Not all projects are created equal. There are large projects and small projects, complex projects and simple projects, short-term projects and long-term projects, top secret projects and open source projects

By Colleen Garton and Erika McCulloch

Editor's Note: This article is excerpted from chapter 3 of Fundamentals of Technology Project Management, by Colleen Garton and Erika McCulloch.

The list could go on and on. There are many different perspectives on which projects belong in which categories. If a company usually works on projects with a duration of three to six months, it would consider a year-long project to be long-term. An organization such as NASA would likely consider a year-long project short-term. A long-term project for them might be twenty or thirty years! Complexity is also subjective. What one company would consider complex another may consider simple. For these reasons, I am not going to try to specify what these terms mean. Each company will have its own definition for these terms and their meaning within the organization. If you are starting a new job as a project manager, you will need to ask for clarification on the terminology used within the organization. That way you can be sure that you are using the correct terminology and categorization for projects.