1.2. Project Management (PM) Definition

Project

A project has distinctive attributes that distinguish it from ongoing work or business operations. Specifically, projects are temporary in nature. Therefore, they are not an everyday business process, but they are unique and have definitive start dates and end dates. This characteristic is important because a large part of the project effort is dedicated to ensuring that the project is completed at the appointed time. To do this, schedules are created showing when tasks should begin and end. Projects can last minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years.

Projects exist to bring about a product or service that has not existed before. In this sense, a project is unique. Unique means that this is new; it has never been done before. Maybe it’s been done in a very similar fashion before, but never exactly in this way. For example, although the Ford Motor Company is in the business of designing and assembling many kinds of vehicles, each model that Ford designs and produces can be considered a unique project. The models differ from each other in their features and are marketed to people with various needs. An SUV serves a different purpose and clientele than a luxury car. The design and marketing of these two models are unique projects. However, the actual assembly of the cars is considered an operation (i.e., a repetitive process that is followed for most makes and models).

A project is completed when its goals and objectives are accomplished. It is these goals that drive the project and all the planning and implementation efforts undertaken to achieve them. Sometimes, projects end when it is determined that the goals and objectives cannot be accomplished or when the product or service of the project is no longer needed, and the project is cancelled.

Definition of a Project

There are many written definitions of a project. All of them contain the key elements described above. However, for those looking for a formal definition of a project, the Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and end. The end is reached when the project’s objectives have been achieved when the project is terminated because its objectives will not or cannot be met, or when the need for the project no longer exists.

The term “project” is used in several ways in popular culture, from describing everyday tasks (planting a garden, hanging a picture, running errands) to large-scale enterprises (building a house, constructing a new highway). However, when professional project managers talk about projects, they use a narrower definition. Let’s start out with the six defining characteristics of a project. Just about every book, organization, or standards body in the project management field agrees that a project:

• is a temporary endeavour with a defined start and end.
• has a specific objective.
• has customers or stakeholders.
• has constraints, such as time, cost, and scope.
• has measures for success.
• includes some amount of uncertainty.

“1.2. Project Management (PM) Definition” from Essentials of Project Management by Adam Farag is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Modifications: removed some section headings and text.