Usability.gov. There’s a nice description at Wikipedia.

PDF Statement of Work

Word Doc Statement of Work

Here’s another site with a variety of project statement of work templates and samples.