Definition and Characteristics of Project

Project is a great opportunity for organizations and individuals to achieve their business and non-business objectives
more efficiently through implementing change. Projects help us make desired changes in an organized manner and
with reduced probability of failure.

A Project is a temporary, unique and progressive attempt or endeavor made to produce some kind of a tangible or
intangible result (a unique product, service, benefit, competitive advantage, etc.). It usually includes a series of
interrelated tasks that are planned for execution over a fixed period of time and within certain requirements and
limitations such as cost, quality, performance, others.

Projects differ from other types of work (e.g. process, task, procedure). Meanwhile, in the broadest sense a project is
defined as a specific, finite activity that produces an observable and measurable result under certain preset
requirements.

Projects differ from other types of work (e.g. process, task, procedure). Meanwhile, in the broadest sense a project is
defined as a specific, finite activity that produces an observable and measurable result under certain preset
requirements.

Characteristics of a Project
(a) Project has a owner, who, in the private sector, can be an individual or a company etc., in the public sector, a
government undertaking or a joint sector organization, representing a partnership between public and private sector.

(b) Project has a set objective to achieve within a distinct time, cost and technical performance.

(c) Project is planned, managed and controlled by an assigned team the project team planted within the owner’s
organization to achieve the objectives as per specifications.

(d) Project, in general, is an outcome in response to environments economies and opportunities. As an example, we
find that considering the changing pattern of modern living the domestic appliances small e.g. grinders, mixers etc.,
and large, e.g. refrigerators, washing machines etc. are on ever-increasing demand. This generates responses to avail
opportunity to produce such appliances.

(e) Project is an undertaking involving future activities for completion of the project within estimates and involves
complex budgeting procedure with a mission.

(f) Implementation of the project involves a co-ordination of works/supervisions by project team/manager.

(g) Project involves activities to be carried out in future. As such, it has some inherent risk and, in reality, the
process of implementation may necessitate certain changes in the plan subject to limitations and concurrence of the
project owner.

(h) Project involves high-skilled forecasting with sound basis for such forecasting.

(i) Projects have a start and an end a characteristic of a life cycle. The organization of project changes as it passes
through this cycle the activities starting from—conception stage, mounting up to the peak during implementation
and, then, back to zero level on completion and delivery of the project.
 Types of Project
1. Construction Projects

The project produces an artifact. The value generated by the project is embedded in the artifact. The artifacts may be
a complex system with human and mechanical components.

Examples:

 Warship
 Jubilee line extension
 Millennium dome
 Customer call centre
 Method guidebook
 IT system

2. Research Projects

The project produces knowledge. The knowledge may be formally represented as models, patterns or patents. Or the
knowledge may be embedded in a working process or artifact.

Examples:

 Business modelling
 Developing a model of the UK economy
 Developing a new species of wheat
 Developing novel approaches to project management.
 Military intelligence/ codebreaking.
 The analysis, testing, QA or evaluation portions of a larger project.

3. Reengineering Projects

The project produces a desired change in some system or process.

Examples:

 Taking sterling into the Euro

 Renumbering the UK telephone system
 Implementing PRINCE project management practices into a large organization.
 Designing and installing an Intranet.

4. Procurement Projects

The project produces a business relationship contractually based with a selected supplier for a defined product or
service based on a fixed specification and/or a defined specification process

Examples:
 Outsourcing a specific construction or research project
 Outsourcing a complete business function (such as IT).
 Imposing new rules and measures on a regulated industry.

5. Business Implementation Projects

The project produces an operationally effective process. The value generated by the project is embedded in the
process.

 Developing a new business process to repackage and exploit existing assets.

 Installing e-commerce

Some projects are difficult to classify under this scheme.

