A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a product or service.
Origin
The word project comes from the Latin word projectum from projicere, "to throw something forwards" which in turn comes from pro-, which denotes something that precedes the action of the next part of the word in time (paralleling the Greek πρό) and jacere, "to throw". The word "project" thus actually originally meant "something that comes before anything else is done". When the word was initially adopted, it referred to a plan of something, not to the act of actually carrying this plan out. Something performed in accordance with a project was called an object. This use of "project" changed in the 1950s when several techniques for project management were introduced. With this advent the word slightly changed meaning to cover both projects and objects. However in certain projects there may still exist so called objects and object leaders.
[edit] Characteristics
Temporary means that any project will have a start date and end date (but it has nothing to do with short duration).
Projects are characterized by progressive elaboration: due to uniqueness and greater uncertainty projects cannot be understood entirely at or before project start, and therefore planning and execution of projects is happening many times in separate steps or phases. As project progresses, project team understands next steps, deliverables and way of execution much better. Based on this knowledge team members elaborate initial draft plans, and execute next phase of the project based on these detailed plans.
Projects differ from operations, because operations are continuous and repeating (projects are temporary), and operations deliver the same or almost the same results (project results are in contrast unique).
A project usually needs resources to deliver its results. Most of the time project execution is based on detailed plan, which considers also external factors and constraints. Planning, execution and controlling of project is the primary field of project management. For major projects it is necessary sometimes to set up a special temporary organization, consisting of a project team and one or more work teams.
Major projects can be divided into subprojects, and program denotes collection of related projects. Typically, collaboration between project team members is needed for a successful outcome.
[edit] Advantages
Project based approach is particularly liked by Western business, which are characterized by a modern matrix organization and a cooperative culture. In case of authoritarian, bureaucratic organizations with rigid, hierarchical structure project based work is less popular, or does not work as expected due to the conflict between different cultures.
[edit] Notable projects
Manhattan Project: Developed the first nuclear weapon
Polaris missile project: an ICBM control system
Human Genome Project: To map the human genome
Project Apollo: Landing a man on the moon
