Difference between projects and business as usual
In my last post, I discussed the need for businesses to constantly adapt. Operating in a competitive environment compels organizations to constantly adapt. Projects are the means by which these organizations introduce change. This topic is discussed during the first session of my PRINCE 2 course.
We also discuss some of the other key differences between projects and business as usual. These are that projects are temporary - they always have a start and end dates. OK, I know what you're thinking - that projects always end up being late - well that's the whole point of PRINCE2 training - that you get to learn how to prevent projects being delivered late.
Anyway, I digress.
Other key differences between projects and business as usual are that projects usually involve people from across the whole organization - from I.T., from sales and marketing, from finance, from operations, from facilities. A key challenge of projects therefore is to bring all these people together, to communicate and work together effectively. During business as usual, you usually only deal with and work alongside others in your own department.
Another key difference is that the things you are making from your project - what PRINCE2 calls products, or deliverables to most other people - are unique. Not two projects are the same in that respect. OK, we might have many construction projects, but no two construction projects are building the exact same building.
The last key difference is that projects are always more uncertain, in other words, they are more risky. A risk is some event that may occur in the future. Because we are often doing things on projects that we have never done before, there will always be more uncertainty.
In our next post, we will discuss some of the things that project managers do.
We also discuss some of the other key differences between projects and business as usual. These are that projects are temporary - they always have a start and end dates. OK, I know what you're thinking - that projects always end up being late - well that's the whole point of PRINCE2 training - that you get to learn how to prevent projects being delivered late.
Anyway, I digress.
Other key differences between projects and business as usual are that projects usually involve people from across the whole organization - from I.T., from sales and marketing, from finance, from operations, from facilities. A key challenge of projects therefore is to bring all these people together, to communicate and work together effectively. During business as usual, you usually only deal with and work alongside others in your own department.
Another key difference is that the things you are making from your project - what PRINCE2 calls products, or deliverables to most other people - are unique. Not two projects are the same in that respect. OK, we might have many construction projects, but no two construction projects are building the exact same building.
The last key difference is that projects are always more uncertain, in other words, they are more risky. A risk is some event that may occur in the future. Because we are often doing things on projects that we have never done before, there will always be more uncertainty.
In our next post, we will discuss some of the things that project managers do.
