Expresso Blog

Differences between Projects and Operations

The main difference between a project and operation is that an operation is not really unique in its form and there is no deadline. The added feature to the current organizations operation never ends and continues to benefit but there is no ending! In summation, a project is something new, a product, a new service, a new software system that is being developed, a new method of doing something. You should be able to describe the features of the project thoroughly otherwise you will face a lot of problems as you go through the development of the project.

Most project management books and even the PMI institute require you to go through a tedious process of defining every single aspect of the project. This can be noted as a product description. This is crucial although a lot of poorly structured organizations neglect to this. I say, even if it is a small project, you should write a summary in one page outlining what the project entails and what the client requires. If a client asks you to develop a legal management system, they are just stating in the vaguest form that this is what the project is. But really, what do they want in their legal management system? What features are there? What functions are crucial to their business operation? The second question you might want to ask yourself is the product scope. This is where it might get confusing. I will explain it more thoroughly with the same example so you can follow through. Esentially, the scope defines what the limitations of the product are with respect to what you are offering and also what the client is expecting. Lets leave this as food for thought and start exploring it step by step.