What would be an example of a project exclusions in a project initiation document in project management? When I look it up I’m told things that are not covered in the project? Surely that could mean anything?

Yes, it could be anything, but it’s all about managing stakeholder expectations. What might people think is part of the project, but really it isn’t? If you’re building a house, perhaps the interior decorating is defined as outside the scope of your project, or perhaps the landscaping is out-of-scope. Exclusions are often mentioned in project charter documents and/or project scope statements, and are sometimes referred to as project boundaries.

In the Project Management Institute’s sixth edition PMBOK Guide, project exclusions are documented as part of the Project Scope Statement, along with the product scope description, deliverables, and acceptance criteria. (Refer to pages 154 and 155.)

Read more about the basic project management process. You can also read more about project definition as part of our Ten Ds of project management series.

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