Student: Natalia Garcia Castillo

Industrial Engineer: Summary of the video "What is a project?”

When an organization wants to develop new products, services for customers or improve
processes within its operations, this organization must plan and execute a project. A Project
is a temporary company that creates something unique, it can be a product, a service or a
result, it is said to be unique when the organization that started the project has not done it,
and it does not mean that all the projects end and, although the projects end, the final result
usually aims to produce something or the result of the project has a lasting effect, the video
explained the example of a project to make a bridge, this project will end when the bridge is
completed, but what is expected is that the bridge will last for years.
The projects are planned from beginning to end, the tasks necessary to complete the project
are usually carried out sequentially. When talking about the project management profession,
they have a defined result that is a deliverable which is the service or final result of the
product that is delivered as its name indicates at the end of the project.
There is a big difference between a project and an operation. A project has a definite
beginning and an end. It has limitations of objectives and resources that must be adjusted
to the time, a budget or associated costs and parameters to this is called the scope of the
project. Operations are continuous activities of an organization such as payroll or mass
production of a deliverable, are the daily work of an organization is that there is no fixed
endpoint until someone identifies the need to change, update or even eliminate operations.
Some people may confuse projects with operations, projects have a defined endpoint and
operations do not have them as mentioned above. The need for an organization to update
its processes bring a new item into production or bring to light some sort of beneficial
knowledge may spawn a project but once the deliverable has been completed the project
ends and the operations begin.

Large projects even if they involve a team of people, smaller projects can be managed by a
single person in a single business unit, really large projects can be executed by multiple
groups of people, even from different organizations around the world, The video explains
that in the current business climate for a large project, it can have technicians in India,
managers in the United States, suppliers in Asia and clients in Europe. It is the responsibility
of the project managers to coordinate these resources to ensure that the project is
completed on time and within budget.
Repetitive elements may exist within the projects, but the fact that it contains a different set
of external and internal circumstances makes it a project, in the video it gave the example
of a bridge construction company that ended a bridge in New York can be contracted to
build the same bridge in Beijing, the company can use the same materials, engineers, even
the same project manager, same processes and best practices but the location implies a
series of circumstances that affect the construction as the local culture, the climate It
becomes a unique effort, that is, in a different project.
In conclusion, a project is a way of organizing resources by bringing together a group of
people to perform different tasks together with the fulfillment of some objectives over a
period of time. For a project to be successful not only requires a project manager, but a
leader who can define the objectives of the work, and manage trained professionals who
meet the criteria of the project.