Who prepares the statement of work (SOW) for external projects?

For external projects, which involve a buyer-seller relationship, the Statement of Work (SOW) is a key procurement document. It is a narrative description of the products, services, or results to be supplied under a contract. The SOW is typically prepared by the buyer (the customer) and provided to prospective sellers as part of a bid document, such as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quotation (RFQ). This document allows the customer to define their needs and requirements, which the seller's project will then be chartered to fulfill.

B. Project management team: The seller's project management team receives and analyzes the customer's SOW to plan the project and prepare a response; they do not create the initial SOW.
C. Project Manager: The Project Manager leads the team that executes the work defined in the SOW but is not the author of the customer's SOW for an external project.
D. Chief Financial Officer (CFO): The CFO's role is focused on financial oversight, funding, and profitability, not on defining the technical and operational scope of work for procurement. ---

1. Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). Section 4.1.1.2, Project Statement of Work, p. 75. "For external projects, the project statement of work is typically provided by the customer as part of a bid document (e.g., request for proposal, request for information, request for quotation) or as part of a contract."

2. Project Management Institute. (2017). The Standard for Program Management (4th ed.). Section 3.4.4, Program Procurement Management, p. 69. This section discusses managing contracts with sellers, which are predicated on requirements (like an SOW) defined by the buying organization (the customer).

3. Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (12th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 11, Section 11.4, The Statement of Work. The text clarifies that in competitive bidding, the SOW is prepared by the customer (buyer) and provided to the contractor (seller).