A project, as defined in the field of
project management, consists of a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product,
service or result. More generically, the
Oxford English Dictionary suggests that
business and
science projects involve "a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully
planned to achieve a particular aim".
PRINCE2 defines a project as "a management environment that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to a specified
business case".
Origin
The word project comes from the
Latin word projectum from the Latin verb proicere, "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 (paralleling the
Greek πρό) and iacere, "to throw". The word "project" thus actually originally meant "something that comes before anything else happens". When the English language initially adopted the word, it referred to a plan of something, not to the act of actually carrying this plan out. Something performed in accordance with a project became known as an "
object". This use of "project" changed in the 1950s[
citation needed] with the introduction of several techniques for
project management. Use of the word "project" evolved slightly to cover both projects and objects. However, certain projects continue to include so-called objects object
leadersApplicability
Contemporary Western business — characterized by a modern
matrix organization and a cooperative
culture —
currently particularly favors project-based approaches.
Authoritarian,
bureaucratic organizations with rigid, hierarchical structures show less enthusiasm about project-based work, which may not operate as expected in their environment due to conflicts between different
cultures.[
citation needed]
Notable projects
genome projectsthe
Human Genome Project, which mapped the
human genomethe
Manhattan Project, which developed the first
nuclear weaponthe
Polaris missile project: an
ICBM control-system
Project Apollo, which landed humans on the
moonthe
Soviet atomic bomb projectSoviet manned lunar projects and programsSchool Usage
Within public schools in the United States, a project is an assignment given to a student which generally requires a larger amount of effort than normal homework assignments. They can range anywhere from simple written projects to elaborate and well-constructed Science Fair Projects.