Terms of Reference - G20

During June 2010, Toronto Ontario was the scene of the most recent G20 Summit.  Unfortunately, as per standard these days, it saw protests that turned violent.  As too is common, an inquiry has been called into the police actions.

What does this have to do with optimization, projects, manufacturing etc?  Well, I was interested to hear them say on CBC that a person has been appointed who's sole role is to define the terms of reference of the inquiry.  For those of us in the project management world, this is another term for project scope.

Defining these terms of reference is crucial for the inquiry.  It will determine the type of questioning, how far along the chain of command, who will be questioned and how far back into the planning of the Summit they will go.  What is truly interesting is that time will be allocated to develop these terms, considering all the stakeholders involved and the long term impact it could have on Summits all over the world.

How often do we in manufacturing ever take the time to truly develop the scope of projects?  Have we ever faced the wrath of a poorly defined scope?  How often have we seen the scope change significantly in the middle of a project?

Most projects will not have the global attention this inquiry could have, nor would they have the political intrigue, nor the breadth of stakeholders.  Therefore, one would say that a project does not need to dedicate the month or two to developing a scope as this one does.  But, each project needs to have some time spent on developing a good scope.  Next time you work on a scope, think of the impact of a poor scope and spend the time to make sure yours is narrow yet broad, defined but loose enough to bend as more information comes in.  Good luck!