What is a Project?

What is a project? The Project Management Institute's 5th Edition of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge defines project management as "A temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service or result". It goes further in explaining that projects are temporary in nature because it has a set beginning and end-point, a defined scope as well as planned resources. Projects, unlike operations, are unique and designed to meet a prescribed set of activities in order to accomplish a specific goal. Project teams may include people who don't usually or have never worked together from different organizations, multiple locations and separate environments. These factors are called "Enterprise Environmental Factors" and can have a big impact on the success of the project.