Statement of Work (SOW) for Platform Engineering Projects
A Statement of Work (SOW) defines the scope, deliverables, timelines, dependencies, and acceptance criteria for platform engineering projects. This template is tailored for DevOps and cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP) and is designed for engineers seeking actionable, real-life guidance.
1. Scope of Work
- Design, implement, and maintain cloud-based infrastructure using Terraform and Ansible
- Set up CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, GitLab CI)
- Deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters (EKS, AKS, GKE, or on-prem)
- Integrate monitoring, logging, and alerting (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Cloud-native tools)
- Automate security and compliance checks (e.g., Checkov, Trivy, OPA)
- Provide documentation and knowledge transfer to internal teams
Example:
Provision a production-ready EKS cluster on AWS using Terraform, configure GitHub Actions for automated deployments, and set up Prometheus/Grafana for monitoring.
2. Deliverables
- Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) repositories (Terraform, Ansible)
- CI/CD pipeline definitions and scripts
- Kubernetes manifests and Helm charts
- Monitoring and alerting dashboards
- Security and compliance reports
- User and runbook documentation (Markdown, Gitbook)
3. Timelines
| Task | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure Design | 2025-01-10 | 2025-01-20 |
| IaC Implementation | 2025-01-21 | 2025-02-05 |
| CI/CD Pipeline Setup | 2025-02-06 | 2025-02-15 |
| Kubernetes Deployment | 2025-02-16 | 2025-02-25 |
| Monitoring & Security Integration | 2025-02-26 | 2025-03-05 |
| Documentation & Handover | 2025-03-06 | 2025-03-10 |
4. Dependencies
- Access to cloud accounts (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Network and security group configurations
- Collaboration with security, networking, and application teams
- Availability of required licenses or subscriptions
5. Acceptance Criteria
- All infrastructure is provisioned and managed via IaC (Terraform/Ansible)
- CI/CD pipelines pass automated tests and deploy to target environments
- Kubernetes clusters are operational, secure, and monitored
- Documentation is complete and reviewed by stakeholders
- Handover session delivered and knowledge transfer confirmed
Best Practices
- Use version control (Git) for all code and documentation
- Automate testing, security, and compliance in CI/CD
- Schedule regular project reviews and demos with stakeholders
- Document all architectural decisions and changes
- Reference official documentation for all tools and cloud services
Common Pitfalls
- Unclear or changing requirements
- Manual changes outside of IaC or CI/CD
- Insufficient documentation or knowledge transfer
- Ignoring security and compliance automation