What I am saying is that some sort of "Vehicle" should be used to create or change a "System" ....to move it from one state to another state. Accordingly, a Vehicle manages the transition of a System from an existing state to the required state.

For example this is the sort vehicle/system relationship that can occur:

• Upgrading an IT system.
• Implementing a financial management system.
• Moving an organisation to a new location.
• Buying an existing business.
• Developing a new product.
• Building new facilities.

So it is the classic "verb - noun" arrangement where the vehicle performs the "verb" and the system is the "noun".

So ... what is a project?

Well... I say a project contains two elements - the system to be changed or created and the vehicle used to make that change or creation happen. Oh yes ... the Vehicle must have a start and finish point, and yes it is about reducing risk and all those other very robust elements. But at the end of the day, a project is there to make change happen to a system of some sort. To move something from one state to another state. And to do all of this it needs the two elements - vehicle and system.

Looking deeper into this arrangement:

• Resources including finances are allocated to the Vehicle...... to create or change the System within an agreed timeline and financial budget.

• The Vehicle is managed in accordance with the requirements of the project management organisation ...... but the System is created or changed in accordance with the customer's requirements.

So the purpose of a project is both what the vehicle does and what the system is which means it is both verb and noun.

The next step is to understand how we allocate Vehicles to System change or creation.  This will have a fundamental impact on how we manage a program of projects, particularly a rolling program of projects.