What is a Project?
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When thinking of the word project, it conjures up images of large group work, pain staking tasks and processes, technical issues (whether it be IT or mechanical etc), and for some, a long road to completion. It doesn’t always have to be this arduous. A project can be a simple task over a day or week, such as planting up a new border, or it can be for a longer duration with specific technical requirements, such as a garden landscape design project. Either way, a ‘project’ can refer to any task, irrespective of duration, format, or content.
According to (Juneja, 2015) “a project is defined as a “temporary endeavour with a beginning and an end and it must be used to create a unique product, service, or result. Further, it is progressively elaborated. What this definition of a project means is that projects are those activities that cannot go on indefinitely and must have a defined purpose”.
What are the key features of a Project?
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Unique per requirement - each project will be different and will have specific requirements. For instance, a routine garden border project will differ according to the plant design, plant materials being used, time of year being undertaken, size of border and the time in which it needs to be completed etc.
Specific goals or objectives - each project has a set of objectives or goals that need to be completed for that project to close. For instance, the garden border project goal would be that it needs to be completed within one-week, maximum cost 500EUR, contain mixture of perennial and herbaceous plants for seasonal interest. The objectives will break down these individual components so its clear what is required e.g. perennial plants to include X10 of Verbena bonariensis.
Resources - each project must state clearly the exact resources required, this could be human power, materials, cost, specific skills etc.
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Budgets - each project must adhere to the budget set out and this is a crucial element in the planning stage. Feasibility reports are often useful to compile for large projects which can easily exceed budgets set out e.g. garden landscape design. Incorrect budget can cause unforeseen additional costs, delay in project closure or the project to fail.
Schedules - each project should clearly define each stage of the project, the requirements, duration, and completion date. Schedules should be planned in a concise manner with clear definitions. They should also be realistic and be adaptable to change to accommodate unforeseen issues.
Group effort - projects are not normally completed by one person, it usually takes a variety of people (team) to complete a successful project. For instance, for the garden border project, this would need a landscape designer, laborers, horticulturist, and garden technicians to complete. Working in a respectful manner goes a long way!
Risk - identifying the potential risks that could cause the project to fail can assist the project manager to mitigate these risks where possible. For instance, budgeting for rising costs of materials, shortage of employees or materials don’t arrive when expected could mean that the project completion date may need to be extended.
Completion - projects are not endless, they do need to be completed. For instance, the completion can be the final payment after client inspection and approval of the works.
(Hickey, 2021)
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What is a Project Life Cycle?
A project consists of five phases which all must be completed for that project to close or be implemented successfully.
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The phases are:
Initiating - the project will not be fully defined at this stage, but the main idea or aim will be teased out at this phase. This will include answering simple questions as to why the works needs to be done, completing a feasibility of cost analysis report, and identifying the key stakeholders and other important data.
Let’s look at this in more detail for our garden border project example
Select the project - garden flower border
Define the scope - border to be 3X3M, include perennial (x10) and herbaceous (x20) plants for seasonal colour with non-specified colour scheme (plant list to be provided), cost 500EUR, area to be prepared (drainage/soil/mulch), border to be low maintenance.
Identify the risks & contingencies such as cost (additional drainage/border material might be needed) assess additional costs and budget accordingly. Human power (may not be available or for specific periods) so plan for when you have the required staff to complete. Materials , specific plant material may be available at certain times depending on when job is therefore pick which is in season or plan project for specific time where required plants are available.
Confirm deliverables - completion in one week, start date 1st July, completion date 7th July. Preparing the ground (2 days), preparing the materials (1 day), planting materials (2 days), inspection/revising (2 days), completion (1 day).
Prepare project team - assign the resources to the relevant team members e.g. gardeners, labourer's etc.
Confirm communication channels - morning & end of day summary.
Document the phases - sign off each phase by the head gardener
Agree sign off points - at each stage outlined in the deliverables.
2. Planning - this defines how the project will be conducted and completed. This will detail many of the features of the project described above such as scope, requirements, resources, budget, and schedule.
3. Executing - at this phase all the criteria under planning is put into motion. For instance, assemble the team and resources, assign responsibilities, work to the schedule and objectives outlined and adapt accordingly.
4. Monitoring - controlling the project is critical for completion. This will entail reviewing the works as it proceeds ensuring each part is completed to budget, schedule, and expected quality.
5. Closing - the project has completed all its objectives and is finished. The closure process is finalized once the client has inspected the works and provided approval and payment.
(SlideModel.com, 2021)
Project Projection
A S Diagram reflects a top down budgeting project - concave. Initial stages are slow and then picks up momentum, ultimate finish is slow.
@Hickey, 2021
A J Diagram reflects a bottom up budgeting project - convex. Project is slow and almost complete whereby over half of the resources is used.
@Hickey, 2021
References
Juneja, P. 2015. What is a Project? URL: What is a Project ? (managementstudyguide.com). Accessed on 02.10.2021
Hickey, R. 2021. Project Initiation, The Project Life Cycle (Lecture 1). TU Dublin.
SlideModel.com. 2020 The 5 Main Phases of Project Management Life Cycle. URL: The 5 Main Phases of Project Management Life Cycle. Accessed on 02.10.2021
Hi Kerry, very informative post and appealing layout. You´ve explained the process of project initiation very well. Best wishes, Michaela
Hi Kerry, this is excellent. You covered all the key topics in the videos and have put your own twist on it. Having an example of a garden project throughout made it more practical. The layout is also really easy to follow with the different colour fonts and use of bold. I can tell you spent a lot of time on it, well done! Elaine