# Scoping & Estimates

DarcyIQ's Scoping & Estimates feature transforms how consultants and solution architects create project scopes and Level of Effort (LOE) estimates. Build professional scoping documents faster with AI assistance that learns from your organization's approved work.

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**Self-Learning Intelligence**: Every approved scope automatically enters your organization's custom knowledge engine, making future estimates more accurate and consistent over time.
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## Overview

Create detailed project scopes, LOE estimates, and pricing calculations with intelligent assistance from DarcyIQ. The platform learns from your approved scopes to provide contextual suggestions, historical data, and pricing guidance for future projects.

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## Key Benefits

| Benefit                    | Description                                                                     |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| ⚡ **Faster Creation**      | Build scopes in minutes instead of hours with AI-powered assistance             |
| 🧠 **Self-Learning**       | Approved scopes automatically build your organization's custom knowledge engine |
| 💰 **Accurate Pricing**    | Automated calculations with ROM ranges, FTE metrics, and margin analysis        |
| 👥 **Team Collaboration**  | Built-in review workflow with sharing and permissions                           |
| 📊 **Historical Insights** | Leverage past successful projects for better estimates                          |
| 🔄 **CRM Integration**     | One-click export to Salesforce for seamless workflow                            |

## How It Works

DarcyIQ's Scoping & Estimates follows a three-phase approach to help you create better proposals faster:

### 1. **Build & Capture** 📝

Start with a scoping template tailored to your organization's needs. Use DarcyIQ's integrated AI chat to:

* Generate task breakdowns from project descriptions
* Search your knowledge engine for similar past projects
* Get AI suggestions for scope items, dependencies, and risks
* Fill in custom fields with contextual assistance

<figure><img src="https://3971952171-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FZAWfHaMLwFz29fKwv8d8%2Fuploads%2F3MdqgufiAZBvorBZecYm%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=13819f1c-2c5a-463f-aca2-9ac9f21e4a73" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### 2. **Review & Collaborate** 🔍

Move scopes through your team's review process:

* **Draft** → **In Review** → **Approved** status workflow
* Drag-and-drop Kanban board for visual management
* Share estimates with team members (Read, Write, Owner permissions)
* Track complete history of all changes
* Get peer feedback before client submission

### 3. **Learn & Improve** 🚀

When a scope is approved, the magic happens:

* Scope automatically enters your organization's knowledge engine
* Future scopes leverage this historical data for suggestions
* DarcyIQ gets smarter with every project you complete
* Build institutional knowledge that doesn't leave with team members

<figure><img src="https://3971952171-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FZAWfHaMLwFz29fKwv8d8%2Fuploads%2FfjCG5K5ZaKF8AqXrHH0p%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=91b41341-ed9e-4606-ad4f-ba20f7652e85" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Core Features

### AI-Powered Assistance

Get intelligent help at every step of the scoping process:

* **Contextual Chat**: Ask Darcy to help fill out any section of your scope
* **Knowledge Engine**: Find similar past projects with one click
* **Content Enhancement**: Improve scope descriptions, requirements, and deliverables
* **Task Generation**: Generate detailed task breakdowns from high-level descriptions
* **Smart Suggestions**: Get recommendations based on your organization's historical data

### Flexible Templates

Customize scoping templates to match your organization's methodology:

* **Custom Fields**: Add metadata fields for any project information you track
* **Configurable LOE Tables**: Define columns for hours/quantity, roles, task types
* **Rate Card Integration**: Link pricing automatically to your rate cards
* **Multiple Templates**: Create different templates for different service offerings
* **Default Templates**: Set organization-wide defaults for consistency

Learn more: [Templates Configuration](https://docs.darcyiq.com/settings-and-configuration/scoping-configuration/templates)

### Smart Pricing & Calculations

Automated pricing calculations with professional presentation:

