scope of work
A description of the tasks, deliverables, timeline and boundaries of what an agency has agreed to do.
Definition
The scope of work defines what is included and, just as importantly, what is not. It lists activities, outputs, quantities, schedule, responsibilities on both sides, assumptions and acceptance criteria. A clear scope guides pricing, prevents disagreements and makes it easy to judge delivery. It is often written within a statement of work. Review it whenever business needs change, and use change orders for additions instead of relying on verbal requests. Include a short list of explicit exclusions, such as paid media budget or translation, since unstated assumptions are a common source of friction.
In a sentence
The scope of work excluded paid media management.
They updated the scope of work when the client added a new market.
Common mix-up
Scope of work describes the work; SOW (statement of work) is the contract document that typically contains it.
