A project is 'a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service result" A project requires an organized set 01 work efforts that are planned in a level of detail that is progressively elaborated upon as more information is discovered. Projects are Subject to limitations of time and resources such as money and people. Projects should follow a planned and organized approach with a defined beginning and ending. Project plans and goals become more specific as early work is completed. The output often is a collection of a primary deliverable along with supporting deliverables such as a house as the primary deliverable and warrantees and instructions for use as supporting deliverables. Each project typically has a unique combination of stakeholders—"persons or organiza­tions ... that are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected by execution or completion of the project. A stakeholder may also exert influence over the project and its deliverables." Projects often require a variety of people to work together for a limited time and each needs to understand that completing the project will require effort in addition to their other assigned work

Project management is "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements." This includes work processes that initi­ate, plan, execute, control, and close work. During these processes, tradeoffs must be made among the following factors:

?           Scope (size)

?           Quality (acceptability of the results)

?           Cost

?           Schedule

  When project managers successfully make these tradeoffs, the project results meet the agreed upon requirements, are useful to the customers, and promote the organization. Project management includes both administrative tasks for planning, documenting, and controlling work and leadership tasks for visioning, motivating, and promoting work as­sociates. Project management knowledge, skills, and methods can be applied and modi­fied for most projects regardless of size or application.

  Projects of all sizes have been undertaken throughout history. Early construction projects included the ancient pyramids, medieval cathedrals, and Indian cities and pueblos. Other large early projects involved waging wars and building empires. In the development of the United States, projects included laying railroads, developing farms, and building cit­ies. Many smaller projects have consisted of building houses and starting businesses. Throughout most of history, projects were conducted, but there was very little systematic planning and control. Some early projects were accomplished at great human and finan­cial cost. Others look exceedingly long periods of time to complete.

Project management eventually emerged as a formal discipline to be studied and practiced. In the 1950s and 1960s, techniques for planning and controlling schedules and costs. Others took exceedingly long periods of time to complete.

  Project management primarily involved determining project schedules based on understanding the order in which activities must be completed. Many large manufacturing, research and development, government, and construction projects used and refined management techniques. In the 1980s and 1990s, several software companies offered ever more powerful and easier ways to plan and control project costs ever more powerful and schedules. Risk management techniques that were originally developed on complex projects have increasingly been applied in a simplified form to less complex projects.

In the last few years, people have realized more and more that communication and leadership play major roles in project success. Rapid growth and change, in the informa­tion technology and telecommunications industries especially have fueled massive growth in the use of project management in the 1990s and early 2000s. People engaged in banking, insurance, retailing, hospital administration, and many other service indus­tries are now turning to project management to help them plan and manage efforts to meet their unique demands. Project planning and management techniques that were originally developed for large, complex projects can be modified and used to better plan and manage smaller projects. Now project management is commonly used on projects of many sizes and types in a wide variety of manufacturing, government, service, and non­profit organizations.

The use of project management has grown quite rapidly and is likely to continue growing. With increased international competition, customers demand to have their pro­ducts and services developed and delivered better, faster, and cheaper. Because project management techniques are designed to manage scope, quality, cost, and schedule, they are ideally suited to this purpose.

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