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Picking up where we left off from the last post (An Intro to Management), we will discuss what a project is all about this time.
Hariagung (2003) defined projects as “suatu tugas yang terarah ke suatu sasaran yang harus diselesaikan dalam kurun waktu tertentu dengan menggunakan tenaga manusia terbatas dengan menggunakan alat-alat terbatas pula dan sedemikian rumit dan barunya sehingga diperlukan suatu jenis pimpinan dan bentuk kerjasama yang berlainan dari yang biasa dilakukan.” (more or less: “a complex and relatively new task to complete an objective using limited manpower and tools, thus requiring a special kind of leadership and coordination”)
Husen (2009) refers to projects as “gabungan dari sumber-sumber daya (manusia, material, peralatan, dan modal/biaya) yang dihimpun dalam sebuah wadah organisasi sementara untuk mencapai tujuan/sasaran.” (a composition of resources (manpower, materials, tools, and funds/costs) within a temporary coordinating institution to achieve a goal)
Nurhayati came up with a couple of definitions in her 2010 volume: “suatu usaha/aktivitas yang kompleks, tidak rutin, dibatasi oleh waktu, anggaran, sumber daya, dan spesifikasi kinerja yang dirancang untuk memenuhi kebutuhan konsumen.” (a complex, irregular activity limited by constraints in time, funds, resources, and performance, designed to meet costumer requirements) and “suatu upaya atau aktivitas yang diorganisasikan untuk mencapai tujuan, sasaran dan harapan-harapan penting dengan menggunakan anggaran dana serta sumber daya yang tersedia, yang harus diselesaikan dalam jangka waktu tertentu.” (an organized activity to achieve important goals using available resources within a certain amount of time)
From what the three authors have said, we can safely conclude that a project is a complex activity, planned/designed in such a way to achieve certain goals within a limited amount of time, resources, and specified performance.
Project Characteristics
- A project has a goal;
- A project has a beginning and an end;
- Involves various departments from various professional backgrounds;
- An irregular activity;
- Specific in time, costs/funding, and performance/specifications
Although there are thousands of kinds of projects, we can sort them into two categories: physical (manufacture, construction, etc.), and non-physical projects (managerial services, research and development, event organizing, etc.)
Next, we put the two words (“management” and “project”) together, and discuss about “Project Management”
