2.5. Project Characteristics in Common : -

Despite the different types and natures of projects we observe in different sectors and in different levels, all of those necessarily reflect a set of common characteristics.

Common Characteristics of all Projects

Objective 
each and every project needs to be guided to achieve an objective or a set of objectives.

Investment  
every project requires certain investment of resources  (money, material, time, information or technology, manpower,etc.)

Space        
Every project needs space be it physical, aerial, aesthetic, political, cultural etc

System      
all projects need to undergo a system of inputs- process - outputs.

Cycle        
every project will have its own phase-based cycle. In other words, every project starts from its identification and ends up with evaluation. Depending upon the type and scale of a project, phases of project cycle may vary from project to project.

Project Cycle Phase : An Example

Project A
Phase I Identification
Phase II Formulation
Phase III Implementation M & E

Project B
Phase I Identification
Phase II Formulation
Phase III Appraisal
Phase IV Implementation M & E

In the above project cycle example, there are only three phases in project ''A'' whereas there are four phases in project ''B''. In other cases there may be many more phases as well. All this largely depends upon the type and nature of a project. However, in general context, we can say that every project will have invariably three phases and they are:

• Pre-project  implementation phase (including all activities starting from project identification to project appraisal);
• Project implementation phase (including monitoring and on-going evaluation; and
• Post-project implementation phase (conducting impact evaluation).