Operational work is NOT a Project !

On-going operational work is not unique and do not have a definite begin and an end. This is in direct contrast to the definition of a PROJECT.

Some examples of on-going operational work:

• selecting suitable candidate from job applications
• assembly line production work
• underwriting insurance cases
• replying to emails in a support or call centre setting
• service counter staffs serving customers day in day out

Notice that on-going operational work produce similar products, i.e. cars and household products in a manufacturing environment.

It is easy to define what is and what is not a project, but there may be grey areas where it may be difficult to distinguish a project from an on-going operation.

Many of today's management philosophies, advocate managing work in manageable chunks, facilitating performance measurements that ties to the bottomline of the organization.

We will talk about how a project team can be organised for success in the next segment of PM 101.