Last edited 02 Mar 2021

Statement of work

A Statement of Work (SoW): ‘…defines the scope of a project, including the overall requirements and deliverables for that project. It forms the basis for allocating work, budget and schedule requirements. The extent to which the SoW fully describes the requirements of the project will have a direct impact on the ability of the EVMS (Earned Value Management System) to provide objective measures of performance against the original project requirement.’

Ref Earned Value Management Handbook, Published by the Association for Project Management in March 2013.

See also: Scope of work.

NB The UN Procurement Practitioner's Handbook, produced by the Interagency Procurement Working Group (IAPWG) in 2006 and updated in 2012 suggests that a statement of work sets out: 'Requirement specifications for work assignments outlining the specific services a contractor is expected to perform, generally indicating the type, level and quality of service, as well as the time schedule required. Usually accompanied by a Bill of Quantities (BOQ) and/or drawings/designs.'

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

Designing Buildings Anywhere

Get the Firefox add-on to access 20,000 definitions direct from any website

Find out more Accept cookies and
don't show me this again