Rolondo TalbottDirector of PMO| Pomona CollegeClaremont, Ca, United States
We all know the definition of a Project but when it comes to Operational Work, the definition seems to be a bit unclear. My current team seems to think that all "work" is Project Work and therefore they rely on the PMs and PMO to determine when work can be scheduled and when it can be accomplished.
While most work can be considered Project Work, I am looking for a working definition of Operational Work that I can use to delineate the difference between a Project and Operational Work. Saving Changes...
It sounds like you may be trying to solve more than one problem. If you're just trying to categorize work, go to an industry-recognized source and use their definition. PMI has one, but it's not the only definition.
If you're trying to determine when work gets done, in my experience, software/web development has exposed the gray area between projects and operations, largely because developers end up doing both at the same time. You may end up needing a release management discipline that is separate from project management. Your projects will need a defined start and end, with agreed upon completion criteria, while all work, whether it is part of a project or operations, is funneled through the release management process. I don't know if this answers your question or helps, but hopefully it makes sense. Saving Changes...
William KlingLEAD PROJECT MANAGER| LumenFircrest, Wa, United States
In my situation, operational work and project work tend to overlap. I interact with many other departments who carry out day-to-day operations. There are some groups who turn up circuits that a customer has ordered or that our own company needs for infrastructure. I work with other groups who are responsible for trenching in conduit so copper or fiber lines can be placed. This is something that these groups do every day - it is ongoing for them. My projects (that have definite start and finish points) utilize their services on a temporary basis. I may receive a project to place a particular service to a particular business. That project may include building facilities to the customer, placing a device, and turning up the circuit. I would use several groups (on a temporary basis) to complete that work at the appropriate times. To them - it's operational. To me, it's project work. Saving Changes...
Operational work is the most of the work done in organizations. Operational work differs from project in terms of being repetitive and ongoing.
For example, the yearly maintenance of the Railway Tracks or yearly maintenance of University Building etc. It happens every year and probably every step and process is repeated yearly . So this is an example of an operational work Saving Changes...
If you have a defined scope of work that you have to deliver and after the delivery your activity is over and the team dismantled then you have a project. Usually in a project you have a fixed budget that can be extended if needed.
If your work is ongoing ( the activity is not meant to be over) then you have operational work. Usually in operational work you don't have a fixed budget but an ongoing one that needs to support the operational work for an undetermined period of time.
For example if you are building a software product or software features for an existing product and you have a fixed budget for that and a defined scope of work then you have a project. Once you completed the work on the scope your activity is over.
If you are maintaining a software product fixing bugs and incrementally adding new features then this is operational work. For maintaining and enhancing the software product you don't have a fixed budget but an ongoing one that has to support the work for an undetermined period of time. For example you must continuously pay the salaries of the staff as well as all the other things they need to keep working. Saving Changes...
I think somebody should come up with a way to breed a very large shrimp. That way, you could ride him, then, after you camped at night, you could eat him. How about it, science?
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