For all other uses, see Project (disambiguation).

A project, as defined in the field of project management, consists of a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a product or service.^[1] More generically, the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that business and science projects involve "a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim".

Origin

The word project comes from the Latin word projectum from the Latin verb proicere, "to throw something forwards" which in turn comes from pro-, which denotes something that precedes the action of the next part of the word in time (paralleling the Greek πρό) and iacere, "to throw". The word "project" thus actually originally meant "something that comes before anything else happens". When the English language initially adopted the word, it referred to a plan of something, not to the act of actually carrying this plan out. Something performed in accordance with a project became known as an "object". This use of "project" changed in the 1950s^{citation needed} with the introduction of several techniques for project management. Use of the word "project" evolved slightly to cover both projects and objects. However, certain projects continue to include so-called objects and object leaders.

Applicability

Contemporary Western business — characterized by a modern matrix organization and a cooperative culture — currently particularly favors project-based approaches. Authoritarian, bureaucratic organizations with rigid, hierarchical structures show less enthusiasm about project-based work, which may not operate as expected in their environment due to conflicts between different cultures.^{citation needed}

Notable projects

• the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapon
• the Soviet atomic bomb project
• the Polaris missile project: an ICBM control-system
• Soviet manned lunar projects and programs
• Project Apollo, which landed humans on the moon
• genome projects
• the Human Genome Project, which mapped the human genome

School Usage

Within public schools in the United States, a project is an assignment given to a student which generally requires a larger amount of effort than normal homework assignments. They can range anywhere from simple written projects to elaborate and well-constructed Science Fair Projects.

See also

Look up project in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Association for Project Management
• Megaproject
• Process
• Project cost overrun
• Project governance
• Program (management)
• Project Management Institute (PMI)
• List of project management topics
• Project planning
• Enterprise Project Management (EPM)
• Project management software
• Gantt Chart

Footnotes