Proposal Report for Project: Scope, Approach, and Plan of Work

The Proposal Report is one of the most important deliverables of any project. Its intention is to define the scope, approach and plan of work which must be undertaken for successful completion of the project. It provides a firm foundation for executing the project and acts as a baseline for monitoring and managing progress, thus improves the possibilities of a successful project completion.

A Project Proposal Report should clearly describe the following:

• What you are planning to do.
• Why you have chosen to do it.
• How you are planning to achieve it.
• Who will be doing what?

When you are planning to do it

In this section you must:

• Introduce your project (what is it about), the type of applied project it may be (academic, consultancy, practical), and define any terminology if required (briefly explain it).
• Provide an in depth focus on the background circumstances which indicate a need for the specific applied project that you propose and discuss the importance of the problem, issue, need, opportunity, requirement, shortcoming, impairment, etc. that you intend to tackle here. If done for a client, introduce the client as well and what they hope to achieve.
• Address the current body of knowledge concerning the topic proposed to demonstrate that you know a great deal about the specific issue that you focus on. Bring forth information from existing sources (cite them) regarding the specific topic (such as graphs, charts, and statistics, if available).
• Provide justification on the choice and its importance, who will benefit, what is the specific purpose.

2.Aims and Objectives

Here, you must identify and explain the scope and overall aims of your project. The Aims should be followed by a list of objectives which should collectively describe what the final deliverables and achievements of the project will be.

This section must include:

• Introduction to the overall intention behind the project
• Aims (4 to 5 aims each focusing on a specific part of the project)
• Objectives (3 to 5 objectives for each Aim thus providing enhanced focus and clarity on the direction to be followed)
• Deliverables (what the final outcome of the project will be)

When putting together the list of Aims and Objectives, you must start by clearly understanding what is the intention behind the project. The title must represent very clearly the focus of the project (by reading the title, a reader must know clearly what the project is all about).

In order to satisfy the title you must perform several tasks. Split the requirements of the title down to 4 or 5 major tasks. These are your Aims. In order now to satisfy each Aim, several tasks must be performed which once completed will satisfy the requirements of that specific Aim. These are your objectives.

Describe and justify the activities that you plan to carry out and the limits of your project. Note any project specific assumptions and explain the reasons behind them. Also, the functional or academic boundaries of your project must be included. Functional boundaries help define which parts of a problem will be addressed. In order to clarify the scope and boundaries of the project, it may be helpful to list what you will not be covering. Also, any project-specific constraints should be noted for review. Be specific and avoid bland statements that apply to all projects.

In this section you must:

• Discuss how you will approach the project (scenario, case study, problem area, opportunity, other)
• Discuss the methodology that you will follow (explain why it is appropriate)

Any specific assumptions (explain the reasons behind them)

Activities to be undertaken: Justification and limitations

Functional and/or academic boundaries

• Constraints:

Restrictions that define the project’s limitations

Boundaries, as set by the Aims and Objectives

• Assumptions:

Events or influences on your project which you perceive to be true without providing any proof that they are actually true.

• Resources list – identifying the purpose behind each item listed Identify the resources or tools which will be required, highlighting any special ones, in order to enable you to complete your project. You may include any hardware and software necessary. Use the Table below.