What is a Project?

 

What is a project? Project can mean different things to different people in different contexts. Below are some of the common definitions,

From the above, we can deduce that a project is a time-bounded endeavor that has specific deliverables. Put the time factor aside for a moment, a project is then largely characterized by its deliverables, in other words, scope. However, is scope really sufficient to describe and define a project? Before you jump into conclusion, let's do a little thought experiment to explore this further. Imagine that we have a project by the name 'Project Z' with a set of uniquely defined deliverables. If I make a slight change to one of the deliverables resulting in a scope change from Scope 1.0 to Scope 1.1, can I say that Project Z is still the same Project Z? Most of you will agree with me that it is still the same Project Z since a slight change in the deliverables will not change the entire project. This is especially true given that scope change is a common thing in project management. I am also quite sure none of you will argue with me that Project Z is still Project Z if I now make another scope change from Scope 1.1 to Scope 1.2. The same argument applies for scope change from Scope 1.2 to Scope 1.3. What if I keep doing small incremental changes one at a time from Scope 1.3 to Scope 1.4, to 1.5, … eventually reaching Scope X.X where the scope is completely different from that in Scope 1.0? Now, do you still think that Project Z at Scope X.X is still the same old Project Z at Scope 1.0? I am quite sure some of you will shout 'No way!' since we had already mentioned earlier that the scope of a project characterizes what the project should be. If the scope of Project Z at Scope X.X is totally different from the scope of Project Z at Scope 1.0, then the two projects MUST BE DIFFERENT. But wait a second. Didn't we also say that a scope change from Scope 1.0 to Scope 1.1 will not make Project Z a different project? Following along the same line of argument, Project Z should still remain as Project Z from Scope 1.1 to 1.2, as well as from Scope 1.2 to 1.3, … and finally from Scope X.X-1 to X.X. In this case, Project Z at Scope 1.0 and Project Z at Scope X.X MUST BE THE SAME. Some of you must be totally flabbergasted by now as we have just arrived at a pair of contradictory conclusions. So, is Project Z still Project Z? Is scope alone sufficient to characterize a project? What actually went wrong here? I will leave it to you to figure out…