Project vs. Process: What’s the Difference and Which One is Better?
Projects and Process are 2 different ways of organizing your work. There are advocates of both projects and processes as keys to business performance, and there’s been considerable emphasis on project management and process management in recent years. But what exactly is a project vs. a process, and how are these two things different? Which one is better? And what do project and process management involve?
To arrive at the answers, it’s important to understand the definition projects and processes and the unique purposes that they serve within your business.
Project vs. Process Defined
Derek Lidow, an author and professor, has defined projects and processes in an easily understandable way. In his book, Startup Leadership, Lidow says that projects are things that you’ve never done before, whereas processes are things that we do repeatedly. A project is about creating something new or implementing a change, whereas a process is intended to create value by repeatedly performing a task.
In a project, objectives and plans can be changed by the stakeholders that give a project its mandate and resources, along with agreement from the project team. Processes are established procedures for ongoing work, and they can only be changed with planning and investment. In fact, with any process that has a significant impact on a business, a project is ideally required in order to change that process.
You might think of a project as building a custom home or a one of a kind commercial building. And a process might be comparable to an assembly line or a pipeline filled with crude oil.
As a bottom line, projects are intended to create change. In contrast, processes are designed to resist change because they establish a repeatable workflow that should always be followed.
So, if you’re trying to better understand your internal operations, evaluate opportunities for improvement, or implement changes in any aspect of your business, it’s important to ask yourself what you’re dealing with in any given case. Is this a project or is it a process?
If you’re examining a part of your business that is an established, regular procedure, then it’s a process. For example, your sales lead management may involve a process of receiving leads, reviewing, analyzing, and assigning them, and then performing the steps required for follow-up and communication with the prospective customer in order to qualify the lead. From there, your qualified leads may enter your actual sales process, with its own set of steps and actions that your sales team must perform in order to close the sale.
When you’re simply managing and monitoring a process, then you’re engaging in process management. You may be defining the process, controlling it, managing it, measuring results, and reporting on outcomes. But you’re managing the process to ensure that it meets customer requirements profitably and not instituting changes to the process.
In contrast, if you’re looking to change a process in order to optimize and improve it, then this initiative constitutes a project. A project is a temporary initiative with a defined beginning and ending time, along with a defined scope and resources.
In the case of improving a sales lead management process, it may involve evaluating the current process, assessing opportunities for improvement, implementing best practices, installing a new CRM system, and conducting evaluation, training, and follow-up with your sales team.
Creating these changes will require a project with sponsorship, resources, a clear plan, and a systematic approach to implementation and management. This approach involves project management, which is the application of knowledge and resources to develop a project scope and plan that will carry out the required actions and meet or exceed stakeholder requirements.
The Process of Project Management
Project management is a well-established methodology for managing and executing changes within an organization, and you can learn more about project management principles and procedures by visiting the Project Management Institute.
Interestingly, project management itself is a defined, repeatable process. It is a clear methodology and process for managing and executing changes within an organization.
Ultimately, all work involves a process, and project management is no different. Proper project management proceeds according to well-defined principles and procedures for managing organizational changes and new initiatives to a successful conclusion. It is simply a very specific and carefully designed process that is designed to be repeated and executed whenever your business is making a major change and doing something new for the first time.
The process of implementing those changes is called project management, and each change should be managed as a project.
Projects and Processes Are Equally Important
There is no difference in importance between a project and a process. Each plays an important role in achieving important objectives within a business, and you should make sure to use both of them as appropriate. Processes are the ongoing and repeated procedures that help achieve your business goals, while projects are the ways to alter processes, launch new products, or otherwise make changes in your organization that advance your objectives in new ways.
About Keith Norris
Keith C. Norris is an advocate of process improvement, goal planning and a leader of the ‘culture of productivity’ tribe. An author, lifelong entrepreneur, proud husband and father, tandem road cyclist, and ice hockey player, Keith’s day job is CEO of Complete XRM, Inc. (PlanPlus Online). Connect with Keith on LinkedIn.
PlanPlus Online (www.planplusonline.com) formerly owned by FranklinCovey, is a personal productivity system plus customer relationship management (CRM) software tool. Use this link for a free trial of PlanPlusOnline.com