To understand project management, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of what a project is. A project exists to achieve some goal and once that goal has been achieved the project is finished. Projects do not carry on indefinitely; they have a start, a life-time, and an end. Projects can range from such challenging undertakings as sending a person to the Moon to more everyday tasks such as building a house. A complex project may involve thousands of people working over a number of years to achieve a goal; a simple project may involve only a single person working for a short time.

Project management involves organizing the actions needed to achieve the project goal. The two primary aspects of project management are project planning and project tracking. Project planning involves defining how you will achieve the goal, including listing the specific tasks required...