What is a project?
A project is temporary work to create a unique result: it has a clear goal, a start and an end. Everyday work that repeats (like running a shop daily) is operations, not a project.
Every project balances three limits, often drawn as a triangle: scope (what will be delivered), time and cost. Change one and at least one other must change, or quality suffers. A good goal is SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. The project approach starts from a real need or challenge and a user, and ends with a product or service that meets it.
The project life cycle
- Initiate: state the need, the goal and the main stakeholders (people affected); check feasibility (is it possible and worth it?).
- Plan: list tasks, estimate time and cost, assign people, set milestones.
- Execute: do the work, make and test the product.
- Monitor and control: compare progress with the plan; fix delays and overspends; manage changes.
- Close: hand over, document and hold a review (what went well, what to improve).
In design and technology, this links with design thinking: understand the user → define the problem → ideate → prototype → test → improve. In health and social work, a project usually starts with a needs assessment of a group of people and ends with an evaluation of the effect.
Planning tools: WBS, Gantt chart, critical path
A work breakdown structure (WBS) splits the project into parts and then into small tasks that one person can do in a few days.
A Gantt chart shows each task as a bar on a timeline. Dependencies show which task must finish before another starts. The critical path is the longest chain of dependent tasks; its length is the shortest possible project time. Tasks not on it have slack (float): they can slip a little without delaying the finish.
In manufacturing, planners also use flow charts, schedules for batch production and just-in-time ordering. Software such as spreadsheets, Gantt tools and task boards (Kanban: To do → Doing → Done) help share the plan and track progress.
Risk, resources and review
A risk is an uncertain event that could harm the project. Make a risk register: list each risk, score it by likelihood × impact, then choose to avoid, reduce, share or accept it, with a backup plan.
Manage resources: people, money, materials, machines. Communicate regularly with the team and stakeholders. Check progress at milestones. At the end, a review (lessons learned) makes the next project better.
Key formulas and definitions
- Project: temporary, unique, has a goal, start and end
- Triple constraint: scope · time · cost (quality in the middle)
- Life cycle: initiate → plan → execute → monitor → close
- Critical path = longest chain of dependent tasks = minimum project duration
- Slack = latest start − earliest start
- Risk score = likelihood × impact
Worked examples
1. Tasks: A (2 days), then B (3 days) and C (2 days) both after A; D (4 days) after B; E (2 days) after D; F (1 day) after C and E. Find the project length and the critical path.
Step 1: A ends day 2. Step 2: B ends 2 + 3 = 5; C ends 2 + 2 = 4. Step 3: D ends 5 + 4 = 9; E ends 9 + 2 = 11. Step 4: F starts after the later of C (4) and E (11), so ends 11 + 1 = 12. Project length = 12 days. Critical path: A → B → D → E → F.
2. In the example above, how many days can task C slip without delaying the project?
C ends on day 4 but F only needs it by day 11. Slack = 11 − 4 = 7 days.
3. A risk has likelihood 4 (out of 5) and impact 2 (out of 5). Another has likelihood 2 and impact 5. Which should be handled first?
Scores: 4 × 2 = 8 and 2 × 5 = 10. The second risk scores higher, so handle it first, even though it is less likely, because its impact is severe.
Common mistakes
- Calling routine daily work a project. A project is temporary and makes something unique.
- Thinking the critical path is the chain with the most tasks. It is the chain with the longest total time.
- Adding features (scope creep) without changing time or budget.
- Skipping the final review; the same mistakes then repeat in the next project.