A Project Is a Unique Endeavor

Every project is unique, although the differences can be large or small. Some projects are performed more than once, so you might mistake them for ongoing work. For example, a landscaping contractor might build dozens of backyard decks each summer, but each deck has aspects that make it unique. The variations from project to project are what make managing projects so special and interesting. Not only is every project different, but every day that you manage one is different, too. Here are some examples of how projects are unique:

• Backyard deck construction: Your idea of the perfect size and shape of a deck can be different than your neighbor's. You can choose from a variety of materials. The types of supports you use depend on whether the backyard is soft dirt, sand, or solid rock. The schedule could be affected by a long string of bad weather or whether you hire kids or a professional contractor.
• New product development: Every product is a little different from every other product, even the previous version of a product your company already sells. For example, your company's new product, the in-town hover-scooter, requires different designs, different components, and different testing procedures from a traditional scooter that has wheels on the ground.
• Exhibiting at a trade show: The audiences for trade shows can vary from the do-it-yourself construction crowd to professional contractors. Trade shows take place in different locations. The procedures you must follow to ship materials to the show or the crews that you use on site vary depending on the trade show organizers.
• Training program development: The topic of a training program can affect the way you teach and the tools you use. The materials for a course vary depending on whether it's taught in a classroom, online, or through video. Courses for adults are designed differently than those for school-age children. The duration of courses vary.

A Project Has Clearly Defined Objectives and Deliverables

Projects have a point. Otherwise, you or your organization wouldn't spend time, effort, and money doing them. Projects are run in order to achieve a goal — a problem to solve or an opportunity to take advantage of. Although you might be able to sum up the purpose of a project in a single sentence, that purpose usually represents a number of specific objectives that the project must achieve and deliverables that you must hand over to call the project complete.

Clearly defined objectives and deliverables are important because you use them to tell when a project is done. Otherwise, a project can seem to go on forever because it's never quite finished. Similarly, clearly defined objectives and deliverables help you determine whether a project has been completed successfully. When you spell out objectives and deliverables, it's easier for everyone involved to tell whether the objectives have been met and the deliverables match the description you started with.

Vaguely defined or missing objectives lead to the demise of many a project. Without clearly defined objectives, you can end up working on a project long past its due date because you can't tell whether you're done. Or you can work longer and spend a lot more money because you didn't accomplish what you were supposed to. Yogi Berra famously said, “You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going because you might not get there.” The same could be said for projects with poorly defined objectives.

The following are some possible objectives and deliverables for the four example projects in this book:

• Backyard deck construction: Your primary deliverable is a constructed stable platform for your deluxe gas grill and outdoor dining set. You might have other deliverables, such as a building permit to construct the deck and a signed inspection report confirming that the jewel you built is ready for action. But you might also have an objective for a deck built with low-maintenance materials so you can entertain more and maintain the deck less. Maybe you want to save money so you choose a simple off-the-shelf design so you can build the deck yourself over a few weekends. And you also want the deck completed in time for your annual end-of-summer barbecue.

  Your objectives and deliverables enable you to assess whether the deck is done and meets your requirements. If the gas grill and furniture don't tip over, you've obtained a stable platform for your outdoor meals. The design you picked includes a list of materials and instructions, so you know you're done when you've used up the materials you purchased and the deck looks like the last picture in the how-to guide. If you don't have to sand and stain the deck, you've achieved your low-maintenance nirvana. And you completed the deck in time for your barbecue, so you met your schedule.

• New product development: You might develop a new product to enter a new market, increase revenue, or to keep up with new technology. If returns or high levels of customer support have been a problem in the past, your objective might be to develop a product that's easier to maintain or more dependable. Or you could design a product to decrease manufacturing costs so you can reduce the selling price or increase your profit margin. Those business objectives drive the specifications for the product. Your project's deliverables could include a prototype that the customer and executive team approve along with the documentation that tells the manufacturing team how to build the products your organization will then sell.
• Exhibiting at a trade show: Vendors usually attend trade shows to reach potential new customers. You might have an ancillary objective to see what your competition is up to or find out what customers think about your new products and services. The deliverables for this project might include the booth you set up at the show and the marketing materials you pass out. You might also have an objective to spiff up the booth and marketing materials to bring them up-to-date with your company's offerings and make them look fresh.
• Training program development: If you work for a training organization, the deliverable could be a new course to offer to students. In a corporation, you might develop a training program to improve customer service, increase productivity, or increase quality. Another project objective might include development of new training features that improve students' comprehension of the material.

A Project Has a Beginning and an End

Projects are temporary, so they have a clear-cut beginning and a clear-cut end. Usually, the end of the project is the primary focus for the people involved in a project. The people who initiate a project want to enjoy the benefits that come when the project objectives are achieved. In addition, you, as the project manager, and the rest of the people working on the project, will be able to add it to your list of accomplishments and move on to something else.

As you learned in the previous section, the project goal and clearly defined objectives are essential to identifying the end of a project. When you've spelled out a project's objectives clearly, you can tell when you're done and bring the project to an end.

The following are examples of clear-cut ends to projects:

• Backyard deck construction: The end of the backyard deck project comes when you move the grill and dining set onto to the deck for your first barbecue. However, you might have other deadlines such as obtaining an inspection certificate from the county.
• New product development: The project to develop a new product is complete when you turn the product over to manufacturing.
• Exhibiting at a trade show: A trade show isn't over when the last attendee leaves. As a vendor, your trade show project is complete when you get your gear back to the office and wrap up the action items from the event, such as turning the list of new leads over to the sales team.
• Training program development: A training program is complete when the course materials are ready and the program is ready to schedule.

A Project Usually Has a Budget

Most projects don't have the luxury of a blank check for the cost or unlimited resources to get the work done. Projects usually have a financial budget that must be met, similar to the budget you follow for your personal spending. And they almost always have to work with a limited amount of resources or a finite number of hours from the people who do the work.

Here are examples of project budgets:

• Backyard deck construction: You decide to use this year's bonus to build a deck in the backyard, so you have $5,000 to get the job done.
• New product development: The executive team in your organization determines that developing a new product has to cost less than $200,000 in order to achieve the company's required annual return on investment of 15 percent.
• Exhibiting at a trade show: The director of sales has allocated $30,000 to cover the cost of attending a trade show based on the estimated sales that will result from the event. In addition, two sales people and two marketing people have been assigned to handle all aspects of preparing for and attending the trade show.
• Training program development: The training program is forecast to save the company $50,000 by the end of the first two years of training employees. Your boss has given you a budget of $15,000 to develop the training program.

Test Your Knowledge

Test your knowledge of the material in this chapter by answering the following questions. See Appendix A for the answers.

1. 1. What is the key characteristic that differentiates projects from other types of work?
2. 2. Describe two ways that clearly defined objectives help a team complete a project successfully.

Project Challenge

Describe work you have done in the past or are working on now and explain why that work is or is not a project.