Preparing a project

Introduction

Many managers find that they are required to manage projects. In this unit we aim to help you to take an overview of the features of a project and the issues that arise in managing a project. Once you have identified a piece of work as a project, you are able to use a number of management approaches that have proven effective in managing projects. A project is a one-off, non-repeated activity or set of tasks that achieves clearly stated objectives within a time limit. Most projects are goal-oriented with clear beginnings, middles and ends, have constraints that limit and define the process, and outcomes that can be measured in terms of performance against agreed indicators. Other features of a project include the purpose, goals, resources, constraints and quality requirements.

All of the matters listed in the Learning outcomes below need to be considered before the detailed project brief or definition document can be drawn up. The project brief is an important document because it details the agreement that guides all the subsequent stages of a project.

Having completed your study of this unit, you should be able to prepare a project brief or definition document so that agreeement can be obtained with the project sponsor. This document will provide a blueprint for the planning phase of the project which you can study in OpenLearn unit Planning a Project.

This material is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Fundamentals of Senior Management (B713) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you want to study formally with us, you may wish to explore other courses we offer in this subject area [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .