Chapter 2. Defining Project Scope

The nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from.

—Andrew S. Tanenbaum, c.1980

What do you want to accomplish? As a system administrator, this is a question I ask whenever a user comes to me with a new request. It's easy to get wrapped up in implementation details while forgetting exactly what it is you set out to do in the first place. As projects get more complex, it's easy to find yourself "spinning your wheels" without actually getting anywhere.