The inputs into developing this process are the project Charter, project statement of work, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets according to the Section. The Charter has been described previously. The project statement of work, or SOW, is created at this stage and contains narrative that describes the products or services that will be the output of the project. The SOW shows the business need for the project, which links it closely to the Charter. In addition, the scope definition gives the product requirements. Finally, the Charter has a clear link to the strategic plan of the organization. Because all projects support the organization's overall strategic vision, the strategic plan (or at least the main points in the strategy) should be part of the development of the early project scope statements.
One of the techniques of managing an organization or project is to manage the variance between what was planned and what actually occurs. This is also one of the tools and techniques found in project management methodology. We have already encountered one of the techniques used in project management through the use of earned value (EV), as discussed in This technique measures the variance in projects and is an accounting form that is not often seen in general management. In Project Integration Management, the term used to describe the process of managing by variance is called Earned Value Management (EVM). EVM is a project integrating methodology, whereas EV is the technique. EVM is the way project management uses variance management to assess the state of the project.