Every project has a set of objectives to meet. These relate to how quickly the project needs to be completed, how much it should cost, and what quality level will be achieved. The project manager is responsible for these once he or she accepts the project.
Before accepting responsibility for a project, the project manager may need to negotiate for resources. Knowing the type of project is the key to this, and the four types of project are described here.
Project Type: Painting by Numbers
This is the most straightforward type of project. The stakeholders all know exactly what needs to be done, and they also how it needs to be done. This type of project tends to move along steadily, and the problems that may arise are usually quite predictable.
An example of “Painting by Numbers” is building a house, where the project manager and his employer have experience in this trade.
The project manager has the least negotiating options with this type of project.
Project Type: Going on a Quest
This type of project is characterized by the stakeholders knowing what they want to achieve, but are not so clear as to how to achieve it. There are typically several strands of the project happening at the same time, which come together to meet certain deadlines. This type of project is common in Research and Development.
For example, NASA was given a brief to put a man on the moon by the end of 1969. When they were asked to do this at first, there was no known way to do it. Separate teams were set up to deal with the rocket, nutrition for the astronauts, and so on.
The project manager can negotiate for resources based on the large number of unknowns.
Project Type: Making a Movie
In this type of project, the methods to be used are known, but the end result is not so clear. This is quite often the case with creative projects, where the final result could be a masterpiece or a flop, hence the title "making a movie". With this type of project, the person with ultimate responsibility needs to be aware of how the end result may not be well liked, even though a standard process has been followed.
Project Type: Walking in the Fog
This is the most difficult type of project. The main stakeholders are not only unclear about how things need to be done, but are also not totally sure about what the end result should be. An example of this type of project is the introduction of a new Business Excellence program such as Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing.
This type of project needs a strong leader, and he must ensure that the project has the complete commitment and support of the senior stakeholders.
Summary of Project Types
There are four basic types of project, that are defined by how much is known about the ultimate goal, and the level of knowledge about how to reach that goal. The project manager will be in a stronger negotiating position for resources by being aware of the type of project being taken on.
References for Project Types
The book Project Management Pathways is a comprehensive guide to many of the aspects of project management. It extends to almost 1,000 pages. The software version of Project Management for Dummies is much shorter.
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