What is a project? A project is an undertaking that's completed with the aim of accomplishing one or more of the following: a) Reaching a goal; b) achieving an outcome and c) creating a deliverable (objective-based results) In other words, a project is the set of tasks or activities completed to achieve specific, predetermined results. On top of that, projects are meant to be temporary endeavors, not recurring activities. They should have a timeline with a defined beginning and end date, as well as a scope and resources allocated to the project. Projects may be large or small, complex or simple. They may take years to complete, or they might be finished within a few days of kickoff. What is project management? Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and managing a project in order to achieve a predefined goal or outcome. All types of businesses rely on projects to achieve many of their short-term and long-term goals, because projects are how things get done. The types of projects organizations undertake depend on several things, including their strategic goals and the industry. For example, a project manager of an advertising agency may oversee an online marketing campaign, while multiple project managers in a healthcare system may be involved in upgrading software. What is a Project Manager? The project manager organizes, drives planning, and executes initiatives that help the organization achieve its desired outcomes. While professional project managers often hold certifications in various areas of project management, it's not required. Anyone can be a project manager by simply: Planning how to reach a goal or objective Building a team to execute the tasks within a project Working to ensure the outcome is reached by the agreed-upon timeframe The truth is that everyone is a project manager at some point or another, whether they're overseeing a complex operation or simply taking charge of a small group activity.

The core areas of project management There are three core areas to think about when managing a project: Scoping; planning and delivery; reporting and closure. Each area has several components that are associated with that section of the project. During scoping, the project manager gathers all the elements needed to kick off the project. This involves: Identifying the reasons why the project is important and presenting those reasons to potential stakeholders Estimating the time and resources necessary to support the project from start to finish, then comparing that with the expected return on investment Securing a budget for the project During planning and delivery process, project managers: Develop a project plan that maps out how the project will be completed Assign tasks to project delivery teams Identify and correct issues like bottlenecks and stoppages that could hinder the performance of the teams involved Ensuring that the progress of the project is aligned with the initial plan Use specific tools (Gantt charts, for instance) to plan and track delivery based on milestones The last core area of project management is reporting and closure. Many components of this area are ongoing throughout the project, such as: Managing and reporting the project budget to executive leadership Managing stakeholder expectations through good communication The last component of this core area (and of the project as a whole) is closure. Once the objectives have been met and it's appropriate to do so, close the project in a controlled fashion and have a post-mortem meeting - Agile practitioners refer to this meeting as a "retrospective" - to reflect on what went right and wrong.

1 - What are the three main project characteristics? (Explain briefly)