(i) National symbolic programmes

 Putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade

 Mitterand’s Grandes Projects
 New Labour

(ii) Large medical programmes

 Creating an artificial heart

 Mass inoculation programmes

(iii) Other hybrid or interdisciplinary projects

 Pilot projects
 Moving offices

 Project Life Cycle

 The project life cycle describes the stages a project goes through as it progresses from start to finish. A
well-defined life cycle brings order and structure to the project.
 The Project Life Cycle refers to the four-step process that is followed by nearly all project managers when
moving through stages of project completion. This is the standard project life cycle most people are familiar
with. The Project Life Cycle provides a framework for managing any type of project within a business.
Leaders in project management have conducted research to determine the best process by which to run
projects. It has been found that following a project life cycle is critical for any services organization.
 The Project Life Cycle (Phases)
 The project manager and project team have one shared goal: to carry out the work of the project for the
purpose of meeting the project’s objectives. Every project has a beginning, a middle period during which
activities move the project toward completion, and an ending (either successful or unsuccessful). A standard
project typically has the following four major phases (each with its own agenda of tasks and issues):
initiation, planning, implementation, and closure. Taken together, these phases represent the path a project
takes from the beginning to its end and are generally referred to as the project “life cycle.”
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1. Initiation Phase
 During the first of these phases, the initiation phase, the project objective or need is identified; this can be a
business problem or opportunity. An appropriate response to the need is documented in a business case with
recommended solution options. A feasibility study is conducted to investigate whether each option addresses
the project objective and a final recommended solution is determined. Issues of feasibility (“can we do the
project?”) and justification (“should we do the project?”) are addressed.
 Once the recommended solution is approved, a project is initiated to deliver the approved solution and a
project manager is appointed. The major deliverables and the participating work groups are identified, and
the project team begins to take shape. Approval is then sought by the project manager to move onto the
detailed planning phase.
 2. Planning Phase
 The next phase, the planning phase, is where the project solution is further developed in as much detail as
possible and the steps necessary to meet the project’s objective are planned. In this step, the team identifies
all of the work to be done. The project’s tasks and resource requirements are identified, along with the
strategy for producing them. This is also referred to as “scope management.” A project plan is created
outlining the activities, tasks, dependencies, and timeframes. The project manager coordinates the
preparation of a project budget by providing cost estimates for the labor, equipment, and materials costs. The
budget is used to monitor and control cost expenditures during project implementation.
 Once the project team has identified the work, prepared the schedule, and estimated the costs, the three
fundamental components of the planning process are complete. This is an excellent time to identify and try
to deal with anything that might pose a threat to the successful completion of the project. This is called risk
management. In risk management, “high-threat” potential problems are identified along with the action that
is to be taken on each high-threat potential problem, either to reduce the probability that the problem will
occur or to reduce the impact on the project if it does occur. This is also a good time to identify all project
stakeholders and establish a communication plan describing the information needed and the delivery method
to be used to keep the stakeholders informed.
 Finally, we will want to document a quality plan, providing quality targets, assurance, and control measures,
along with an acceptance plan, listing the criteria to be met to gain customer acceptance. At this point, the
project would have been planned in detail and is ready to be executed.
 3. Implementation (Execution) Phase
 During the third phase, the implementation phase, the project plan is put into motion and the work of the
project is performed. It is important to maintain control and communicate as needed during implementation.
Progress is continuously monitored and appropriate adjustments are made and recorded as variances from
the original plan. In any project, a project manager spends most of the time in this step. During project
implementation, people are carrying out the tasks, and progress information is being reported through
regular team meetings. The project manager uses this information to maintain control over the direction of
the project by comparing the progress reports with the project plan to measure the performance of the project
activities and take corrective action as needed. The first course of action should always be to bring the
project back on course (i.e., to return it to the original plan). If that cannot happen, the team should record
variations from the original plan and record and publish modifications to the plan. Throughout this step,
project sponsors and other key stakeholders should be kept informed of the project’s status according to the
agreed-on frequency and format of communication. The plan should be updated and published on a regular
basis.
 Status reports should always emphasize the anticipated end point in terms of cost, schedule, and quality of
deliverables. Each project deliverable produced should be reviewed for quality and measured against the
acceptance criteria. Once all of the deliverables have been produced and the customer has accepted the final
solution, the project is ready for closure.
 4. Closing Phase
 During the final closure, or completion phase, the emphasis is on releasing the final deliverables to the
customer, handing over project documentation to the business, terminating supplier contracts, releasing
project resources, and communicating the closure of the project to all stakeholders. The last remaining step
is to conduct lessons-learned studies to examine what went well and what didn’t. Through this type of
analysis, the wisdom of experience is transferred back to the project organization, which will help future
project teams.
 Example: Project Phases on a Large Multinational Project
 A U.S. construction company won a contract to design and build the first copper mine in northern Argentina.
There was no existing infrastructure for either the mining industry or large construction projects in this part
of South America.
 During the initiation phase of the project, the project manager focused on defining and finding a project
leadership team with the knowledge, skills, and experience to manage a large complex project in a remote
area of the globe. The project team set up three offices. One was in Chile, where large mining construction
project infrastructure existed. The other two were in Argentina. One was in Buenos Aries to establish
relationships and Argentinian expertise, and the second was in Catamarca—the largest town close to the
mine site. With offices in place, the project start-up team began developing procedures for getting work
done, acquiring the appropriate permits, and developing relationships with Chilean and Argentine partners.
 During the planning phase, the project team developed an integrated project schedule that coordinated the
activities of the design, procurement, and construction teams. The project controls team also developed a
detailed budget that enabled the project team to track project expenditures against the expected expenses.
The project design team built on the conceptual design and developed detailed drawings for use by the
procurement team. The procurement team used the drawings to begin ordering equipment and materials for
the construction team; develop labor projections; refine the construction schedule; and set up the
construction site. Although planning is a never-ending process on a project, the planning phase focused on
developing sufficient details to allow various parts of the project team to coordinate their work and allow the
project management team to make priority decisions.
 The implementation phase represents the work done to meet the requirements of the scope of work and
fulfill the charter. During the implementation phase, the project team accomplished the work defined in the
plan and made adjustments when the project factors changed. Equipment and materials were delivered to the
work site, labor was hired and trained, a construction site was built, and all the construction activities, from
the arrival of the first dozer to the installation of the final light switch, were accomplished.
 The closeout phase included turning over the newly constructed plant to the operations team of the client. A
punch list of a few remaining construction items was developed and those items completed. The office in
Catamarca was closed, the office in Buenos Aries archived all the project documents, and the Chilean office
was already working on the next project. The accounting books were reconciled and closed, final reports
written and distributed, and the project manager started on a new project.