An additional requirement would be the quality of work. No doubt, Taj Mahal
and the Great Pyramid were built from durable material, but modern visitors are still
impressed with the quality of the original finish. Going to outer space leaves little
room for equipment breakdowns! The result of quality electronic components, in the
1960s and 1970s – through high quality, reliability and miniaturization – has
transcended to the development of desktop and laptop computers, etc. (cf. the first
computer ENIAC, built in 1945, which occupied a few rooms).
22.2 What Is a Project? What Is Management?
22.2.1 Project Definition
The day you invite people to a wedding or the day you receive 20 persons for tea,
both have something in common. They are unusual events for you, when you will be
involved in activities, which may begin, much before the actual day, but must finish
by a given deadline, if you do not wish to appear embarrassed. In fact, for you, these
are projects. You will be proud if you find that all the planning that you carried out,
did, after all, ensure that there were no delays, no extra costs and that your guests
were satisfied with the welcome/service they experienced.
Tea making is commonplace for many people, but not when it comes to inviting
20 persons. Here, the sheer volume involved requires a heavier outlay than in
everyday life.
There are many definitions of a project:
(1) A coordinated set of activities using financial resources to produce capital assets
that provide benefits over a long time period.
(2) An activity requiring plans, funding, and implementation as a unit, where money
is spent in anticipation of benefits.
More generally, a project comprises several investment packages, based on
policies, institutional and other strategies aiming to accomplish definite development
goals within a given time period.
A project will usually comprise several or all these five components:
(a) investment in capital assets: civil works, equipment, etc.
(b) procurement of consultancy services for engineering and design, procurement of
supervision services for the construction, and enhancement of operations and
maintenance
(c) reinforcement of local institutions in relation to implementation and project
operation, training of personnel
(d) policy improvements (e.g. cost recovery, pricing, subsidies) that influence project performance and the interactions of the project both within its own sector,
and within the wider national development goals
(e) an implementation plan for the components above.
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22 Infrastructure Implementation
and the Great Pyramid were built from durable material, but modern visitors are still
impressed with the quality of the original finish. Going to outer space leaves little
room for equipment breakdowns! The result of quality electronic components, in the
1960s and 1970s – through high quality, reliability and miniaturization – has
transcended to the development of desktop and laptop computers, etc. (cf. the first
computer ENIAC, built in 1945, which occupied a few rooms).
22.2 What Is a Project? What Is Management?
22.2.1 Project Definition
The day you invite people to a wedding or the day you receive 20 persons for tea,
both have something in common. They are unusual events for you, when you will be
involved in activities, which may begin, much before the actual day, but must finish
by a given deadline, if you do not wish to appear embarrassed. In fact, for you, these
are projects. You will be proud if you find that all the planning that you carried out,
did, after all, ensure that there were no delays, no extra costs and that your guests
were satisfied with the welcome/service they experienced.
Tea making is commonplace for many people, but not when it comes to inviting
20 persons. Here, the sheer volume involved requires a heavier outlay than in
everyday life.
There are many definitions of a project:
(1) A coordinated set of activities using financial resources to produce capital assets
that provide benefits over a long time period.
(2) An activity requiring plans, funding, and implementation as a unit, where money
is spent in anticipation of benefits.
More generally, a project comprises several investment packages, based on
policies, institutional and other strategies aiming to accomplish definite development
goals within a given time period.
A project will usually comprise several or all these five components:
(a) investment in capital assets: civil works, equipment, etc.
(b) procurement of consultancy services for engineering and design, procurement of
supervision services for the construction, and enhancement of operations and
maintenance
(c) reinforcement of local institutions in relation to implementation and project
operation, training of personnel
(d) policy improvements (e.g. cost recovery, pricing, subsidies) that influence project performance and the interactions of the project both within its own sector,
and within the wider national development goals
(e) an implementation plan for the components above.
624
22 Infrastructure Implementation