Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: De Beers Marine (Ply) Limited (DBM) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the De Beers group of companies. DBM initially operated as an exploration company, but was pressunsed to transform from a explorative venture to a sustainable and profitable company. This involves operating diamond mining vessels at an unprecedented scale. Project management techniques are used to design, construct and commission these vessels. The problem that DBM is presented with is that its projects are often completed late or under immense pressure to be completed within the allocated time. This study focuses on the performance of these projects from the perspective of scope management to analyse its effect on the outcome of the projects. Literature on project scope management was studied to determine what effective scope management processes should be in place to facilitate a project's success. DBM project data was studied to determine which scope management processes had an effect on DBM project success. The data showed that for the projects that had both quantitative and qualitative information, scope management was highlighted as instrumental in both successful and less successful projects, i.e. in DBM effective scope management contributes to project success. A lack of scope management increases the chances of a project not meeting its required project management parameters. The conclusion is that for DBM projects, there must be a strong focus on upfront scope management processes of initiation, planning and definition. The processes of verification and change control must also be in place and managed well to support the upfront processes.