Are you the project manager of a shiny new initiative, but you cannot figure out what the project is supposed to achieve or when it will end? Or you've been stuck managing a project and can't make any progress towards achieving the deliverables and closing the project. You’ve been getting the nagging feeling that this is not a project, just a never-ending cycle of activity.
While there might be many reasons for this, one could be that you are right; this initiative has been wrongly classified as a project. If this is the case, it doesn't matter how great you are at scheduling tasks or sprint planning; you will not get the desired results.
Correctly classifying what is and is not a project might seem basic, but organisations sometimes get it wrong. Therefore, before you spend the next few weeks or months organising meetings and requesting status updates, it is worthwhile ensuring you are bringing the correct set of tools to the right type of activity.
Even in cases where you correctly identify that this isn't a project but decision makers insist on assigning it to you, this knowledge will help you determine the correct approach to handle the assignment.
So, What is a project?
Let's understand what is technically classified as a project and how it differs from other activities you might be doing in your organisation or for your business.
There are several definitions of a project, but I like to stick to the straightforward definition:
A project is a temporary venture that exists to produce a unique, defined outcome.
There are several variations of this definition, depending on who you ask or which source you consider authoritative.
Project Management Institute (PMI), for example, says, "Essentially, projects are temporary efforts to create value through unique products, services, and processes." According to the Association for Project Management, "a project is a unique, transient endeavour, undertaken to achieve planned objectives, which could be defined in terms of outputs, outcomes or benefits."
Both offer additional context to my favourite concise definition. A project is a temporary venture that exists to produce a unique, defined outcome.
There are three elements of this definition that any activity needs to satisfy before it can be considered a project. It has to be a temporary venture; it has to produce a unique outcome, and this outcome needs to be defined.
Temporary Venture: A project is not an activity that carries on in perpetuity or is a routine part of business. If, for example, the activity you manage will continue as long as the business remains running, then it is most likely not a project.
A project should have a projected end in sight. Even though projects can span several months or several years, they are time-bound, and this is understood at their inception.
For example, building a new data centre or upgrading the Wi-Fi access points on the organisation's campus are two common technology projects. These projects will come with a promise of completion within a certain number of months or years, usually made to the executive team of the business. Project timelines help ensure alignment between the project and the broader organisation's strategy. Projects are often timed to deliver value to further business goals within a specific time frame.
Unique: Every project is distinct and produces something that did not previously exist. In essence, a project is a one-time, one-off activity that isn't repeated the same way. For your activity to qualify as a project, you are creating something that didn’t exist in that location, within the business, or for the customer. You could also be transforming a resource from one form into another, but it has to be a unique activity.
Defined outcome: Projects are aimed at particular goals, which can come in different forms. The goal could be a physical creation, such as a submarine fibre cable, a data centre, or intangible, such as software. In any of these cases, the most crucial consideration is that a project has clear aims and objectives expressed before initiating.
Your activity has to satisfy these three conditions to qualify as a project.
Why are projects wrongly classified?
With such simple guidelines for assessing what is a project and what isn't, why are organisations still assigning project managers or project methodologies to activities that should be treated differently?
This gap can often be traced to a need for a well-defined project approval process within the organisation. Having an objective approval process with input from stakeholders can help identify what activities qualify as projects. This process can help weed out unsuitable activities and save time.
Project Charters play an essential role in the project approval process. They formally authorise the project manager to deploy the company resources to achieve the stated goals in the document.
The project charter usually contains the following components.
Project description
Project objectives
Project scope
Stakeholders
Team and responsibility
Project timeline
Project budget
Project risks
Going through the process of creating and reviewing a project charter with stakeholders can help unearth any cleverly disguised "non-projects".
The project sponsor usually signs off the project charter before the project manager can deploy any organisational resources to project activities.
However, to ensure the project approval process is as transparent as possible, many organisations enforce further approval in addition to the project sponsor signing. This approval could be in the form of a formal project approval committee with representatives from different functions within the business, or an executive committee.
This additional scrutiny helps ensure projects are adequately vetted before company resources are deployed.
Bonus: If the title of this article has made you feel like listening to the classic “Is you is or is you ain't my baby”, here is a link to the Tom & Jerry version
Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby (with lyrics)
Reach out
Do you have any questions or feedback, please email me at info@theconsole.tech
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