Navegation

Digital EUPM2 Guide

• 1 Introduction
• 2 EU-funding Programs and Projects
• 3 Overview
• 4 Governance and Project Organisation
• 5 Initiating Phase – Activities and Artefacts
• 6 Planning Phase – Activities and Artefacts
• 7 Executing Phase – Activities and Artefacts
• 8 Closing Phase – Activities and Artefacts
• Post-closing obligations
• 9 Monitoring and Control – Activities and Artefacts
• Appendixes

2.5 Characteristics of Projects

A project is a temporary organisational structure set up to create a unique product or service (output) within certain constraints such as time, cost and quality. Projects are ubiquitous in our society today. Projects are present at home, with friends, in the community, in business, in politics as well as in public administration. Here are some key characteristics present in all of them:

• Projects have a strong time dimension and have a start and an end.
• Projects are composed of sets of activities that are performed in a specific order or structure to generate deliverables.
• Projects aim at achieving objectives, that are declared upfront, because of the performed activities and the generated deliverables.
• Projects usually involve many people that need to be organized in teams through clear leadership and with clear assignation of roles and responsibilities. Also, project expectations need to be analysed in detail and adequately managed.
• Projects take place in specific contexts that need to be considered for the project to be successful (political, legal, social, economic, environmental, etc.)
• Projects entail a certain degree of uniqueness, setting them apart from routine or repetitive tasks, avoiding why a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
• Projects work in a constrained environment (limited time, funds, resources, etc.)
• Project face uncertainty and need to deal with risks and opportunities and their potential negative or positive effects.

Simplifying, projects are means for planning and implementing changes in the human world, and this applies to all sectors and forms of human activity.

2.4 PM² advantages in EU-funded projects

2.6 Characteristics of EU-funded Projects