What is a project?

As project manager's we all undertake projects but what are they really?
The below are the definitions of a project from the leading project management
institutions:
PMI Definition "It's a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product, service or result." (http://www.pmi.org/About-Us/About-Us-Whatis-Project-Management.aspx accessed 4th August 2015)
PRINCE 2 Definition "A Project is a temporary organization that is created
for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an
agreed Business Case." (http://www.cupe.co.uk/prince2-definition-of-aproject.html accessed 4th August 2015)
APMG Definition "A project is a unique, transient endeavor, undertaken to
achieve planned objectives, which could be defined in terms of outputs,
outcomes or benefits. A project is usually deemed to be a success if it
achieves the objectives according to their acceptance criteria, within an
agreed timescale and budget." (https://www.apm.org.uk/WhatIsPM accessed
4th August 2015)
There is nothing wrong with these definitions but the reality of the situation is that
whilst projects are temporary organisational structures to deliver certain aims more
often than not projects are commercial ventures. Projects are an organisational
investment of time, people, other resources (including money) and organisation's
often expect a return on their investment (hence the requirement for a business
case). The business case is really an argument to the business executives or
shareholders that the commercial venture is worthwhile and will provide an
acceptable return. What is an acceptable return, in general terms this is a return
that the organisation could expect to achieve if the 'project budget' was put into an
investment vehicle instead of invested in the project. This value generally drives
the organisation's IRR, Internal Rate of Return, is used to benchmark for the
investment case.
For a commercial project, the question that the business case is answering is "can I
get a better return from this project that investing the money in an alternative
investment vehicle?". With this in mind a project manager should frequently be
asking the questions:
Is this project still worth the investment (is the business case valid or does
it still stack up)
What is the best way of utilising the budget?
How are my suppliers utilising there budget and am I gaining good value
for money?
If this was my money what would I do?
Is it time to stop the project?
Of course not all projects are commercial venture's some are required for
regularity, operational risk, cultural or ideological reasons. These types of project

are often harder to justify via a numerical business case, however many
organisation's categorise these types of project differently and therefore these
categories of projects (and perhaps others) are not subjected to the same level of
commercial scrutiny.

By Chris Maund, Grant Thornton UK

Business Consulting Associate Director and
Project Management Lead