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A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a product or service.

Origin

The word project comes from the Latin word projectum from projicere, "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 and jacere, "to throw". The word "project" thus actually originally meant "something that comes before anything else is done". When the word was initially adopted, it referred to a plan of something, not to the act of actually carrying this plan out. Something performed in accordance with a project was called an object. This use of "project" changed in the 1950s when several techniques for project management were introduced. With this advent the word slightly changed meaning to cover both projects and objects. However in certain projects there may still exist so called objects and object leaders.

Characteristics

Projects differ from operations, because operations are continuous and repeating (projects are temporary), and operations deliver the same or almost the same results (project results are in contrast unique).

A project usually needs resources to deliver its results. Most of the time project execution is based on detailed plan, which considers also external factors and constraints. Planning, execution and controlling of project is the primary field of project management. For major projects it is necessary sometimes to set up a special temporary organization, consisting of a project team and one or more work teams.

Major projects can be divided into subprojects, and program denotes collection of related projects. Typically, collaboration between project team members is needed for a successful outcome.

Advantages

Project based approach is particularly liked by Western business, which are characterized by a modern matrix organization and a cooperative culture. In case of authoritarian, bureaucratic organizations with rigid, hierarchical structure project based work is less popular, or does not work as expected due to the conflict between different cultures.