A project is a temporary undertaking that produces a defined output — a system, a report, a deliverable — within a bounded scope, budget, and timeframe. Its success has traditionally been judged against the iron triangle: on time, on budget, to scope.
A project is the smallest of the three delivery units. It sits beneath a program, which coordinates several projects toward a benefit, and a portfolio, which ranks all programs and projects against strategy. Running a program as if it were one large project is a common error, because it manages delivery while leaving no one accountable for the benefit.
