1) A description of products to be supplied under a contract. A good practice is for companies to have SOWs in place with their trading partners - especially for all top suppliers. 2) In projection management, the first project planning document that should be prepared. It describes the purpose, history, deliverables, and measurable success indicators for a project. It captures the support required from the customer and identifies contingency plans for events that could throw the project off course. Because the project must be sold to management, staff, and review groups, the statement of work should be a persuasive document.