Projects are a means of organizing activities that cannot be addressed within the organization’s normal operational limits. Projects are, therefore, often utilized as a means of achieving an organization’s strategic plan, whether the project team is employed by the organization or is a contracted service provider.
Projects are typically authorized as a result of one or more of the following strategic considerations:
. • A market demand (e.g., an oil company authorizes a project to build a new refinery in response to chronic gasoline shortages)
. • An organizational need (e.g., a training company authorizes a project to create a new course in order to increase its revenues)
. • A customer request (e.g., an electric utility authorizes a project to build a new substation to serve a new industrial park)
. • A technological advance (e.g., a software firm authorizes a new project to develop a new generation of video games after the introduction of new game-playing equipment by electronics firms)
. • A legal requirement (e.g., a paint manufacturer authorizes a project to establish guidelines for the handling of a new toxic material).
