Chapter 5

Are You Prepared for Your Next Project?

SYSTEMATION

In This Chapter

• Explanation of projects and the four disciplines involved.
• Explanation of what occurs in the four phases of a project.
• Definition of the roles required for a successful project.

What Is a Project?

Big projects are easy to spot. Building a bridge. Merging a company. Organizing a major sports event. Creating new software. Other projects are simpler and smaller scale. Small projects tend to be less than three months in duration and have one to three people working on them who also have other work responsibilities. All projects share this definition:

• Projects are temporary endeavors undertaken to create a unique product.
• “Temporary” means every project has a definite beginning and a definite end.