What is the difference between objective, goal, and scope?

Question

I want the exact differences between the project objective, project goal, and the project scope?

Answer 1

A project has one goal, one scope, and (usually) many objectives. I will explain in details what each one is so you can understand the differences.

The scope of the project is the definition of the work that needs to be done and the work that should not be done (i.e. should be excluded). The aim of the scope is to accomplish all the project's objectives, and ultimately the project's goal. The scope of a project is far from being confused with an objective or a goal.

The goal of a project is a statement defining what the ultimate result of the project should be. The goal of a project can be something like "Create a collaboration software" or "enhance the company's IT infrastructure."

The objectives of a project are the main outputs that you want from this project. For example, in the case of a project that is about building a collaboration software, we can have the following objectives:

- Allow team members on the same project to communicate with each other
- Allow team members to search previous conversations
- Allow team members to see and update their tasks

Note that an objective can encapsulate one or more deliverables (for more on this, see: http://www.projectmanagementquestions.com/3202/deliverable-vs-objective )

When a project is being brainstormed, the goal is first thought of, and afterwards the objectives. Then the project manager comes up with the scope that lists the work to be done, as well as the goal, the objectives, and the deliverables.