What is a Project?

• It’s a temporary group activity designed to produce a unique product, service or result.
• A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.
• And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies.
• The development of software for an improved business process, the construction of a building or bridge, the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of sales into a new geographic market — all are projects.
• And all must be expertly managed to deliver the on-time, on-budget results, learning and integration that organizations need.

Source: http://www.pmi.org/About-Us/About-Us-What-is-Project-Management.aspx