Organisations perform work and this comprises operations or projects and sometimes both will overlap. Operations and projects share many similar characteristics which include:
- they are performed by people
- they are constrained by limited resources
- they are planned, executed and controlled
The significant difference between operations and projects is that operations are ongoing and repetitive whilst project are temporary and unique.
Projects have a wide range of sizes and requirements. They may involve one person or many thousands. They may involve one area of an organisation or may be so large they require connecting with other organisations via partnerships or joint ventures.
There are countless types of projects that exist. Examples may include:
- Development of a new product or service
- Organisational change
- Designing a new light rail link
- Construction of a building
- Developing software improvements
- Running a campaign for office
- Upgrading a manufacturing plant
In any organisation a project may be characterised as having:
- Definable and measurable project outcomes that are aligned with the strategic objective of the organisation
- A project output that is linked with the outcomes and is produced by a project practitioner or team
- Some type of governance structure in place. Depending on the size of the project will determine how extensive the structure is.
- Consideration of risk and its management
- A set of criteria that measures project performance
Because projects are unique the structure around a project will vary depending on the benefits it is intended to provide. There may even be the possibility of restructuring the project into a number of sub-projects or a program of mini projects if it is considered to be the most efficient means of achieving the outcomes.
The two key elements that you may have already identified that differentiates projects from operations are that they are temporary and unique.
Temporary
Every project has a defined beginning and end. It is one of the constraints od the project and the success of a project can be determined on whether it was completed on time.
The end of a project is determined when the project’s objectives have been achieved or when it is determined the objectives can’t be achieved and the project is terminated.
Temporary should not be thought of as short. There are many projects that will have a timeline of many years. The difference is that the life is finite and is not designed to last forever.
Also the project output is not meant to be temporary. For example the building of a bridge or statue will last for decades, even centuries. Many projects are undertaken with the idea of a lasting result.
Within an organisation there will be areas that will stop. This does not mean they are projects. For example the closing down of a line in a factory does not constitute a project. Projects are different as they finish when the declared objectives have been achieved. Operations will adopt a new set of objectives and continue with their operations.
Other features of the temporary nature of a project include the small opportunity or market window that is available to produce the product or service.
Also project teams may be extracted from other areas of the organisation. Once the project is completed those staff members will need to be reassigned to either their previous operational role or into a new project.
Unique
As mentioned each project is unique even if the category is large. For example a subdivision of similar houses will have new owners, new build teams, architects etc. They will also have different constraints such as the lay of the land or location of overhead or underground infrastructure.
There will be repetitive processes within a project. This will not change the overall uniqueness of the project. For example:
- The SpaceX project has required many prototypes and testing for it to be flight ready.
- The Covid-19 vaccine has required many clinical trials in a short period of time for it to be ready to distribute.
- Offices within a large building may have a level of repetitiveness to them.
Because projects are unique, each step should be carefully considered, planned and documented. The planning begins quite broad at the initiation phase but will become more detailed as the project team and various stakeholders get a better grasp of what the objectives are and how they will define the project deliverable.
An example may be a pharmaceutical research project that aims to slow down the onset of a debilitating disease. There will be clinical trials assigned to the project but the number and size is unknown at this time. As the planning continues the trials may be broken up into
- 4 x Phase I trials
- 2 x Phase 2 trials
- 3 x Phase 3 trials
The next stage of planning will focus on the processes of the Phase I trials. For example how many patients required, how many and what size the dosages are.
Phase III trials will become clearer after the results of Phase I and II have been analysed.
A project’s characteristics are significant as this is what differentiates them from the general operations of the organisations. Projects can be dynamic bus are always temporary and unique.