Statement of Work (SOW)

The statement of work is a descriptive description of the product or service. For an internal project, the investor or project initiator proposes a statement of work for the product or service based on business needs. For an external project, the statement of work is obtained from the customer as part of the tender documents.

The statement of work covers the product or service background, scope of work, assumptions, working methods, workload estimation, term of work, rights and obligations of both parties, acceptance criteria, change management and confidentiality instructions.

Background: describes the background of products or services, including but not limited to social, economic, organizational, and legal aspects.

Scope of Work: mainly describes the work that has to be done to complete the product

Assumptions: mainly describe the true and definite conditions that affect the project.

Working Method: project implementation method and technical architecture description

Workload: estimated workload

Term of work: clearly records the start time and end time of the project

Rights and obligations of both parties: Records of rights and obligations of both parties during project implementation

Acceptance Criteria: specify acceptance criteria for products or services

Change management: mainly defines the change handling process

Confidentiality Description: For projects with confidentiality requirements, clear records are required. Generally, confidential contract documents are attached.