A project is defined as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service, with defined start and end dates, resources, and goals. It involves interconnected activities to achieve a specific objective within certain constraints like time, budget, and scope. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet project requirements by balancing constraints, identifying stakeholder needs, and correcting errors. The five key stages of project management are initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closeout. Program management involves coordinating related projects to achieve strategic benefits and objectives that individual projects cannot, while portfolio management coordinates an organization's resources to prioritize project opportunities.

1. Definition:
A project is a sequence of unique, complex and connected activities having one goal or purpose
that must be completed by a specific time, within budget and according to specification.
Characteristics of project:
 Has definite start and end dates or duration
 Has only one goal
 Product or result is unique
 One time effort
 Has interrelated activities
 Involves consumption of human and non-human resources
 Involves a certain amount of risk
Project vs operation/process:
1. Projects are a one-time effort whereas processes occur on a daily basis or regularly
2. Projects usually require a unique or a new set of resources whereas operations work
with the already existing resources
What is project management?
Applying a set of skills, knowledge, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project
requirements.
It involves:
 Ensuring and identifying the requirements of stakeholders are met as the project moves
forward
 Balancing different constraints for optimum results e.g. money, time, specifications
 Identifying errors and correcting them
5 stages or process groups of project management:
 Initiation
 Planning
 Execution
 Monitoring
 Closeout

2. Triple constraints: (also called the proj. mgmt. triangle)
Time – budget – Scope
Project success is defined as project completion:
 Within the allocated time period
 Within the budgeted cost
 At the proper performance or specification level
 With acceptance by the customer/user
 When you can use the customers name as a reference
 With minimum or mutually agreed upon scope changes
 Without disturbing the main workflow of the organization
 Without changing the corporate culture
Program management:
A program is defined as a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain
benefits and control which cannot be achieved by managing them individually.
Program management is defined as the centralized coordinated management of a program to
achieve the program’s strategic objectives and benefits. Projects within a program are related
through the common outcome or collective capability.
Projects within a program may have different objectives but they share a common GOAL.
Programs Projects
Similarities:
 Both have goals and objectives
 Both have definite life spans
 Both involve risk
 Both incur costs
 Both require proper management for success
Differences:
 A program contains a set of projects
 A program costs more than any of its component projects
 A program continues to use the result of a finished project for a specified time
 Projects have only one prime goal whereas programs can have more goals
 A program is obviously more difficult to manage than its component projects

3. Portfolio consists of programs that may not have common objectives but serve specific goals of
an organization e.g. maximizing profits, gaining strategic benefits.
Portfolio mgmt. is the centralized and coordinated mgmt. of an organization’s resources to find
new project opportunities, gain knowledge about these opportunities and be able to rank these
opportunities according to a set of criteria such as risk, strategic importance, cost and returns
etc. It also involves monitoring of programs and projects, in different stages of development,
within the portfolio and adjusting their ranks on the priority scale according to a specific
criteria.
Proj. mgmt.. office or PMO is an organizational body which has been assigned responsibilities to
effectively manage projects within its domain.
PMO :
 provides standards for performance check and quality control
 provides communication channels between personnel on different projects
 manages shared resources across different projects
 Coaches and trains personnel
 Sets management standards
Duties of PM:
Planning:
Scheduling, Giving an outline of how the project will proceed, estimations, establishment of
scope of work, establishment of communication channels between personnel, contingency
planning
Organizing:
Organize personnel or departments according to their responsibilities, Organize plans showing
the outline of the project, Develop a work breakdown structure.
Staffing:
Hiring personnel for different departments, Explaining their responsibilities to all personnel,
encourage personnel to express their views on proj. mgmt.
Directing:
Complimenting personnel on good work, work proactively to avoid problems, guide personnel
when needed, coordinate all aspects of the project

4. Controlling:
Keeping milestone chart, expenditure records, work records, records of meetings and
telephonic conversations, Keep everyone informed about the pace of the project.
Objectives must be:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time bound
Objectives are specific, measurable, tangible
Goals are generic, not necessarily measureable or tangible