Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 What is a Project
1.1.1 Projects and Operational Work
Project Management Institute (2004) defines a project as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. The definition entails five important characteristics of a project, some explicitly mentioned and some following as a consequence. These characteristics also define some of the requirements of a good project manager, as we will see later.
The first characteristic is that a project is temporary, that is, it has a beginning and an end. In many cases, determining the start and the end is easy. Consider the following examples: a contract sign-off, a formal authorization to proceed from senior management, a system going in production. In practice, ...
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