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Standard / procedure description

Terms of reference documents are used to clearly define the objectives and deliverables of a given task or function, along with the parameters and constraints within which these objectives are to be achieved. A terms of reference may need to be created at different levels, depending on the scale and origin of the work under consideration.

All terms of reference documents shall conform to Std-01 Document Production, and be filed in accordance with Std-03 Project filing.

All terms of reference documents shall conform to the table of contents shown below. Sections which do not apply shall be included along with an explanation as to why the section is not relevant.

Contents
1.	Background
2.	Objectives
3.	Scope
4.	Resources
5.	Constraints
6.	Assumptions
7.	Reporting Structure
8.	Deliverables and timing
9.	Issues
10.	Signatures
11.	Completion Acceptance

The following sections outline the nature and content of each heading.

Contents

This section shall contain the headings as given above and any sub-sections to level 3, i.e. heading 1 to heading 3.

Background (Section 1)

This section shall provide a basic outline of the underlying reasons for the terms of reference, focusing on the terms of reference itself, not on the product to be delivered. It is a concise description, and shall normally contain the following.

Who has produced the terms of reference (and why).
To whom the terms of reference will apply, in terms of who will be responsible for the performance of the work described in the terms of reference.
What is the nature of the terms of reference, i.e. is it for a project, a phase, a work task, an investigation.

Objectives (Section 2)

This section shall provide a concise statement of the objectives of the terms of reference. When developing the objectives ensure they are as follows.

Complete The set of objectives must cover all that is to be achieved by the work performed. Any specific measurable quality objectives should be included. (It is not necessary to state compliance with specific standards for the deliverables as this is done in section 8 of the terms of reference.)

Measurable It must be possible to determine whether or not the objective has been achieved, and to specify one or more deliverables the production of which fulfils the objective.

Realistic It must be feasible to achieve the objectives taking into consideration the resources, constraints, and time scales which apply.

Prioritised The objectives are normally given in priority order with a statement to this effect.

Agreed The objectives must be agreed by all interested parties.

If there are multiple customer groups, consensus must be reached as to what is being developed and who among the group will assume ultimate responsibility for the stated objectives.

In addition to stating the objectives this section shall contain a table showing what deliverable(s) constitute fulfilment of each objective. This shall be used as the method of verifying when the objectives have been met.

Example:

In a terms of reference for requirements capture process an objective and the corresponding entry in the table could be as follows.

To capture the customer's requirements for proposed system X.

Objectives and deliverables

Objectives

Deliverables

1.

Software Requirements Specification

2.

Objectives	Deliverables
1.	Software Requirements Specification
2.