Project

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents
• 1 Overview
• 2 Specific uses
○ 2.1 School and university
○ 2.2 Engineering project
○ 2.3 Project management
• 3 Examples of notable projects
• 4 See also
• 5 References

[edit] Overview
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".
[edit] Specific uses
[edit] School and university
At school, educational institute and university, a project is a research assignment given to a
student which generally requires a larger amount of effort and more independent work than is
involved in a normal essay assignment. It requires students to undertake their own fact-finding
and analysis, either from library/internet research or from gathering data empirically. The written
report that comes from the project is usually in the form of a dissertation, which will contain
sections on the project's inception, methods of inquiry, analysis, findings and conclusions.[2]
[edit] Engineering project
The engineering project is a particular type of technological system, embedded in the context of
technological systems in general.[3] Engineering projects are, in many countries, specifically
defined by legislation, which requires that such projects should be carried out by registered
engineers and/or registered engineering companies. That is, companies with license to carry out
such works as design and construction of buildings, power plants, industrial facilities, installation
and erection of electrical grid networks, transportation infrastructure and the like.
The scope of the project is specified in a contract between the owner and the engineering and
construction parties. As a rule, an engineering project is broken down into design and
construction phases. The outputs of the design process are drawings, calculations, and all other
design documentation necessary to carry out the next phase.[4]
[edit] Project management
In project management a project consists of a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product, service or result.[5] Another definition is a management environment that is created for
the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to a specified business case.
Project objectives define target status at the end of the project, reaching of which is considered
necessary for the achievement of planned benefits. They can be formulated as SMART criteria[6]:
Specific, Measurable (or at least evaluable) achievement, Achievable (recently Agreed-to or
Acceptable are used regularly as well), realistic (given the current state of organizational
resources) and Time terminated (bounded). The evaluation (measurement) occurs at the project
closure. However a continuous guard on the project progress should be kept by monitoring and
evaluating. It is also worth noting that SMART is best applied for incremental type innovation
projects.[citation needed] For radical type projects it does not apply as well. Goals for such projects
tend to be broad, qualitative, stretch/unrealistic and success driven.
[edit] Examples of notable projects
• Human Genome Project which mapped the human genome
• Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapon
• Polaris missile project: an ICBM control-system
• Project Apollo, which landed humans on the moon
• Soviet atomic bomb project
• Soviet manned lunar projects and programs
[edit] See also
Look up project in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Megaproject
• Megaprojects and risk
• Project governance
• Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Project management software
• Project planning
• Cone of Uncertainty
 • Projects Magazine
[edit] References
1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
2. ^ Thomas, G: How to do your research project. Sage Publications Inc, 2009.
3. ^ Gene Moriarty, The Engineering Project:Its Nature, Ethics, and Promise, page 7. Penn
State Press, 2008.
4. ^ civil
5. ^ A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), Third
Edition, Project Management Institute.
6. ^ Carr, David, Make Sure Your Project Goals are SMART, PM Hut. Accessed 18. Oct
2009.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project"
Categories: Projects | Project management | Collaboration
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from October 2008
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