ACCA SBL Syllabus H. Innovation, Performance Excellence & Change Management - What is a Project - Notes 1 / 12
A project has: A beginning and an end
It also has
Goals
Cost, time and scope constraints
Resources are the money, facilities, supplies, services and people allocated to the project
So how is a process different from 'ordinary work'?

| Projects | Ordinary work |
|---|---|
| A defined beginning and end | On-going |
| Have resources allocated specifically to them | Resources used 'full-time' |
| Are intended to be done only once | A mixture of many recurring tasks |
| Follow a plan towards a clear intended end-result | Goals and deadlines are more general |
| Often cut across organisational and functional lines | Usually follows the organisation or functional structure |
Common examples of projects include:
Producing a new product or service
Changing the structure of an organisation
Developing a new information system
Implementing a new business procedure or process
Time:
Consists of two elements including the project completion date and available man hours.
Scope:
Comprises of the tasks that need to be performed and the levels of quality expected of the outcome.
Cost:
The available budget for project completion and the value added generated through the outcome.
Managing Project Risk
This, therefore, basically refers to the management of the 3 constraints.
So you are looking for these constraints to be:
- Well Defined (at the beginning)
- Well Understood (Particularly if the project is complex)
- Well Measured (Particularly if the project is large)
Clearly the less well defined, more complex and large the project - the more risk is involved
Risk management involves keeping a close eye on the constraints from beginning to end and taking appropriate corrective action wherever necessary
All projects incur risks which include cost over-run, missed deadlines, poor quality, disappointed customers and business disruption.
Time Risks:
The risk of not completing the project within the deadline and/or within the time available;
Scope Risks:
The risk of not meeting the specifications and quality levels expected by the customers;
Cost Risks:
The risk of exceeding the budgeted cost of the project or of not achieving the desired value added following the completion of the project;
Even the basic structure of the project plan is uncertain.