What is a project?
A project is a temporary and one-time endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service that brings about beneficial change or added value.
The project characteristics:
- Temporary
- Unique
- Involve new processes
- Undertaken to achieve a particular aim (deliverables)
- Value-adding driver of change and improvement
Defining project management:
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of the particular project.
Project management is concerned with the overall planning and co-ordination of a project from inception to completion aimed at meeting the client’s requirements and ensuring completion on time, within cost and to the required quality standards.
These three (3) project management variables as often referred to as the eternal triangle of project management.
Defining project success criteria:
- Projects completed on time
- Projects completed within budget
- Projects completed according to quality standards and performance measures
- Projects completed within defined scope
- Projects completed by achieving all deliverable
- Projects completed to the satisfaction of all key stakeholders and beneficiaries
Causes of project failure:
- The wrong business requirements have been addressed
- It’s not possible to deliver on the original business case
- Poor project governance and management
- Project managers don’t usually have any influence over who their project sponsor is
- Poor project execution/implementation
- People lose focus on the project’s benefits
- The environment changes