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Project vs process – many people confuse one for the other, or may even be unaware there’s a difference! For many people, there is an unaware mix-up between a project vs a process. While they do share commonalities and are both popular practices implemented in everyday business, they are in fact, two very different methods of operations.<\/strong><\/p>\n This article will help you understand the two practices better by describing what they each entail and their distinct purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n Here are some of the things you’ll learn from this article:<\/p>\n Simply put, a process is a set procedure that involves a sequence of steps that need to be taken in order to produce a result, whereas a project is a temporary course of action that aims to deliver a distinctive product, service, or result.<\/span><\/p>\n Further details to know whether something is a project vs a process:<\/p>\n Led by a <\/span>project manager<\/span><\/a> and conducted by a <\/span>project team<\/span><\/a>, a project is a collection of tasks that have to be accomplished in order to achieve a goal. It includes a scope, fixed timeline, <\/span>project plan<\/span><\/a>, and resources. It’s something that generally hasn\u2019t been done before within an institution and is often implemented to administer change.<\/span><\/p>\n Project management<\/a> is the practice of organizing and delivering a project. Project procedure is reflected through the project life cycle, which is comprised of <\/span>five phases<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n The first phase is the conception stage, where the ideas get explored, the research gets done, and possibilities are decided. This all helps to determine whether a project is feasible enough to actually happen.<\/span><\/p>\n The second phase is where you consider stakeholder concerns and requirements, come up with a goal, bring a project team together, and create a project plan.<\/span><\/p>\n This phase is where the project team start to create deliverables and attempts to achieve the objectives set out in the project plan. Processes are implemented, resources are allocated, and tasks are assigned.<\/span><\/p>\n The fourth project management phase focuses on performance and progress tracking. Measures are established to ensure everything is on track to meet the deadline and keep within budget.<\/span><\/p>\n The final phase is where all activities across the project come to a conclusion. Both successful and failed projects must close. Administration tasks are resolved and finalized and an evaluation is conducted to improve future endeavours.<\/span><\/p>\n A <\/span>process<\/span><\/a> is an established, repeatable procedure used for internal business purposes. It involves a series of tasks that are related to one another and are required to be carried out in order to achieve a result.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n An important element of company knowledge, processes make up a lot of day-to-day business operations. For instance, the HR department has a process in place for <\/span>hiring new candidates<\/span><\/a> and the development team have one for <\/span>prioritizing feature requests<\/span><\/a>. A flowchart is a common way to visualize a process.<\/span><\/p>\n The purpose of a process is to serve business objectives that provide customer value. They should be regularly evaluated and improved so that business standards can be refined.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In his book, <\/span>High Performance Through Business Management: Strategy Execution in a Digital World<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Mathias Kirchmer describes three types of processes:<\/span><\/p>\n The difference between a project and a process is how often you repeat it. Projects are one-off instances, whereas processes are regularly repeated. If a certain project template is repeated a few times over, it should then warrant process status.<\/span><\/p>\n Another varying factor is the goals that are set. A project\u2019s goal is for it to succeed. You want to get it over the finish line on time and within budget. Because projects are usually one-time endeavours, a lot of planning has to go into them and there is often a huge risk involved. Project teams spend their time ensuring the project gets delivered while minimizing the risks.<\/span><\/p>\n In comparison, when undertaking a process, the focus is more on optimization. There is little to no risk involved in processes (after all, there\u2019s a reason why it became a standardized process), which is why the main objective is usually to refine it. The more you work on something, the easier it is to fine-tune. There is always room for improvement when it comes to factors such as cost and time.<\/span><\/p>\n As mentioned at the beginning of the article, projects and processes share commonalities. Perhaps the biggest is that they are both comprised of tasks that need to be achieved. The fact that both create and comprise of tasks is probably the main source of confusion for this topic. I get it, if you’re assigned a task, your aim is to simply get it done. Whether it’s part of a project or process doesn’t always affect what you personally have to do.<\/span><\/p>\n You can also find projects and processes within each other. <\/span><\/p>\n If you think about it, a project itself is a process. The phases of the project management life cycle follow a series of stages that are required to be completed. <\/span>Project management methodologies<\/span><\/a> are also akin to processes. A methodology is a system of practices and rules used to carry out a project with popular examples being <\/span>Kanban<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Waterfall<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Lean practices<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Processes may entail mini-projects. For example, an opening of a big branded store, let\u2019s say Apple, is something that has happened more than a few times, so it\u2019s assumed that the company follows a process when doing so. However, setting up a shop in a new location can be considered a project as leasing property in different locations requires various procedures and regulations to follow. Quality, time, and cost come into play, and there\u2019s risk involved.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nProject vs Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nWhat Is a Project?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\nWhat Is a Process?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nDifferent Types of Processes<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\nWhat Is the Difference Between a Project and a Process?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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