I see every day more and more people trying their hand at becoming project managers. You may be applying to several project management openings and you’ve been giving it your all, but despite your best efforts, you just can’t find a Project management job.
Well, the most likely reason is that you are applying to the wrong types of project jobs. It is very important for you to identify which types of projects are suitable for you and focus on gaining work experience on such projects.
I started my project management journey thirteen years ago. And it really has changed my life in a number of ways. I could imagine there’s a lot of advice out there on the topic but today I wanted to discuss major types of projects in different industries. And remember these are lesser-known insights. I’ve picked up this knowledge over my decade of experience while working in the Project Management industry (PMI).
What is Project?
Okay, so the first and most obvious thing that every project is unique and no two projects are ever exactly alike.A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to achieve a particular aim in a certain duration.It has a definite start and end date. Also, it has pre-defined scope with given constraints.
Types of Project
Basically, a Project can be of different types with unique goals and outputs. The majority of professional Projects can be classified under 5 main categories.
That Construction projects, Manufacturing Projects, Management Projects, IT Projects, and Research Projects
1.Construction types
Construction types of projects mainly belong to infrastructure projects. These kinds of projects are usually of long duration and have a high monetary value. The Construction Project category can be further broken down into Infrastructural Projects, Structural Projects, Pre- Engineering Projects, and Land Scaping Projects.
Infrastructural Projects are highways, bridges, tunnels, dams, Oil, and Gas refinery projects, Hydroelectricity Power station, water supply project, stadium, buildings, shopping malls, and so on.
In fact, I started my project management career with a construction project in oil & gas industry. And trust me that was a lifetime experience of learning and having lots of fun while working on a project.
2. Manufacturing Projects
The next category is manufacturing projects. These types of projects are related to the manufacturing of new products.
Once the prototype is developed, the product goes into the production line and becomes the part of company’s operation.
So, let’s assume you are working development of the tesla S model car design. And that is called a manufacturing project. However, once the final prototype moves for production, it becomes operations. Other examples of manufacturing projects are cellphones, laptops, shoes, cosmetics, and so on.
3. Management Projects
Well moving on to the next category and That is managing projects. These types of projects are mainly related to consulting services or team management. These types of projects do not produce any physical or tangible outcome. However, in the service industry, you will find the majority of projects belong to this category.
Some good examples are marketing Campaigns, Engineering, design, and supply chain management.
4. Information Technology Projects
The fourth category is for IT projects. These types of projects are related to the information technology and software industry.
IT projects include projects like Software Development, Technology Installation, Web Development, Technology Installation, Cybersecurity Cloud Computing, Maintenance, and Support
5. Research Projects
The Fifth category is for research projects. These kinds of projects are scientific in nature. Usually, these types of projects continue for a longer duration. In fact, many projects last more than a decade. Like Brain vision project, Temporal invisibility cloak, Nano rockets, or Growing food in microgravity.
Other types of projects
Well as of now we have categorized projects based on final outcome or product. However, there are other important parameters that can be used to categorize the types of projects. These are
- Based on the project duration
- Based on project investment value
- Based on project ownership
- Based on the contract agreement
- Based on the Project Site
Project-based on Duration
Based on the timeline, projects can be categorized into three groups that is long-term, medium-term, and short-term. The long-term project is usually more than 7 years of duration. Medium Term project ranges between 4-7 years and short-term project are less than 4 years. However, there is no hard and fast rule for durations.
These ranges may vary from one industry to another industry.
Projects based on investment value
Based on monetary value, projects can be categorized into three groups, that is High value, medium Value, and low-value projects.
High-Value projects are usually more than 200m$. The medium-value project ranges between 80-200m$ years and Low-value projects are usually less than 80m$.
However, these ranges may vary from one industry to another industry. Also, sometimes these boundaries are defined by local government or policymakers.
Projects based on Ownership
Based on project ownership, projects can be categorized into public projects, private projects, and public-private partnership projects.
Public projects are funded, owned, and operated by the government for the public interest. For example, roads, dams, power plants, public Schools, government hospitals, and so on.
Private projects are funded, owned, and operated by individuals, groups, or private organizations for commercial purposes.
For example, like retails shops, hotels, sole enterprises, small and medium businesses, and multinational companies.
public-private partnership projects or also known as PPP projects are mutually funded, owned, and operated by the government and public sectors. These are generally long-term projects and work through a different mode. Commonly adopted models of PPPs include Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Own-Operate (BOO), Build-Operate-Lease-Transfer (BOLT), Design-Build-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT), Lease-Develop-Operate (LDO), Operate-Maintain-Transfer (OMT), etc.