* **Rate Card Pricing**: Automatic calculation based on roles and hours
* **ROM Ranges**: Rough Order of Magnitude ranges with configurable buffers
* **FTE Calculations**: Full-Time Equivalent metrics for resource planning
* **Margin Analysis**: Built-in cost rate tracking for profitability
* **Calculated Fields**: Support for percentage-based and step-function pricing
* **Timeline Visualization**: See resource allocation over project duration

### Collaboration & Workflow

Built for team-based work:

* **Kanban Workflow**: Visual board with Draft, In Review, and Approved columns
* **Permission Levels**: Owner, Write, and Read access control
* **Shared Estimates**: Collaborate with team members in real-time
* **Change History**: Complete audit trail of all modifications
* **Status Management**: Track scope lifecycle from creation to approval

### Historical Insights

Learn from your organization's past projects:

* **Pattern Recognition**: AI identifies common themes across your scopes
* **Industry Analysis**: Automatic categorization by industry and use case
* **Skill Demand**: Track which skills are needed most in which industries
* **Use Case Trends**: Understand project types and service offerings
* **Correlation Matrices**: See relationships between skills, industries, and use cases
* **Time-Based Analysis**: Filter by date range to identify trends

Learn more: [Historical Insights](https://docs.darcyiq.com/settings-and-configuration/scoping-configuration/historical-insights)

### Integrations

Seamlessly connect with your existing workflow:

* **Salesforce Export**: One-click export to Salesforce Opportunities
* **Knowledge Engine**: Automatic indexing of approved scopes
* **CRM Mapping**: Configure field mappings for your CRM objects
* **Document Export**: Generate PDFs and Word documents

## Use Cases

### For Consultants

**Challenge**: Creating consistent, accurate client proposals under tight deadlines.

**Solution**: Use scoping templates with rate cards to quickly build professional estimates. Share with team leads for review, then export directly to Salesforce. Approved scopes automatically train the AI for future proposals.

**Result**: Reduce proposal time from days to hours while improving accuracy and win rates.

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### For Solution Architects

**Challenge**: Estimating complex technical implementations without repeating past research.

**Solution**: Search your knowledge engine for similar past projects while building new scopes. Use AI chat to break down technical requirements into detailed tasks. Leverage historical data for more accurate effort estimates.

**Result**: Better technical estimates backed by organizational knowledge, not just individual experience.

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### For Services Teams

**Challenge**: Maintaining consistency across multiple team members creating scopes.

**Solution**: Create standardized templates with required fields and rate cards. Use review workflow to ensure quality before client submission. Build shared knowledge of successful project patterns.

**Result**: Consistent quality regardless of who creates the scope, with institutional knowledge that grows over time.

***

### For Leadership

**Challenge**: Understanding team capacity, pricing trends, and project complexity across the organization.

**Solution**: Use historical analysis to see patterns in project types, sizes, and resource allocation. Track scoping velocity and quality metrics. Identify which service offerings are most common.

**Result**: Data-driven insights for resource planning, pricing strategy, and service portfolio decisions.

## Getting Started

### Step 1: Set Up Your Rate Card

Configure your organization's pricing structure:

1. Navigate to **Settings** → **Scoping Configuration** → **Rate Cards**
2. Click **Create Rate Card**
3. Add rate items for your roles, products, or services
4. Set billing rates and optional cost rates for margin tracking
5. Mark as default for automatic use in new templates

[Learn more about Rate Cards →](https://docs.darcyiq.com/settings-and-configuration/scoping-configuration/rate-cards)

### Step 2: Create a Template

Build a reusable scoping template:

1. Navigate to **Settings** → **Scoping Configuration** → **Templates**
2. Click **Create Template**
3. Add custom fields for your overview section (customer, industry, etc.)
4. Configure LOE table columns (hours vs. quantity, role options, task types)
5. Link your rate card for automatic pricing
6. Set as default for easy access

[Learn more about Templates →](https://docs.darcyiq.com/settings-and-configuration/scoping-configuration/templates)

### Step 3: Create Your First Scope

Start building scoping estimates:

