Terms of reference (TOR) define the purpose and structures of a

project A project is a type of assignment, typically involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a specific objective. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of events: a "set of interrelated tasks to be ...

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making. Definiti ...

negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or Collective bargaining, collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. The parties aspire to agree on m ...

, or any similar collection of people who have agreed to work together to accomplish a shared goal. Terms of reference show how the object in question will be defined, developed, and verified. They should also provide a documented basis for making future decisions and for confirming or developing a common understanding of the scope among stakeholders. In order to meet these criteria, success factors/risks and constraints are fundamental. They define the: * vision, objectives, scope and deliverables (i.e. what has to be achieved) * stakeholders, roles and responsibilities (i.e. who will take part in it) * resource, financial and quality plans (i.e. how it will be achieved) *

work breakdown structure A work-breakdown structure (WBS) in project management and systems engineering is a breakdown of a project into smaller components. It is a key project management element that organizes the team's work into manageable sections. The Project Mana ...

and schedule (i.e. when it will be achieved) TORs could include: * success factors, risks and constraints. Although the terms of reference of a project are sometimes referred to as the

project charter In project management, a project charter, project definition, or project statement is a statement of the scope, objectives, and participants in a project. It provides a preliminary delineation of roles and responsibilities, outlines the project's ...

, there are significant differences between the two. This article describes a TOR containing detailed definitions, while a project charter has high-level requirements, assumptions, constraints and descriptions as well as a budget summary without detail, and a milestone-only schedule.

Project life-cycle

The terms of reference are created during the earlier stages of

project management Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...

by the founders of the project in question, immediately after the approval of a project

business case A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. Many projects, but not all, are initiated by using a business case. It is often presented in a well-structured written document, but may also come in the form of a short ver ...

. They are documented by the

project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the Project planning, planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined star ...

and presented to the project sponsor or sponsors for approval. Once the terms have been approved, the members of the project team have a clear definition of the scope of the project. They will then be ready to progress with implementing the remaining project

deliverable A deliverable is a tangible or intangible good or service produced as a result of a project that is intended to be delivered to a customer (either internal or external). A deliverable could be a report, a document, a software product, a server upgr ...

s. This phrase "terms of reference" often refers to the task(s) assigned to a consultant or adviser. Such a consultant or adviser may be engaged via a contract with general terms of engagement that also incorporate the terms of reference that specifically describe the consultant's task.

References

{{Reflist Project management

Project life-cycle

See also

References