Replace activity labels with named outputs
Consider an early-stage review of shortlisted sites. Its draft scope slide lists research, analysis and support. Those headings describe effort, but they do not tell the buyer what will be handed over.
The revision below names an evidence register and a screening note. It also says what each contains: the register records the supplied material and gaps; the note compares the shortlist against agreed screening criteria and records open questions.
The distinction matters when the client reviews the proposal. They can now ask about the coverage of each output, rather than having to guess what “analysis” includes.
Early-stage site review: outputs and boundaries
Research · analysis · support
- Evidence register
- Supplied documents, dates and missing material.
- Screening note
- Shortlisted sites against agreed criteria, with assumptions and open questions.
This phase excludes new surveys, engineering design and permit applications.
Client input: existing site material, the confirmed shortlist and agreed screening criteria.
Keep the important boundary beside the work
In this example, the work uses existing documents. New surveys, engineering design and permit applications sit outside this phase. Put that limit beside the deliverables, where someone reviewing the scope can see it.
Choose boundaries that materially affect the buyer’s understanding. A long list of every imaginable exclusion will obscure the important ones. If later work is an option, label it as a separate scope to agree rather than drawing it as an automatic continuation.
The Association for Project Management’s scope guidance emphasises clarity about what is included, what is excluded and where a project meets adjacent work. Apply that principle to the proposal slide while keeping its wording aligned with the detailed scope.
Explain the inputs and how the outputs will be reviewed
The client supplies the existing site material, confirms the shortlist and agrees the screening criteria. State those inputs near the outputs they support. If material is missing, show the gap and agree how it affects the review before promising coverage or a delivery date.
Give the outputs a practical review basis. For the screening note, the client might check that each agreed site and criterion is covered, assumptions are visible and open questions are recorded. Describe these as proposed review criteria until they have been agreed.
Keep the delivered document distinct from the later project decision. Completing a screening note does not establish that a site has passed engineering checks or obtained permission to proceed. End the scope slide with what this phase will deliver, and show the next decision separately.
Send me your proposal slide and the scope it needs to explain.