Elizabeth MillerProject Coordinator| Lutheran Hour MinistriesSt Louis, Mo, United States
My position evolved from recording ALL jobs that enter into our design, video and audio units to managing projects. This means I facillate the production of our newspaper, radio show, podcasts etc. When my role expanded to managing projects I kept driving the production processes too because they utilize the same production units. NOW we are adding additional project managers but they will still drive both BAU production and projects. So now we are having a hard time defining what is actually a project and what could be considered a BAU. Would Blog content be a BAU but it might involve video components. Is it a BAU or a bunch of small projects because the process is similar but content is different? Saving Changes...
Sort By:
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
I’d consider the blog content you produce a bunch of small projects, judging by PMI’s definition of a project:
1. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.
2. A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.
It is equally bad to treat everything as a project as it is to treat nothing like a project.
The key is to figure out whether the degree of complexity and uniqueness justifies applying PM discipline to it or whether the work is predictable enough that a process "playbook" can be developed and followed.
Projects are characterized as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. It refers to activities / initiatives that the company has not undertaken before / does not have experience in.
Therefore, I would suggest the production of a newspaper or a podcast would be considered BAU if that's something your company does on a regular basis. If it is a new initiative undertaken for the first time by the company, then it would be considered as a project.
Based on your description, I would suggest it sounds more like BAU workstreams, which still potentially would benefit from elements of PM management. However, I do not think these should be referred to as projects. Saving Changes...
