A project is a series of tasks or jobs that are related to each other and directed toward a common goal or output. Projects usually require a significant time commitment, and tend to be handled by groups of workers. The employees at Craft Construction, a small business that deals with complete remodeling and some small commercial buildings, generally divide into groups of two or three workers per project. The number of employees assigned to a job usually depends on the size of the project. For each project, a project manager and a lead carpenter are assigned to handle most of the work. Project scheduling is different for every job. Smaller jobs require less planning because there is not as much that goes into them. Larger projects that may take months or years tend to be more involved, and therefore require more planning. These jobs tend to have more unseen problems which lead to rescheduling and incurring more costs. Mr. Kevin Hollmann, an employee of Craft, believes that the smaller projects are the ones where more money can be made. He said this because the time necessary for planning is much less and, overall, the time on the project is less, which keeps labor costs low. This allows for a bigger profit for the company. Businesses that allow poorly planned projects to proceed are only wasting resources and placing their employees in danger. Projects can fail for a number of reasons, but the main one is insufficient planning. Planning is essential for project scheduling. It is believed that the process of planning is more important than the resulting plan. Projects involve coordinating resources such as labor, materials, equipment, and many other things, so that everything can be done at the proper time, allowing the task to be completed on time. Before any work can occur, and before any scheduling can occur, planning must be done. One tool that assists management in planning and budgeting is the work breakdown structure.
