During my first few years of working, I always had the perception that project management is an easy job and it involves nothing more than sitting down with the team members asking for time and cost estimates, creating project schedules based on the information he received, and generating paperwork for filing…
Sounds simple? But, I was wrong.. totally.. I began to realize how much it takes to manage a project well… especially during the recent few years…. by being organized, clear mind, and an expert in the use of project management software is simply not enough to be good PM… you actually need far far more than that!!
I began to read more… to fill up the gaps in my knowledge.. One of the few books I like is Rita Mulcahy’s book… :)
So, what is a Project?
A project
- is a temporary endeavor that has a beginning and an end.
- creates an unique product, service or result.
Hmm… that means a project happens temporarily at a given timeline to create an unique output… So, what is an unique output? Does that mean different? Are those construction projects that develop 2 similar buildings on the same piece of land consider similar or unique? Is it one or two projects?
2 different buildings on the same piece of land can be considered as 2 different projects because the exact location is different/unique, buildings are facing different directions (some face sea, some face garden and so forth), their designing may have slight different, constructed by different contractors and so on…
Operational Work
Most work that are performed in an organization can be described as either operational or project works. The main difference is operational work is an on-going process and it produces repetitive/same products, services or results. Whereas, project work is temporary and it always produces unique products, services, or results.
Things like producing invoices, manufacturing can be considered as operational work. No planning work is required and follow the same steps or procedures to create the same results.
What is a Program?
A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits, like lowering risks, provide economies of scale, and improved management, that couldn’t be achievable by managing the projects individually.
What is a Portfolio?
A portfolio refers to a group of projects or programs and other work that are grouped together to achieve specific strategic business objectives. Besides working together to achieve common strategic objectives, projects or programs are not necessarily be interdependent or directly related.
