What is the difference between project and non project work?

Answer 1

A non-project is not defined as a once-off or non-repeated set of activities, and thus usually does not have a time restraint on the set of specific deliverables. A non-project rarely implies the implementation of something new or a specific objective derived change. If a set of deliverables are to be repeated on a regular or semi-regular basis, then it is rather viewed as a non-project, in other words a day-to-day management concern. Non-projects rarely have a resistance to change from various stakeholders, and will be more likely to influence the culture of the organisation, rather than the organisational culture influencing the set of tasks, which is the case in a project. A non-project will have at least two of the three key dimensions of time, budget and quality of a project, the specific dimension depending to a large extent on what the execution of the set of deliverables entails. The set of objectives will therefore determine the priority of the dimensions. A fourth dimension however comes into play, the dimension of continuity. Without continuity, the non-project must be evaluated as a potential once-off or non-repeated set of activities. As most non-project managers fail to understand this concept, many projects are registered incorrectly, and the initiation of the set of tasks should imply continuity of the tasks after initiation. This immediately differentiates the non-project from the project.

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