Project management is the process of the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. That is, project management is an interrelated group of processes that enables the project team to achieve a successful project. These processes manage inputs to and produce outputs from specific activities; the progression from input to output is the nucleus of project management and requires integration and iteration. For example, a feasibility report could be an input to a design phase; the output of a design phase could be a set of plans and specifications. This progression requires project management acumen, expertise, tools and techniques, including risk management, contingency development, and change control.
The fundamental nature of a project is that it is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
To be temporary signifies that there is a discrete and definable commencement and conclusion; the management of a project requires tailored activities to support this characteristic, as such, a key indicator of project success is how it performs against its schedule that is, does is start and end on time.
A Project Versus an Operation
The operations of an organization are continuing and repetitive activities that are executed to achieve its mission and sustain the business, but without a definable end to their performance and without a unique output that is, it is not produced or provided only once.
A Project Versus a Program
A project differs from a program in that a program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually. Programs may include elements or related work outside the scope of discrete projects in the program. Furthermore, programs often involve a series of repetitive or cyclical undertakings. In Reclamation, a program is typically a group of projects administered by Reclamation. Reclamation programs do not have to be specifically authorized, and a programs schedule may continue past any individual project.