Definition of a Project

Definition of a Project -

A project is made up of a group of interrelated work activities constrained by a specific 

scope, budget, and schedule to deliver capital assets needed to achieve the strategic 

goals of an Agency. This Handbook is intended for management of capital projects 

involving construction of facilities or systems. The word project is synonymous with the 

words capital project throughout this Handbook. 

Project Manager’s Role 

A project’s execution is planned and controlled by the project manager. The project 

manager is assigned by the Agency, i.e., the Agency’s executive management. The 

project manager must have adequate authority to exercise the responsibility of forming 

and managing a team for support of the project. The project manager must have prior 

experience managing similar projects in the past. If an Agency cannot commit such an 

individual with adequate time and resources, the Agency is well advised to outsource 

project management services for management of the project. The project manager may 

be tasked with management of multiple projects that may require assignment of additional 

project managers for support. In such cases the project manager is taking on the role of a program manager. Figure 1-1 shows typical project 

activities without a project manager. It shows the multiple interactions an Agency faces without a project manager to manage the work 

activities involved in delivering a new capital asset. Figure 1-2 depicts a typical project organization with a project manager. It shows how a 

project management organization is structured with the assignment of a project manager to manage project work activities.

Characteristics of Projects - 

Projects are defined by their scope, budget, and schedule. For example, an Agency is to undertake a project to design and build a new 

maintenance facility for its fleet of buses (scope), at an estimate of $30 million (preliminary budget) over a three-year period (schedule). The 

schedule specifies a defined beginning and end. Projects go through a life cycle of phases between their beginnings and ends that for 

construction projects are typically: initiation, planning, design, construction, commissioning, and closeout. 

Scope: Each project is unique and must have a written requirements document that takes into consideration operational needs, level of

service, regulatory requirements such as Americans with Disabilities Act, and quality of deliverables. The scope evolves as new information 

becomes available through the project life cycle. For example, in the early planning phases of the maintenance facility project, the scope is to 

have five service bays. Later, as the design progresses, the exact location and the type of service in each bay can be determined. Scope 

refinement should not be confused with scope creep. Scope creep occurs when the Agency determines part way through the project that 

operational projections now call for six rather than five service bays. Changing to six bays after the project is underway is a serious change in 

scope that could impact the budget (larger facility, more land, redesign) and delay the schedule (replan, redesign, longer construction). Scope 

refinement is a necessary process in the project life cycle while scope creep results from lack of clarity on the Agency’s requirements in the 

original scope for the needs, level of service, and level of quality for the deliverables. 

Schedule: All projects must have a definite beginning and end. The Agency’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) usually provides approximate

dates for the beginning of a project and the end date when it is due to go into operation. Once there is a well-defined scope, the Agency 

needs to determine the time it will take to complete the project by developing the project schedule. Developing the schedule involves breaking 

down the work into manageable activities needed to accomplish the scope of each deliverable, estimating the duration of each activity, and 

placing them in a logical sequence. Chapter 9 describes useful techniques for developing a schedule. The result is a project schedule that 

tells you the expected duration of the project and the logical relationships between the activities, including activities on the “critical path,” that 

controls the end date. 

Budget: All projects are constrained by limited monetary funding resources. Consequently, every project needs a budget to initially define its 

funding requirement. The budget usually provides the preliminary project funding that is established through a CIP covered in Chapter 2. The 

project manager develops the budget based on the cost estimates at the beginning of each project phase and refines it once there is better 

information defining the scope. Refining the budget occurs through studies and analysis in the design development process through the 

preliminary engineering phase. When Agencies try to fix the budget too early in the project life cycle, they are surprised by the significant 

increases in the budget over what was set forth in the CIP. As explained later, the budget should not be fixed as baseline until after 

completion of the preliminary engineering phase. Estimating techniques for the costs of the activities needed to accomplish the scope of each 

deliverable .

Project Life Cycle  - 

A project is conceived through the organization’s strategic planning process and documented in a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The main 

reasons projects are created are to deliver capital assets the Agency needs to: 

1. Sustain service or improve quality of service, 

2. Expand service to meet growing demand, or 

3. Comply with regulatory requirements. 

A CIP consists of a number of planned projects that when implemented will provide the Agency with the assets needed to achieve its strategic 

objectives. A project begins its life cycle when it is authorized to move from the CIP into implementation. For an Agency, authorization is 

often a resolution approved by the Agency’s board to apply for funds or hire consultants to work on the project. The board resolution is the 

project’s authorization to proceed to the next phase. In most cases, the Agency will have to come back to the board prior to beginning the 

next phase of the project, because the scope and costs will be more defined through the efforts made in the preceding phases. 

In a traditional design/bid/build (D/B/B) project, the project life cycle begins with the initiation of planning (including environmental and 

funding), and design (including conceptual design). These phases overlap to some extent. During these phases the project evolves through 

consideration of various alternatives and the concept for the preferred alternative is formed. The design phase continues through the 

preliminary engineering effort to further analyze, validate, and define the preferred alternative and arrive at the baseline scope, budget, and 

schedule. Then the design phase concludes with the final design, which further details out the design features to provide the permitting 

agencies and the contractor a set of construction drawings and specifications to permit and build the project. The construction phase 

proceeds with the bid and award process. At the end of the construction phase, the work of the contractor needs to be integrated with 

operations and Agency furnished activities, technology, and equipment, and evaluated for acceptance through the commissioning phase to 

bring the project to a successful completion. Figure 1-3 shows a typical project life cycle for traditional design/bid/build delivery. 

There are many alternative delivery methods, such as design/build (D/B) and design/build/operate/maintain (D/B/O/M). These delivery 

methods assign multiple phases of work, such as design and construction, to a single contractor. In the D/B/O/M method the Agency also 

contracts out the operations and maintenance of the completed project to the contractor.

.    Eastimation Complete Book