1. Navigate to **Scoping & Estimates**
2. Click **New Estimate**
3. Select your template
4. Fill in project overview and scope details
5. Add tasks and LOE estimates
6. Use AI chat for assistance at any step
7. Calculate pricing when ready

### Step 4: Collaborate & Review

Get team input before finalizing:

1. Click **Share** to add team members
2. Set permission levels (Read, Write, Owner)
3. Move to **In Review** status when ready
4. Team members can view, edit, or comment
5. Track all changes in the History tab

### Step 5: Approve & Learn

Complete the lifecycle:

1. Make final adjustments based on feedback
2. Move to **Approved** status
3. Scope automatically enters knowledge engine
4. Export to Salesforce or download as needed
5. Use historical analysis to see patterns

## Best Practices

### Template Design

* Keep templates focused on specific service offerings
* Use descriptive labels for custom fields
* Link rate cards for consistent pricing
* Set realistic default buffers (15-25% is common)

### Scoping Process

* Start with AI chat to generate initial task lists
* Search knowledge engine before building from scratch
* Break down complex tasks into measurable subtasks
* Use Notes field for assumptions and dependencies
* Review pricing before sharing with stakeholders

### Team Collaboration

* Use Draft status for work-in-progress estimates
* Share with Write permission for collaborative editing
* Move to In Review when ready for feedback
* Only Owners should move to Approved status
* Document decisions in custom fields

### Knowledge Engine Growth

* Approve scopes only when finalized and accurate
* Use consistent naming for customers and projects
* Fill in all custom fields for better AI learning
* Regularly review historical analysis for insights
* Update templates based on patterns you observe

## Tips & Tricks

💡 **Quick Task Generation**: Type a high-level description in the chat and ask Darcy to "generate tasks for this scope" to get a starter task list.

💡 **Find Similar Projects**: Use the knowledge engine search with customer name, industry, or technology keywords to find relevant past scopes.

💡 **ROM Confidence**: Adjust buffer percentage based on project uncertainty. Use 15% for well-defined scopes, 25%+ for exploratory work.

💡 **FTE Planning**: Use the timeline visualization to ensure you're not over-allocating resources during any given week.

💡 **Historical Insights**: Review the historical analysis regularly to identify your most common project patterns and optimize your templates.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What happens when I approve a scope?**\
A: The complete scope (overview, tasks, LOE, and all metadata) is automatically added to your organization's custom knowledge engine. Future scopes can reference this data for suggestions and historical comparisons.

**Q: Can I have multiple templates?**\
A: Yes! Create as many templates as you need for different service offerings. Set one as default for easy access.

**Q: How does pricing work without a rate card?**\
A: You can manually enter rates in templates or leave them blank for effort-only estimates. Rate cards are recommended for consistent pricing.

**Q: Can I export scopes to other systems?**\
A: Currently supports Salesforce export with configurable field mappings. Additional integrations are planned.

**Q: Who can see my scoping estimates?**\
A: By default, only you (as Owner). Use the Share feature to grant Read, Write, or Owner access to team members.

**Q: What's the difference between Hours and Quantity mode?**\
A: Hours is for time-based estimates (consulting, professional services). Quantity is for count-based estimates (licenses, products, units).

## Related Documentation

* [Templates Configuration](https://docs.darcyiq.com/settings-and-configuration/scoping-configuration/templates) - Customize scoping templates
* [Rate Cards Management](https://docs.darcyiq.com/settings-and-configuration/scoping-configuration/rate-cards) - Set up organizational pricing
* [Historical Insights](https://docs.darcyiq.com/settings-and-configuration/scoping-configuration/historical-insights) - Analyze patterns and trends
* [Knowledge Bases](https://docs.darcyiq.com/additional-features/knowledge-bases) - Understand the knowledge engine system
* [DarcyIQ Chat](https://docs.darcyiq.com/core-features/darcy-chat) - Learn about AI assistance features

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**Ready to create your first scope?** Navigate to **Scoping & Estimates** in DarcyIQ and click **New Estimate** to get started.