Statement of work (SOW)

A Statement of Work is a document used in project and contract management. Anytime a buyer needs to procure certain product or service or materials from a third party, statement of work is used to define the details of the work to be performed. It documents the working agreement between two parties: the client, buyer, or government entity, and the agency, vendor, or contractor. Therefore, SOW carries a legal gravity as well.

Statement of Work Outline

There may be specific formats of statement of work available for different kind of projects. According to project management experts and entities, most SOWs share some basic components, regardless of industry. Common elements of an SOW include:

• Project objectives
• Project scope
• Major deliverables
• Tasks that support the deliverables, and which party will complete them
• Timeline for completion of work
• Location of work and resources, equipment, and facilities needed
• Payment costs, terms, and deadlines
• Internal and external standards and guidelines
• Criteria used to determine whether deliverables are acceptable and how they will be accepted
• Signatures of both parties

Writing a statement of work

Statement of work will form an integral part of overall agreement or contract between a buyer and seller. Statement of work must be written using very clearly with precise language so as to avoid all ambiguities. All the components of the statement of work as listed in above section must be written clearly. All the appropriate stakeholders must have clear and common understanding of the detailed statement for work and associated terms and conditions.

It is also important to understand the difference between Scope of work and Statement of work. Scope of work is one of the components of the statement of work (sow).

Conclusion

A statement of work is a very important tool used by buyers to clearly convey the work to be done by the vendors, timelines, and cost of work, performance criteria and overall working agreements to be fulfilled by the vendors. It must be drafted as clearly as possible.