The Preface of Nigel Smith's treatise says all his authors consider that "a project can be any activity that has an identifiable beginning and end and a specific aim or purpose" (Smith, Engineering xi). The book's emphasis is "in the chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical disciplines" (Smith, Engineering xi), which helps; because the "any activity" definition subsumes both a weekend solitaire game and Tuesday's dinner. It is worth noting: Each of Smith's authors has at least one degree in civil engineering (Smith, Engineering xiv-xvii).
Stephen Wearne's introduction to projects and project management is far more direct: "A project can be any new structure, plant, process, system or software, large or small, or the replacement, refurbishing, renewal or removal of an existing one" (Wearne, "1. Projects" 3). Also, a project represents an investment of resources--an opportunity cost realized--to get something else, either a product or a service. "In other words it costs money" (Wearne, "1. Projects" 3-4). There are, in addition to construction (or product) contracts (Berger and Godel), study-and-advise (or purely service) contracts (Badiru). Project management is "the planning, organization, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of all involved to achieve project objectives safely within a defined time, cost and performance" (Wearne, "1. Projects" 4). Construction or product-oriented management from the perspective of a Fresno, CA-based firm, which wishes to manage others' projects, comprises: Bid prints, project schedule and budget, contractor selection, coordination with contractors, supervision of construction and equipment installation, problem resolution, cost tracking, documentation, plant start-up, and [highlighted] responsibility (Ginosko, "Ginosko" 1).
Critical to understanding how projects are managed to fulfillment, i.e., until delivery of the completed product or service to a pl...