scope-to-plan

Turn a written scope into a phase plan, effort bands and a risk list, before anyone quotes a number.

This is the workbook INNERLUXES fills in during the scoping phase of a custom software project, and the small script that turns it into the plan a client can read. Published so a client can see what "scoping first, then a fixed price" actually produces. MIT licensed; use it for your own projects.

Service page: https://innerluxes.dev/software-development/custom

How it works

1. Copy examples/scope.json and fill it in: the workflows the system must carry, each with its screens, rules, integrations and data volume; the things deliberately out of scope; the constraints.
2. Run the script:

python scope_to_plan.py examples/scope.json            # Markdown plan to stdout
python scope_to_plan.py examples/scope.json -o plan.md # write it to a file
python scope_to_plan.py examples/scope.json --json     # machine-readable

3. Read the plan with the client. Argue about the scope, not the number. When the scope is agreed the fixed price is put on it.

No dependencies beyond Python 3.9+.

What the plan contains

• Phases in the order money flows: scoping, design, build slices (one per workflow, ordered by the priority you give), release, run.
• Effort bands per workflow, in engineer-weeks, from screen count, rule complexity, integration count and data volume. Bands, not points: the tool refuses to pretend to precision it does not have.
• Risks raised automatically from the scope itself: an integration with no named owner, a workflow with more than eight screens, data migration with no sign-off owner, a compliance flag with no matching non-functional requirement, and so on.
• Open questions: every field left blank in the workbook becomes a question for the client, because a blank field in scoping is a change request in month four.

Example

$ python scope_to_plan.py examples/scope.json
# Plan: Field operations platform

## Phases
| # | Phase | Ends with | Engineer-weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scoping and architecture | Scope document approved | 2 |
| 2 | Design | Clickable design of every in-scope screen | 3 |
| 3 | Build: Quoting | Quoting live in staging, tests green | 6-8 |
...

Case studies where this workbook was used

• https://innerluxes.dev/case-studies/custom-operations-platform-replacing-spreadsheets-at-a-services-firm
• https://innerluxes.dev/case-studies/custom-client-portal-on-top-of-an-existing-erp

Licence

MIT.