Projects vs. Products

Projects vs. Products

Projects are the way that most new work gets delivered. All projects have certain characteristics in common.

• They all have a beginning and an end.

• All projects are unique. They may be similar to prior projects but they are unique in terms of timeframes, resources, business environment, etc.

• Projects result in the creation of one or more deliverables.

• Projects also have assigned resources - either full-time, part-time or both.

There are other characteristics as well.

Projects can be managed using a common set of project management processes. In fact, a similar set of project management processes can be utilized regardless of the type of project. For instance, all projects should be defined and planned, and all projects should have processes to manage scope, risk, quality, status, etc.

Products on the other hand, are tangible items that are produced by a project, or perhaps purchased from a vendor. (The vendor would have created the initial product through a project.) Project management can be thought of as a process. A product is delivered by a project. “Product management” is an approach for centrally coordinating the activities surrounding the long-term support and enhancement of a product. The person that executes these responsibilities is called a Product Manager.

The product management process can start during the project that created the product. If you purchased the product, the product management process can begin when the product is purchased, or a little earlier in the product evaluation and selection process.

Product Management

The role of a project manager is to plan and manage a project. The role of a product manager is focused on the long-term support of the product within the organization. The product management role includes the following responsibilities.

• Product Planning

  • Coordinate product issues and all communication as the primary contact with the product vendor

  • Monitor product direction with the vendor and communicate this information to company stakeholders

  • Determine which components of the product should be used in the organization

  • Identify opportunities for use of the product

• Testing

  • Coordinate testing of new products and releases, including coordinating pilots with potential product users

  • Determine when a product is “production-ready” based on testing and pilot projects

  • Coordinate certification of new products and releases

• Financial Management

  • Coordinate negotiation of product contracts, purchase agreements, and maintenance agreements

  • Ensure that budget is available for product purchases and maintenance

  • Determine when to consider canceling or reducing maintenance payments based on product direction

• Product Implementation and Deployment

  • Coordinate development of a product deployment plan

  • Manage and monitor the deployment of the product or new releases

  • Deploy (distribute) the product

  • Track product inventory (where the product has been deployed)

  • Receive ongoing requests from the staff for individual product deployment

  • Integrate and add new products and releases into the architecture

• Product Release Management

  • Decide when to upgrade to a new release

  • Plan and manage new release implementation

  • Ensure new releases get added into the architecture if required

• Product Retirement

  • Determine when product needs to be retired

  • Plan and manage product retirement

  • Retire (uninstall) the product from the environment

  • Ensure product gets removed from the architecture

Weekly Anagram

Let's have some fun! See if you can unravel this anagram. (Anagrams are a word or phrase formed by reordering the letters of another word or phrase, such as satin to stain.)

The original plan (for a project, a work package, or an activity), plus or minus approved changes

LABS APE LINEN: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _

Last Week's Anagram.

The total expenditure for acquiring an asset. The sum of all moneys spent on a project and transferred to the capital account of an organization, usually upon completion

COAL ACT TIPS CAPITAL COST

Wideman Glossary Term of the Week - Key Event Schedule

• A schedule comprised of key events or milestones. These events are generally critical accomplishments planned at time intervals throughout the project and used as a basis to monitor overall project performance. The format may be either network or bar chart and may contain minimal detail at a highly summarized level. This is often referred to as a milestone schedule.