Elements of a Statement of Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Elements of a Statement of Work - Essay Example Most of the resources recommend that a good SOW document should tell clients a story starting with â€Å"why†, then â€Å"how† and â€Å"what† and finally â€Å"when† and â€Å"how much† in a logical order to make a follow up an easy task. A statement of works comprises of various elements with some formats omitting some particularly the ones that do not have much importance. This paper will discuss the most critical components of a statement of works and explain what Breakdown Structure (WBS) accomplishes. Under this section, vendors are required to define the â€Å"why† by stating the marketing or the objective of the business with respect to the project, as well as state a high-level overview of the resolution. This ensures that the vendor has clarity as to why he or she is undertaking the work (project) and hence can now start weaving the story. Under this section of SOW, a vendor is required to define the â€Å"what† and â€Å"how† of the weaved story in attempt to fully define the work being performed and outline a concise process that explains how the work will be done. It involves the following tasks that must be written in a chronological order Any assumption relating to the tasks that has been made while preparing SOW must be included in this part since assumptions are inevitable in any SOW document. It is also highly advisable that preparers should start precisely the deliverables produced while clearly describing them with regard to size which can be approximated, but expressed using words like â€Å"up to† so that if the supplier produces less can still be fulfilling the contract (Lessard & Lessard, 2007). Tasks should never be listed under deliverables since deliverables are items handed off to clients for review and approval. Moreover, it is advisable to avoid giving clients options under this section since all decisions ought to be made by this stage. Schedule section defines the