Project

What is a Project?

Graphics courtesy of The Balance CareersOpens in new window The definition of a project has been the subject of considerable debate among project management professionals, researchers, and associations. Dinsmore and others define a project as a complex effort involving interconnected activities, with the purpose of achieving an objective, and a temporary, non-repetitive process (Dinsmore & Cabanis-Brewin 2006).

Turner and Westland describe project as a unique endeavor to produce a set of deliverables, in which human, material, and financial resources are organized in a novel way, to undertake a unique scope of work, of given specification, within clearly specified time, cost, and quality constraints (Turner 2009; Westland 2006).

The UK Association for Project ManagementOpens in new window defines project as a set of interrelated tasks that are undertaken by an organization to meet defined goals (objectives), which have an agreed start and finish time, is constrained by cost and have specified performance requirements and resources (APM 2012).

The International Project Management Association (IPMA)Opens in new window defines project as a temporary endeavour with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables), undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value (IPMA 2006).

Perhaps the most complete definition is found in the Project Management Body of knowledge (PMBoK)Opens in new window Guide, 5th edition, published in 2013 by the Project Management Institute (PMI). PMI is the world’s largest professional project management association with more than 460,000 members and over 660,000 project management professionals (PMPs) worldwide as of July, 2015, with close to 5 million copies of all editions of the PMBoK Guide in circulation (PMI 2015).

In the PMBoK guide 2013, a project is defined as “a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

• Temporary means that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end.
• Unique means that the product, service, or result is different in some distinguishing way from all other products, services or results” (PMI 2013, p. 3).

I don’t work on a project unless I believe that it will dramatically improve life for a bunch of people. Dean Kamen.

Every project has deliverables. These are unique and verifiable products, results, or capability to perform a service that is identified in the project management planning documentation, and must be provided in form of project verification to complete the project.

The deliverable is a visible sign that an activity or task is complete. This sign could be an approving manager’s signature, a physical product or document, the authorization to proceed to the next activity, phase, or other indicated sign of completion.

From the definitions provided above, it may be concluded that a project has the following characteristics:

• a complex or ad hoc, one-time endeavor (processes) with a clear life cycle, specific time frame or finite life span, i.e., temporary
• a defined and unique set of products, services or results, limited by budget, schedule and resources
• developed to resolve a clear goal or set of goals
• customer-focused
• a network of building blocks in the design and execution of organizational strategies
• terminated upon successful completion of performance objectives.

Project exists in a relatively turbulent environment; change is the purpose of the project itself and uncertainty is inherent in the objectives of that project. Projects can also have social, economic, and environmental impacts that far outlast the projects themselves.