Project Definitions

Your Organization

• performs work in order to offer a service or a product
• has probably developed strategic goals and objectives to become more competitive

Projects

• have a definite start and end
• are broken into phases
• are normally unique (one time occurrence)
• have their own objectives
• can be a product or a service

Project Objectives

• support your organization's Goals & Objectives
• normally includes a time constraint, a budget constraint, a requirement (scope) constraint, and other deliverables specific to your project or organization

Project Management

• is a method of applying tools, techniques, knowledge, and skills to deliver your project within your project objectives and constraints

Programs

• are projects or a group of projects of much larger scale
• are projects of longer duration or projects which include a repetitive element
• can have several customers or stakeholders

Product: Anything tangible, such as a train, a manufacturing plant, a dam, a new equipment, or a new software program.

Service: Can be the establishment of a new process, a procedure, or setting up a new department or branch in your organization.

Example of a Program: The development of a new airplane is a project in itself, but since the project can last approximately 10 years and planes will be sold to different customers who will customize the interior for their needs, it is better described as a program.