Lesson overview

This lesson provides you with an introduction to projects and how they differ from a company’s day-to-day operations. You will also explore project management and the role played by the project manager.

Successful completion of the lesson will help you to:

• understand the definition of a project

• identify the key characteristics of projects

• compare and contrast projects with operations

• understand the role of a project manager.

By the end of this week you will have demonstrated that you have met the following course learning outcomes:

• identify the key characteristics of projects.

Throughout this course there are a number of key phrases and terms used which you may be unfamiliar with. The glossary here is adapted from the terminology used by the Project Management Institute. Please refer to this Glossary of Project Management Terms