SHARE
Facebook X Pinterest WhatsApp

What Is a Business Project?

I know it sounds strange, but a few days ago, one of my small business clients actually asked me, “What is a business project?” I found myself wondering how to answer that. After all, we’re all being bombarded with advice about projects. The media is constantly filled with news of one project or another that…

Published: Mar 16, 2021
Updated: Jul 14, 2022
project-management.com content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

I know it sounds strange, but a few days ago, one of my small business clients actually asked me, “What is a business project?” I found myself wondering how to answer that. After all, we’re all being bombarded with advice about projects. The media is constantly filled with news of one project or another that fails. But they usually talk about major construction or municipal infrastructure projects. And then they try to justify business people learning about project management because of the construction failures.

But they never seem to explain what is a business project.

So in this article, I’m going to try to explain what is a business project and why it is unique from other types of projects. And while I’m at it, I’ll explain where they are the same. First of all, let’s clarify what a project is and then we’ll talk about the specific version.

What is a business project?

A project is a set of tasks. In business planning speak that’s just another way of saying it’s a process or system. However, unlike most business systems one of its key characteristics is that it has a specific beginning and end. Most business systems are permanent. Or at least have some level of permanency to them. A project, on the other hand, is conceived as a temporary endeavor.

The second key characteristic of a project is that of uniqueness. The product is always unique. The specific set of tasks that make up the project, are almost always unique. The tasks may follow a pattern. The tasks may be individually common. However, the arrangement of tasks and something in the tasks will be unique to this project.


READ MORE: 100+ Important Project Management Terms & Concepts to Know


So projects can include such things as building an office building. Or building a house. Or building a bridge. But they can also include such things as designing a rocket ship or a satellite. Or it might include the development of a new drug. Or a new product.

How is a business project different from other projects?

A business project is first of all, a project and therefore, it shares the characteristics of uniqueness and a temporary nature. It also produces a unique product and it may use common tasks.

prepare-for-business-project

The difference lies in the purpose of a business project versus other projects. A business project is a project specifically intended to achieve a business objective. For example, an IS or IT project may have as its objective implementing a new general ledger system. Because it is intended to achieve a business objective (the new general ledger system) it is a business project. A business may decide it needs to reorganize itself. The process of reorganizing is a business project. Or a business may decide it needs to do some marketing. The design and implementation of the marketing campaign is a business project.

There are three basic types of business project. The first is the strategic project. This type of project is focused on achieving objectives determined during the business planning or strategic process. A second type is the operational project. These are projects which are initiated for business reasons other than achieving a strategic objective. For example, a general ledger may have become obsolete. So a business project is initiated in order to implement a new release of the general ledger. The third type is the repeating or operationalized project. These projects run so frequently that much of the regular project planning can be repeated.

Glen Ford is an accomplished project management consultant, trainer and writer. He has over 20 years experience as a project manager in such diverse projects as Construction, IT, Software Development, Marketing and Business Startup. He is a serial entrepreneur who quite literally learned to be an entrepreneur at his great-grandfather’s knee.

To learn more about Project Management, check out TechRepublic Academy.

thumbnail Project-Management.com

We are dedicated to provide articles, detailed project management software reviews, PM book reviews, training and course reviews, and the latest news for the most popular web-based collaboration tools.

Recommended for you...

Leadership in Project Management: Why It Is an Essential Skill
Technical Project Manager (TPM) vs Project Manager (PM)
Bradon Matthews
Oct 15, 2024
How AI Is Changing Project Management: Uses, Impacts, & Trends
Bradon Matthews
Sep 27, 2024
Elements of Risk Management: Everything You Need to Know
Matt Klein
Sep 9, 2024
project-management.com Logo

project-management.com is dedicated to providing modern tools, latest news, and best practice references for every project professional and business organization. The discipline of project management has continued to receive growing interest and attention over the past decades. Especially today, the importance and relevance of the project manager for any kind of undertaking is unquestionable. However, the challenges of modern society, business relationships and latest technology are also testing their competency and ability to deliver successful projects. Since its launch in 2001, PMcom has been featuring pertinent articles, management software and productivity tool reviews, books, interviews, training sites and other e-learning resources to help people be more productive and successful in their chosen path.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.