Examples of How I Structure Vision / Scope Presentations

“Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.” – Denis Waitley

On the Microsoft patterns & practices team, we use Vision / Scope as a key milestone for project success.

It’s where we frame the problem, identify the business opportunity, and paint a vision of the solution.

It’s a forcing function to get clarity on the customer, their scenarios, and our scope for the project.

We generally use a “fix time, flex scope” pattern, so this means having a candidate backlog that we prioritize with customers.

On the execution side, we expect to know the team, key partners, the budget, the schedule, and the deliverables.

We also need to know the risks and their mitigations.

The Vision Scope is About Selling the Vision for Project Success

At the Vision / Scope, the real key is first selling people on the vision, and then selling them on the execution.

It’s basically about answering, “why?” should we go do this, and “why now?.”  This can be either about reducing pain or exploiting an opportunity.

It’s also about answering these questions in the context of trade-offs.

When you can tell a compelling story from problem to solution, and how you’ll get their incrementally with a team people trust, you dramatically increase your odds of getting a “Go” decision, and the support you need.

Vision / Scope Baseline Structure

This is my rough sketch of the key pieces I need in my Vision / Scope presentations for success:

Vision / Scope	Agenda Problem Vision Approach Prioritized Tests for Success Scope Key Activities Deliverables
Execution	Team Budget Schedule Risks Asks Go/No Go

Vision / Scope Structure Examples

Here are some examples of how I structured my Vision / Scope slides over the years:

Example	Items
Example 1	Problem Vision Approach Prioritized Tests for Success Scope Key Activities Deliverables Team Schedule Budget Asks Go/No Go?
Example 2	Vision / Strategy Solution Concept Scope Outcomes Deliverables Scorecard Team Budget Burn Rate Schedule Go/No Go?
Example 3	Agenda Customer Proof Points Business and Technical Scenarios Project vision Project Scope Target Customer Development Strategy Project Objectives Go-to-Market Release Strategy
Example 4	Agenda Project Justification Team and Extended Teams Project Vision Business and Technology Threats Primary Business Scenario Associated Technical Challenges Quotes from Target Market Top 5 Customer Requests Potential Beta Customers Project Scope Project Deliverables Assumptions Risks Development Strategy Delivery Options Single Release Schedule and Budget Dual Release Schedule Dual Release Budget Go-to-Market Strategy Current Status/next Steps
Example 5	Agenda Customer Proof Project vision Business and Technical Scenarios Scope Pre-Release Strategy Go-to-Market Strategy Goals Current Status/Next Steps
Example 6	Agenda Project Lifecycle Habits and Practices Scenario-Based Guidance What is a baseline architecture? Reference Architecture Space Baseline Architecture Applied How will customers use it? Vision Strategy Why create this baseline architecture? Target Customer and Business Requirements Customer Scenarios Technical Challenges Deliverables Project Schedule Budget and Resource Allocation Risk and Mitigation Project Team Dev Update Development Velocity Test Deliverables Testing Coverage Bug – Status to Date (Test) Support Strategy Market Distribution Partner Strategy
Example 7	Challenges Opportunity Vision and Strategy Scope Feature Prioritization Approach Candidate Scope Scope: Components of the Deliverable Iterative Development Process Staging and Release Strategy Success Metrics Alignment with SC-BAT Team Roles Product Group Feedback Risks Issues Schedule Test Deliverables and Coverage Requests
Example 8	Agenda Customer Proof Points Business and Technical Scenarios Project Vision Project Scope Target Customer Development Strategy Project Objectives Go-to-Market Release Strategy Current Status/Next Steps
Example 9	Agenda Customer Pain Vision/Strategy Opportunity Solution Concept Scope Deliverables Scorecard EcoSystem who Are We Working with Team Test Scope Alignment – Relation to Projects/Programs Schedule Budget Ask to M0 + 30 days Total Budget Risks Asks GO / No GO
Example 10	Situation Opportunity Vision Goals Guidance Team Guidance Frame Strategy – Program and Project Program Customer Data Customer Scenario Technology Landscape Target Personas Solution Concept: Deliverables Scope – Phase 1a (Preview Release) Candidate Pattern Map Possible Phase 1b Scope Scope Release Strategy Customer Validation Plan Risks and Mitigation Strategy Issues Schedule Budget Technical and Organizational Dependencies Asks

If you can master the Vision / Scope approach, you will have a big advantage over those who start projects without creating real clarity around what project success will look like.

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