What is a Project? What are the characteristics of Project?
According to the Project Management Institute:
"A project is a
temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or
result."
Let's break down this definition into its components to
understand further what a project is (and what it is not) and try to understand project characteristics:
⇛
It is a temporary endeavor:- what does that mean? It
means that it isn't endless; it has a start date and an end date.
Projects do not go on indefinitely. Activities that go on indefinitely
are typically known as processes or operations. So how do we understand when a project ends?
The project reaches to end when one or more of the following condition(s) met:
- The project’s objectives have been achieved;
- The objectives will not or cannot be met;
- Funding is exhausted or no longer available for allocation to the project;
- The need for the project no longer exists (e.g., the customer no longer wants the project completed, a change in strategy or priority ends the project, the organizational management provides direction to end the project);
- The human or physical resources are no longer available; or
- The project is terminated for legal cause or convenience.
⇛ It creates a unique product, service, or result:- which we call a deliverable. Unique
means that it is unlike any other project. It may be similar to other
projects but it is never identical to one. This is what distinguishes a project from a process. A project is unique; a process is repeatable and strives for consistency, standardization, and no deviation from a standard. Deliverable
means that it has a tangible or intangible outcome: i.e. a new software product, a new drug, a
new building, a merger of two companies, improved customer service,
etc. The outcome may be a product, goods, or a service.
Fulfillment of project objectives may produce one or more of the following deliverables:
- A unique product that can be either a component of another item, an enhancement or correction to an item, or a new end item in itself (e.g., the correction of a defect in an end item);
- A unique service or a capability to perform a service (e.g., a business function that supports production or distribution);
- A unique result, such as an outcome or document (e.g., a research project that develops knowledge that can be used to determine whether a trend exists or a new process will benefit society); and
- A unique combination of one or more products, services, or results (e.g., a software application, its associated documentation, and help desk services).
⇛
It drive change in the Organization:- From a business perspective, a project is aimed
at moving an organization from one state to another state in order to achieve a specific objective. The term Current State, Future State, and Transition State are used to describe change in organization.
- Current state: is the state of organization before the project begins.
- Future state: is the desired or resulted state where the organization will be driven by the project.
- Transition state: For large projects, if there are milestone deliverables, transition state refer to the state where organization reaches after each milestone is delivered.
⇛
It enables business value creation:- business value is the net quantifiable tangible, intangible, or both benefit to the stakeholders derived from a business endeavor. It is considered the return, in the form of elements such as time, money, goods, or intangibles in return for something exchanged.
Examples of tangible elements:
- Monetary assets,
- Stockholder equity,
- Utility,
- Fixtures,
- Tools, and
- Market share.
Examples of intangible elements:
- Goodwill,
- Brand recognition,
- Public benefit,
- Trademarks,
- Strategic alignment, and
- Reputation.
⇛
It initiated in some context:- projects are created in context of organizational factors by organizational leaders. Four fundamental categories of factors are there, which illustrates the context of initiating a project:
- Meet regulatory, legal, or social requirements;
- Satisfy stakeholder requests or needs;
- Implement or change business or technological strategies; and
- Create, improve, or fix products, processes, or services.
⇛
It has defined objectives:-
The goals expected to be achieved.
There can be technical goals (develop new technology), legal or
political goals (to meet governmental regulations), and/or business
goals (beating or eliminating competition). These objectives should be
measurable.
⇛
It has scope:- All the work required to deliver the product
or result and satisfy the objectives for which a project was undertaken
at a level of quality expected by the customer. The scope includes all
the deliverables required to meet the project objectives.
⇛
It has cot:- The planned cost of conducting the project; it includes human and physical resources.
⇛
It has Time/Schedule:- The planned time to complete the project, as well as the Milestones along the way.
EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS:
- Building a house
- Developing a new pharmaceutical compound for market
- Building a mobile application
- Expanding a tour guide service
- Developing a new product
- Merging two organizations
- Improving a business process within an organization
- Improvement of a service (i.e. customer service, Six Sigma initiative)
- Modifying a computer software program used in an organization
- Conducting research to develop a new manufacturing process
EXAMPLES OF PROJECT OUTCOMES:
- Pyramids of Giza,
- Olympic games,
- Great Wall of China,
- Taj Mahal,
- Publication of a children’s book,
- Panama Canal,
- Development of commercial jet airplanes,
Polio vaccine,
- Human beings landing on the moon,
- Commercial software applications,
- Portable devices to use the global positioning system (GPS), and
- Placement of the International Space Station into Earth’s orbit.
Further reading on PMP:
- Project Management Life Cycle
- Project Management Certifications Questions with explanation.
- Free PMP Certification Questions
