Project Management Definitions

What Is Project Management?

People sometimes use the terms project management, project, subproject, and program without understanding their meaning. So let’s first define these terms and compare their meaning. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder objectives and expectations from a project (from PMI).

Project management supports three basic levels of projects: projects, subprojects, and programs.


What Is a Project?

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to produce a unique product or service.
A project is a unique process, consisting of a set of coordinated and controlled activities with start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objective that conforms to specific requirements, including the constraints of time, cost, and resources (from ISO 10006).

Projects differ from operations, such as manufacturing, in that operations are ongoing and repetitive, while projects are temporary and unique (from PMI). Projects can range from simple efforts to large, complex undertakings that require much time, effort, and money.


What Is a Subproject?

Like a project, a subproject is:
-A temporary endeavor undertaken to produce a unique product or service
-A set of work units assigned to a single project organizational unit to divide the project into more manageable components. It can also be referred to a part of a project managed with a level of independence.


What Is a Program?

A program is a group of related projects and other activities managed in a coordinated way to achieve a common long-term objective.

A program is realized through multiple projects and ongoing activity. The scope of a program might be broadly defined and might evolve as the business or organization develops, or it might be specifically defined to achieve an agreed set of goals.


Who is a Customer?

A customer is the recipient of a product or service provided by the delivery organization. The customer might be the ultimate consumer, user, beneficiary, or purchaser (ISO 8402). The customer might also be the sponsor.


Who is a Sponsor?

A sponsor is an individual or an organization that has the authority to perform, delegate, or ensure completion of the following project commitments:
-Formalization of an agreement with the delivery organization
-Approval to proceed with the start of the project or of a project phase
-Acceptance of the deliverables from the project
-Spending for the cost or price, or both, of the project as specified in the agreement


Who is a Stakeholder?

A stakeholder in a project is any individual or organization that is actively involved in the project or whose interests might be affected, either positively or negatively, as a result of project execution or successful project completion. Identifying and communicating with the stakeholders is an important responsibility of the project manager.

Most projects have a number of stakeholders, and they each have their own objectives to meet on the project. The project manager must be aware of each of these stakeholders and their respective objectives. Using this information, the project manager must ensure that what is done on the project is consistent first with the project requirements and then with the stakeholders' objectives. Ideally, the objectives of the different stakeholders are closely aligned. If not, a series of negotiations might be required to align the objectives.