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Effective project management is crucial for the successful delivery of construction projects, ensuring they are completed on time, within budget, and to the desired quality standards. Project scope definition is at the heart of project management, which forms the basis for project planning, execution, and control. However, despite its importance, there is a lack of comprehensive investigation into project scope definition compared to other areas of management knowledge. This research paper identifies the key enablers and elements of project scope definition, as well as their relative importance. Moreover, this study develops an assessment model using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate the completeness of the project scope definition. Data was gathered through a questionnaire survey deployed to subject matter experts specialized in building projects in Saudi Arabia. The results highlight the significance of understanding the direct impact of scope definition on project success, which emerged as the most influential enabler in facilitating scope definition. Among the top ten elements of scope definition are project financial requirements, regulatory requirements, and building site location and geotechnical data. The findings and AHP assessment model can assist project stakeholders and managers in effectively defining project scope, potentially leading to efficient management of building projects.

Software project scope definition is complicated due to the diversity and magnitude of the information needed. An inadequate scope definition often results in project failure as it continues to emerge as the major cause of delays, changes/rework, and cost and schedule overruns. Literature mentions different tools and methods to verify, quantify, and control software scope definition. However, none of these methods and tools help in defining a complete scope. Since a well-defined scope in the early stages is a core ingredient for project success, therefore, previously we developed a method that includes 45 elements of the software project scope definition. Although these elements are noteworthy for project scope, some may influence others; and should be concentrated on more when defining the scope of the software projects. The objective of this present study is that it builds on our previous research and uses Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) to extract the interrelationships among the elements and Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) to determine the intensity of these relationships. Experts from academia and the software development industry were consulted to identify the relationships among the elements. ISM-DEMATEL approach indicates that the project manager's competence is the main driver. Further, requirements, stakeholders' expectations, cost estimates, project schedule, resource estimation, project summary, communication, consultation, top management support are among the most influential elements that are critical to focus on. Moreover, the findings of the study provide project managers with a better understanding of the elements and their interconnections thus, helping in achieving a better scope definition.

The inherent multi-criteria nature of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), tailored to unearth trade-offs amidst environmental aspects, presents a challenge in directly aiding decision-makers when comparings products. These difficulties are due to both the multi-criteria nature of the instrument and the multiple forms of uncertainty that affect the results. This article aims to present a new framework, integrated with the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, designed to support LCA-based decision-making under methodological uncertainties. The framework encompasses three innovative phases within the LCA structure: a systematic mapping of sector-specific methodological choices, an in-depth analysis delving into the spectrum of conclusion variability, and the adoption of a weighting system for methodological combinations capable of managing divergent outcomes. This innovative framework was successfully applied in a real-world case study in the packaging sector. • Several difficulties prevent direct use of LCA as decision support. • Subjectivity of methodological choices is a source of uncertainty in LCA. • A framework is proposed to manage methodological uncertainty in LCA-based decisions. • Improving transparency requires a great deal of time and computing effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible nature of scope definition in agile makes it difficult or impossible to measure its completeness and quality. The aim of this paper is to highlight the important ingredients of scope definition for agile projects and to present a method for agile projects in order to measure the quality and completeness of their scope definitions. The proposed method considers the elements that are retrieved as a result of the systematic literature review. An industrial survey is conducted to validate and prioritize these elements. Elements are then assigned weights according to their importance in scope definition to build a scorecard for calculating the score of user stories present in the product backlog. The proposed method is able to identify the clear and complete user stories that can better be implemented in the coming iteration. Formal experiments are performed for the evaluation of the proposed method, and it suggests that the method is useful for experts in order to quantify the completeness and quality of scope definition of an agile software project.

Front-end planning (FEP) is a critical process for uncovering project unknowns while also developing adequate scope definition and a structured approach for the project execution process. For infrastructure projects, the FEP process assists in identifying and mitigating risks stemming from issues such as right-of-way concerns, utility adjustments, environmental hazards, logistic problems, and permitting requirements. The authors have developed a novel risk management tool, called the project definition rating index (PDRI) for infrastructure projects, which can be used to identify and address these issues systematically and in a structured manner. Input from 64 industry professionals representing over 30 organizations was used in the development of the tool. In addition to a usable definition for infrastructure in the context of the built environment, a finite and specific list of issues related to scope definition of infrastructure projects was developed with this industry input. Data from 26 completed or in-process projects are given. Results show that the PDRI assessment score is indicative of the current level of scope definition for sample projects and corresponds to project performance. Findings support the hypothesis that projects with improved early understanding of scope definition elements showed improved project outcomes; infrastructure projects with low PDRI scores (well defined) outperformed projects with high PDRI scores. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by specifically identifying those FEP elements that are critical to infrastructure projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of Information Technology (IT) in the organizational performance have motivated research about its impact in business actions, as well as the benefits of attending necessities of business units with technology. Recently, universities have been influenced by global trends of performance needs and management efficiency to invest on ERP systems. However, it is important to mention that it is difficult to identify the benefits that come from these applications in terms of performance results and organizational services. The objective of this study is to present and discuss the challenges found during the process of scope definition in the planning step to acquire an ERP for Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, as well as the influence of this choice in the institutional and IT strategic plan. The main evidences of this study, were: eliminating the manual processes is the main tangible benefit wished with the ERP acquisition; the acquisition plan must preview the discontinuously of the existent systems, replacing all of them for the new management tool to be acquired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the short history of intranets a lot of IT-centric paradigms have been prevailing (tool choice, architectural questions, overall IT strategy). The emergence of intranet paradigms, referred to as Web2.0, as well as changed user expectations due to consumerization and high adaption of mobile devices challenge the traditionally technology-driven approach in enterprises: Today, users realize that there is more to claim and fight for. This article introduces approaches that start from the practitioner's perspective and help to align users, IT and strategic stakeholders with the purpose of forming an alliance between them and of finding the scope and design that fits all requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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