Scopes and Changes

Project Manager prepares a statement of work for a named subcontractor and project. The scope includes its description, planned dates and amount. Priced lines identify the quantity, unit and cost code behind the total. A retainage percentage and a flag for nonstandard clauses give reviewers useful context before they approve the agreement.

Approval and execution are separate stages. The approval chain identifies the person responsible for each decision and retains the result. Execution records when the agreement was put into effect. A later change order refers back to that agreement with its amount and schedule adjustment, so the project team can explain why the work changed.

• Scope preparation. Draft the agreement and its lines together. Hours, square feet and lump sums require different conversations about quantity and completion. Use the unit that the team will recognize when it checks field work and payment claims.
• Approval chain. Each step retains its sequence, assigned approver and status. The SOW moves from Submitted to Approved after the required decisions, with execution recorded afterward. The agreed routing determines whether Project Manager or Procurement Manager handles a decision.
• Amendment review. A change order carries its reason, amount adjustment and schedule effect. Draft, Submitted, Approved, Executed and Rejected distinguish preparation from an accepted amendment. Keep the related file available for the review.

Agree the approval amounts and the treatment of nonstandard clauses. Assign each required step to a person with the correct authority. Decide who can approve a change order and how that decision reaches the team maintaining the purchase order. Document the signature handoff if the agreement is signed in an external service.

Set a consistent approach to quantities, rates and cost codes. A change in the agreed amount should be discussed with procurement before the next claim arrives. Keep the original scope available while the amendment is being reviewed, and make clear which agreement version the field team is working against.

An electrical subcontractor has an approved scope for lighting work with a planned start and end date. The owner requests an additional area after the agreement is executed. Project Manager creates a scope-addition change order with the added amount and schedule days, then submits it for the agreed review.

The reviewer checks whether the added work belongs to the same project and subcontractor. If accepted, the amendment is recorded as Approved and later Executed. Procurement uses the approved terms when reviewing the related order. If rejected, the change stays identifiable and does not become accepted scope merely because it has a price.

Rehearse a second case with a nonstandard clause. Confirm that the assigned approver can see the agreement file and the clause exception before acting. Check the approval step’s recorded person and decision time when handing the agreement to procurement.

• SOW Approval Inbox — Submitted scopes bring the amount and clause exception into the approval review.
• Scope Schedule — Approved and executed agreements show the planned start and end of subcontracted work.
• Change Order Review — Submitted amendments show the commercial and schedule impact awaiting review.

Continue through scope and field work, then claim and payment review.