Draft version 1.7 beta — Revised October 29, 2026
← Return to the table in Chapter 4, § 5
Insufficient scope of work
A topic page linked from Chapter 4, § 5, Examples of Reported Violations of Enforceable Ethics Codes.
Definition
What does it take for a geoscientist to answer a question? Answering a given question or set of questions takes time, expertise (knowledge, skill, experience), resources, and a plan or protocol. (I use the term protocol to refer to an established process for obtaining a particular type of result that is used every time that sort of information is needed.) Your plan must be sufficient to collect and analyze all of the information needed to answer the question. The scope of your work plan must be sufficient to answer the question.
A case recollection. An undeveloped natural area in a hilly part of coastal central California was going to be turned into a residential neighborhood. Someone working for the developer was assigned to do a pre-development site investigation, and at the conclusion of that investigation wrote a report that made the following statement:
We have completed an investigation of the soil/geologic conditions of the subject site… The investigation consisted of a soil and foundation study and a geologic reconnaissance of the local area… Our findings indicate that the site is suitable for the proposed residential use…
The residential development was completed and the new homes purchased and occupied. A few years later during a torrential rainstorm, a debris flow traveled down a steep swale in the hillside behind one of the houses, knocked it off its foundation, and pushed the destroyed house onto the house next door. All three children in the next-door house were killed.
A primary reason given for why the hazard potential of that sediment-choked swale had not been recognized is that the pre-site investigation had not considered any "soil/geologic conditions" on that hillside because the lot property lines were along the bottom of the slope. In other words, the scope of the investigation was insufficient to demonstrate that the site was "suitable for the proposed residential use." As a result of this evident deficiency in the geologic investigation — not bothering to look across the property line to recognize or investigate a potential hazard — a family was destroyed.
It is a fundamental tenet of engineering and geoscience ethics codes that we must "protect and safeguard the health, safety, welfare, and property of the public." 1 Failure to ensure a sufficient scope of work can make it impossible to meet this standard. 2
ASBOG included insufficient scope of work as one of the 13 ethical issues in its Task Analysis surveys in 2010 and 2015, each of which was completed by a few thousand respondents—professional geoscientists and academics in the United States and Canada.3-5 The results of those surveys indicated that insufficient scope of work was considered a serious problem.
Notes and References
1 State of California, 2025, Professional Standards and Code of Professional Conduct — Professional Geology and Professional Geophysics, in Regulations Relating to the Practices of Geology and Geophysics: California Code of Regulations, Title 16, Division 29, Section 3065 , pages 30-33, accessed October 29, 2026, via www.bpelsg.ca.gov/laws/gg_regs.pdf
2 Shuirman, G., and Slosson, J.E., 1992, Forensic Engineering — Environmental Case Histories for Civil Engineers and Geologists: San Diego, CA, Academic Press, ISBN 0-12-640740-1, 295 p.
3 Warner, J.L., and Warner, S.P., 2010, Task Analysis 2010 – A Study of the Practice of Geology in the United States and Canada: National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG), 75 p., accessed October 24, 2026, via https://asbog.org/documents/ASBOG TAS 2010 - Final Report - June 2010.pdf
4 Warner, J.L. 2015, Task analysis survey 2015: A study of the practice of geology in the United States and Canada: National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG), accessible via asbog.org/documents/ASBOG TAS 2015 - Summary Report (July 2021).pdf
5 Williams, J., 2018, The National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG): Involvement in Geoscience Professional Ethics, in Gunderson, L.C., [editor], Scientific Integrity and Ethics in the Geosciences: Washington, D.C., American Geophysical Union, ISBN 978-1-119-06778-8, p. 77–99.