What is a project?

A project is generally defined as a programme of work to bring about a beneficial change and which has:- a start and an end a multi-disciplinary team brought together for the project constraints of cost, time and quality a scope of work that is unique and involves uncertainty Examples of a project:- The development and introduction of a new services The development of a management information system The introduction of an improvement to an existing process Setting up a new care initiative The creation of a large tender or the preparation of a response to it.
The production of a new customer newsletter, catalogue or Web site

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
The temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and end.
The end is reached when the project’s objectives have been achieved or when the project is terminated because its objectives will not or cannot be met, or when the need for the project no longer exists.
Temporary does not necessarily mean short in duration.
Temporary does not generally apply to the product, service, or result created by the project; most projects are undertaken to create a lasting outcome.
For example, a project to build a national monument will create a result expected to last centuries.
Projects can also have social, economic, and environmental impacts that far outlast the projects themselves.
Every project creates a unique product, service, or result.
Although repetitive elements may be present in some project deliverable, this repetition does not change the fundamental uniqueness of the project work.
For example, office buildings are constructed with the same or similar materials or by the same team, but each location is unique—with a different design, different circumstances, different contractors, and so on.

In simple words 'project' can be defined as ' A project is temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.'

The definition provided by Mohammed Ali Matar is the standard definition of a Project provided in the PMBOK.

the project is any product which have customer (the oner) and excute with limit time and buget the owner decide to get produt so ask the excuter to make with limits depend on the onwer views with his conditions and determine time , budget .
the excuter excute the product with his idea wich aggree with owner as above the project has the following attributes
1- idea
2- start date\
3- activities
4- sources ( manpower , designers , HR , managment, tools , matreials , transportation
4- budget5 end date

Hi Mohammed Awwad, Interesting Topic! The word Project comes from the Latin word “Projectum” from the Latin verb “Proicere” which means "Before An Action" A Project in Business and Science is typically defined as a Collaborative Enterprise, Frequently Involving Research or Design, that is Carefully Planned to Achieve a particular Aim.
Projects can be further defined as Temporary rather than Permanent Social Systems that are Organized by Teams within or Across the Organizations to Accomplish particular Tasks under Time Constraints.
The Full Form of PROJECT is: Planning Resource Operation Joint effort Engineering Co-operation Technique

How could you justify a project only by its goal without achieving the purposes for which it was made? Good question that makes each project unique!

Most of the answers are standard PM jargon stuff.
A project is anything that has some sort of an aim and is planned.
For example you go on a road trip, you will plan your jounery accordingly, you will have your budget your time schedule specially if you need to stick to ferries and hotels booked, what to visit and do, your end goal will be getting back home and the scope to visit X Y Z countries on the way and in those countries see A B C, you may skip B if run out of time or budget.
You do this by managing each stages and boundries in this example each country could be a stage or each city in each country/area/state/region.
You have plenty of risks along the way but you cannot start thinking of them after all there is a risk that the world would end no? However if you know that there is a chance of rain then that would be a risk which will result in you not visting what you hand planned or delaying your journey as you will drive much slower.
Once it does start raining it becomes an actuall issue and you now have to decide what to do.
Everyone is a Project Manager without even realising, every person that said I will go in holiday, doing my shopping or I will do this is someone that has a plan and there are certain risks along the way which are managed.
It would be rather hard to do anything if you just lost your airplane going in holiday but since the risk is higher and the issue of losing the plane could be the end of your project you give more time to get to the airport or have travel insurance that will cover your cost or provide you with another sit on another plane.
Reason for project management is because people used to manage projects ad-hoc style.
Living life on a day by day basis is a pretty crappy way of doing things that won't get you very far.
There are plenty of people that don't plan and live life like this, many of those people caused the recession:))) Project Management = Common Sense Project = Aim/Outcome which is planned and managed by stages

It is a potentiality for plan and manage tasks,work,cost and resources.
You should meeting deadline and budgets to choice a right resources.