Some worldwide famous examples of PPP projects are Shandong Ecological Afforestation Project, Global Water Security, and Sanitation Project, Dulles Greenways, and Route 91 Express Lanes.
Project Based on Type of Contract
Projects can also be categorized based on the types of contracts signed with clients. Remembers, for any project, there is always a contract that dictates the terms and conditions of the agreement between owner and contractor. Mainly there are three types of bilateral contracts: Cost reimbursable (or Cost Plus), Fixed price, and Time and Material contracts.
Cost reimbursable (or Cost Plus) Cost reimbursable (CR) contract, involves a payment-based contractor’s actual costs as well as a fee or incentive for meeting or exceeding project objectives. Therefore, the owner or client bears the highest cost risk.
Fixed Price Contracts Fixed price (FP) contracts (also called lump-sum contracts) involve a predetermined fixed price for the product and are used when the product is well-defined. Therefore, the seller bears a higher burden of the cost risk than the buyer.
Time and material (T&M) contracts (sometimes called Unit Price Contracts) contain characteristics of both fixed price and cost-reimbursable contracts and are generally used for small project cost amounts. These contracts may be priced on a per-hour or per-item basis (fixed price) but the total number of hours or items is not determined (open-ended cost-type arrangements like CR contracts). T&M contracts are often used for staff augmentation, acquisition of experts, and any outside support when a precise statement of work cannot be quickly prescribed.
Projects based on site
Based on Site projects can be categorized into two groups. That are brownfield and greenfield projects. Also, depending on the type of sites the project management approach varies. You cannot apply the same management style to both types of projects.
Greenfield is a commonly used word to describe a new project. A greenfield project is one that lacks constraints imposed by prior work on the site. Typically, a greenfield project means development on a completely vacant site.
A greenfield project is constructed on unused land where there is no need to remodel or demolish an existing structure. Some examples of greenfield projects are new factories, new power plants, or airports that are built from scratch. Building a ship is a good example of a greenfield project. For the software industry, this could be like developing a new website or new software from scratch.
Brownfield projects refer to projects of expansion or revamping or services on an existing facility. A brownfield project is one that carries constraints related to the current state of the site. It is a property that is either contaminated or that people think might be contaminated. Common examples of brownfields include the refurbishment of power plants, expansions of school buildings, and road or bridge extensions. For the software industry, this could be like developing a new website or new software from scratch.
Types of Project & Project Management Jobs
So, these are the mainly used and major types of the project, you will encounter in your project management career.
But the question is that why do you even care about types of projects.
Well, project management is a vast industry. You can be Project Manager of any type of projects you like but you can’t become project manager of every type of projects.
So, its very important for you to identify which types of projects is suitable for you and focus of gaining work experience on such projects. That is why you will notice, that you apply of various project management roles, but don’t get the job. This is prime reason for your rejection. You may be applying to wrong types of project’s roles.
How to Identify types of Project?
So how to identify the types of projects?
Well, it’s not that difficult to correctly identify the right category of projects. You need to simply map the earlier discussed criteria with the available project information. Let’s take an example.
Let’s say through the news you found that recently US government has sanctioned a turnkey contract of 98mn$ to make another steel bridge on the Mississippi river in Louisiana.
So, remember, earlier we have identified several criteria for grouping projects. These are the final product, Duration, investment value, ownership, contract agreement, and project site.
Your product is a bridge. So, it means that it’s as infrastructure. Since it’s a bridge over the Mississippi river, definitely, it would be a huge one and it will take multiple years to construct that bridge. So, it’s medium a duration project. And since the investment is around 100mn, so it’s a medium-value project. Since it is sponsored by the US government, so is a public project. And the signed contract is a turnkey type, so its a fixed contract. Also, it’s a new bridge to a new location, basically it’s a greenfield project.
So in brief, the project can be categorized as a medium-value greenfield infrastructure public project.
Conclusion
And now you know all about the types of projects and how to categorize them. Hope this was helpful and wish you a wonderful project management journey.
So, whether you are preparing for any types of project meetings , or working on some complex types of project management tools. This article will help you a lot. type of meet
Which types of projects you are working? Let us know in the comments!
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See you later. bye for now!!
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