Meaning of project

1.
something that is contemplated, devised, or planned; plan;scheme.
2.
a large or major undertaking, especially one involvingconsiderable money, personnel,
and equipment.
3.
a specific task of investigation, especially in scholarship.

Characteristics of a Project

A project has several characteristics. The main characteristics of a project include the
followings features:

(i) Mission or set of objectives: A project has a mission or a set of objectives to be

achieved within a distinct time, cost and technical performance goals. once the mission is
achieved, the project is treated as complete.

(ii) Ownership: Every project has an owner. Who, in the private sector, can be an
individual or a company; In the public sector, a government or government undertaking;
and in a joint sector organization, the ownership of project can be represented by a
partnership of public and private sector.

(iii) Terminal stage : A project can not continue forever. It has to terminate at some time
or the other. The set of objective indicate the terminal stage of the project.

(iv) Team-work : Every project is planned, managed and controlled by an assigned

team- the project team- to achieve the objectives as per specifications. The members of
the project team may come from different organizational units, different disciplines and
even from different geographical regions.

(v) Uniqueness : A Project is unique and no two project are similar, ever, though the
inputs, processing and results of two projects are identical. The nature of an organization,
available infrastructure, location of the project and the people associated with a project
make a project unique.

(vi) Risk and uncertainty: Every project has risk and uncertainty associated with it and
there can not be a project without any risk and uncertainty. The risk is perceived to be
variability of actual returns from the estimated returns and uncertainty about future leads
to variations in returns. The degree of risk and uncertainty also vary during the life-cycle
of a project. An ill- defined project has a high degree of risk and uncertainty in
comparison of a well-defined project.
(vii) Sub-contracting : A substantial portion of each and every project is performed by
sub-contracting. The gender the complexity of a project, the greater will be the extent of
work performed by sub-contractors.

(viii) Customer-specific: A project is always customer-specific. The requirements and

constraints within which a project is executed are generally stipulated by the customer or
are planned considering the beneficiary customers.

(ix) Life-cycle : Every project has a start and a terminal point-a characteristic of a life-
cycle represented by growth, maturity and decay. The organization of a project changes
as it passes through this cycle. The activities starting from the conception stage, mounting
up to the peak during maturity or implementation, comes to the zero on completion and
delivery of the project.

(x) Management of change : Change is a natural phenomenon with every project

throughout its life-cycle. Projects vary during its life span in terms of technology,
equipments, materials, machinery, people, work ethics and organizational culture. Some
changes in these variables my not have any major impact but some others may change the
very nature of a project. Therefore, the inter-relationship and management of change
between these variables is required for successful completion of a project.

(xi) Unity in diversity : Every project has the characteristic feature of unity in diversity.
A project is a complex set of thousands of different activities which remain inter-related
with each other. Although theses activities which remain inter-related with each other.
Although these activities differ in terms of materials, machines, equipments, technology,
people, ethics, work culture etc. Yet these are essentially inter-related during different
stages of a project.

project appraisal
Definition
Systematic and comprehensive review of the economic, environmental, financial,
social, technical and other such aspects of a project to determine if it
will meet its objectives.

project selection model, the following criteria,

based on Souder,1 are most important: project Selection

1. Realism: The model should ref lect the reality of the manager’s decision
situation, including the multiple objectives of both the firm and its managers.
Without a common measurement system, direct comparison of different
projects is impossible. For example, Project A may strengthen a
firm’s market share by extending its facilities, and Project B might improve
its competitive position by strengthening its technical staff. Other things
being equal, which is better? The model should take into account the realities
of the firm’s limitations on facilities, capital, personnel, and so forth.
The model should also include factors that ref lect project risks, including
the technical risks of performance, cost, and time as well as the market
risks of customer rejection and other implementation risks.
2. Capability: The model should be sophisticated enough to deal with multiple
time periods, simulate various situations both internal and external
to the project (e.g., strikes, interest rate changes), and optimize the decision.
An optimizing model will make the comparisons that management
deems important, consider major risks and constraints on the projects,
and then select the best overall project or set of projects.
3. Flexibility: The model should give valid results within the range of conditions
that the firm might experience. It should have the ability to be easily
modified, or to be self-adjusting in response to changes in the firm’s environment;
for example, tax laws change, new technological advancements
alter risk levels, and, above all, the organization’s goals change.
4. Ease of use: The model should be reasonably convenient, not take a long
time to execute, and be easy to use and understand. It should not require
special interpretation, data that are difficult to acquire, excessive personnel,
or unavailable equipment. The model’s variables should also relate
one-to-one with those real-world parameters the managers believe significant
to the project. Finally, it should be easy to simulate the expected
outcomes associated with investments in different project portfolios.
5. Cost: Data-gathering and modeling costs should be low relative to the
cost of the project and must surely be less than the potential benefits of
the project. All costs should be considered, including the costs of data
management and of running the model.
We would add a sixth criterion:
6. Easy computerization: It must be easy and convenient to gather and
store the information in a computer database, and to manipulate data in
the model through use of a widely available, standard computer package
such as Excel®, Lotus 1-2-3®, Quattro Pro®, and like programs. The same
ease and convenience should apply to transferring the information to any
standard decision support system.
In what follows, we first examine fundamental types of project selection
models and the characteristics that make any model more or less acceptable.
62 The Project Management Discipline
Next we consider the limitations, strengths, and weaknesses of project selection
models, including some suggestions of factors to consider when making a decision
about which, if any, of the project selection models to use. Finally, we comment
on some special aspects of the information base required for project
selection. Then we turn our attention to the selection of a set of projects to help
the organization achieve its goals and illustrate this with a technique called the
Project Portfolio Process.