Before you start

Scope Language Checker

Find the sentences in a scope nobody could ever test or be held to, before anyone signs it.

Paste a scope statement, statement of work or requirements, or read a requirements sheet as .xlsx or .csv. The text stays in this page.

Scope, requirements or statement of work

The text stays in this page. Nothing is sent anywhere.

We use “should” on purpose, for things that are recommended rather than required: do not flag it

Rules, not a chatbot

Every check on this page is a rule you can read: a list of words or a pattern, listed at the foot of the results with the reason it matters. Each finding quotes the sentence it came from and marks the words that tripped it. Nothing is rewritten, and nothing leaves your browser. The same text always gives the same findings, which is what a review needs.

What it looks for

Words nobody can test: fast, user-friendly, adequate, as expected. Placeholders: TBD, TBC, to be confirmed. Lists with no end: including but not limited to, etc., such as. Soft obligations: should, may, where possible. Tasks with no one named: will be provided, will be completed, with no “by” and an owner after them. And-or, which lets each reader decide. Dates that are not dates: as soon as possible, in due course.

Assumptions written as facts

“The legacy billing system supports real-time export” reads as settled. It is an assumption about a system, and if it is wrong the scope is wrong. The tool flags other people’s commitments and systems’ abilities stated as fact, except under an Assumptions or Dependencies heading, where stating them is exactly right.

Requirements sheets

Read a sheet with a requirement on each row and the tool checks each one, then checks its acceptance criteria by the same rules: a requirement with no criteria, or criteria of “works well”, is flagged. Rows typed as assumptions or dependencies are read as such.

What this does not do

It checks wording, not whether the scope is right, complete or affordable. A sentence can pass every rule and still describe the wrong thing. Some flags will be deliberate: “should” can mean recommended in a standard that defines it, and there is a setting for that. English only.