What Are the Key Characteristics of a Project?
Ready to take your project from good to exceptional? There are six essential characteristics of a project you should be paying attention to. Integrating them into your planning will ultimately set your project up for success. Why is this important? Understanding the defining characteristics of a project helps teams apply the right level of planning, governance, and management; avoiding confusion between projects and routine work.
Quick Answers: Project Characteristics
What defines a project?
A project is a temporary effort undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result with defined objectives, scope, and constraints.
What are the key characteristics of a project?
Projects are defined by a clear goal, a start and end date, specific deliverables, limited resources, interdependent tasks, and inherent risk.
How is a project different from ongoing work?
Unlike operations, projects are temporary and unique, while ongoing work is repetitive and continuous.
Why is it important to understand project characteristics?
Understanding these characteristics helps teams plan more effectively, manage risk, and apply the right project management approach.
Let’s dive into some of key characteristics!
Monitoring
Big or small, monitoring is a must on every project, and it’s one of your key activities as a project manager. When you are monitoring you’re looking at the overall project plan, surveying all the different activities going on, and ensuring that everyone is following what was agreed to in the project plan.
With monitoring comes an element of control as well – so when things start to change or new things crop up, you’re able to tweak your plan to ensure everyone is on track to reach the project’s larger objectives.
Related: A Straightforward Breakdown of the Phases of a Project
Risk Management
No matter how simple or complex your project, risk is inevitable. If you’re not thinking about risk and not planning for it, your project can end up going sideways.
While you can’t prevent risk from happening, with the right kinds of plans in place – namely, a contingency plan and a risk mitigation plan – you can minimize the impact of risk on your project. Knowing about the characteristic and being proactive about it all through the project lifecycle, will vastly increase your chances of success.
Related: Project Risk Management: Overview and Guidelines
4 more key characteristics
There are four other project essentials to know about to set your project up for success and I explore them in detail in my latest video. Join me over in YouTube to learn what they are, as well as how you can handle them to ensure exceptional project outcomes.
Meanwhile, if you really are committed to mastering your next project, consider taking my SLAY Project Management online course where I show you step-by-step how to successfully manage a project. You’ll also get access to every project template you need, along with detailed video instructions on how to fill them out.
Frequently Asked Questions About Project Characteristics
Projects are temporary by nature, which allows teams to plan, measure progress, and determine when objectives have been met.
Risk is inherent in all projects due to uncertainty, assumptions, and changing conditions. Managing risk is a core responsibility of project leadership.
When project characteristics are clearly understood, teams can select appropriate tools, allocate resources properly, and reduce misunderstandings that often lead to failure.
Which of these 4 ways can I help with your project needs?
- Want to learn five things to do at the START of every project to bring it to success? Check out my free webinar.
- Want a practical, step-by-step guide to managing projects? Check out my SLAY Project Management online course.
- Looking for expert project coaching? Check out Accelerator or SLAY PRO.
- Ready to start making organizational gains? My SLAY Corporate Project Management Program helps companies fix project-related issues.
Adriana Girdler, PMP | Creator of Slay Project Management™
