Question

Define a project. What are five characteristics that help differentiate projects from other functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization?

Answer 1

Answer:

A project is a combination of tasks that need to be finished to reach a specific, bigger goal. Since project tasks are not to be confused with the daily schedule of work, this is what differentiates a project from the routine tasks:

- defined span - while daily tasks are usually continuous by nature, project tasks are set in a specific time frame

- project life cycle - similar to the life cycle of a product, a project follows a similar curve that symbolizes the birth of the project, its maturity stage and its decline

- defined goal/objective - the completion of a project and its tasks has to be indicated by reaching a specific goal

- cross-department teams - project teams usually involve people from more business departments (marketing, HR, R&D...)

- allocated resources - while daily, continuous tasks usually source resources (financial, human...) from the firm directly, a project usually has a specifically assigned amount of allocated resources