Back in 2012, during the early days of my apprenticeship, I was working a freezing night shift at Finsbury Park depot. We were out there fixing track under floodlights, and I remember pointing into the dark and asking my team leader, "Why don't we ever work on those tracks over there?" He replied, "Because there's a contractor delivering a project to improve the platforms."

That was the first time in my life I heard the word "project" used in a way that didn't mean a school assignment or a group task in college. It stuck with me. I was curious, what did he mean by "project"? What made it different from the work we were doing that night?

That one moment sparked an obsession. Since then, I've spent years working on projects, leading them, and thinking deeply about how they work. And yet, looking back, I realise something: we often treat the word "project" as something universally understood, like everyone's on the same page. But in reality, even today, I still find that people interpret it differently. That lack of shared understanding? It's a real-world constraint that causes genuine issues.

Why Understanding Projects vs BAU Matters

In organisations, the term 'project' gets used a lot, but not everyone understands what it actually means. This can cause confusion, particularly when the same people are asked to work on both projects and their regular day jobs. I've lost count of how many times I've been in a meeting where the word "project" meant five different things to five different people. It's no surprise that things slip through the cracks before we even get going. In industries like engineering and infrastructure, where complexity is high, that confusion can slow things down or lead to delivery risks.

What Is a Project? A Clear Definition

So let's break it down: what is a project? Put simply, a project is a temporary piece of work designed to create a unique outcome. It has a defined start and finish, uses specific resources, and results in a change or transformation.

By contrast, Business as Usual (BAU) is the ongoing work that keeps services and operations running smoothly. It's about maintaining the current state, not changing it.

Key Characteristics of a Project

A project typically:

Has a defined start and finish, and is temporary by nature
Seeks to achieve a specific objective, delivering a unique product, service, or outcome
Utilises dedicated resources such as people, materials, and funding
Drives change, evolving ideas into tangible realities and representing an investment opportunity with potential benefits or returns

These characteristics align with definitions from the Association for Project Management (APM) and the Project Management Institute (PMI). The APM Body of Knowledge (7th Ed.) reflects these as fundamental project principles: change, temporariness, cross-functionality, and uncertainty. The PMI's PMBOK Guide (7th Ed.) adds a modern perspective by framing projects around value delivery and outcome-orientation, recognising that in today's dynamic environments, adaptability and purpose matter more than rigid checklists.

Real-World Examples: Projects vs Business as Usual

To illustrate the difference:

A project might be designing and constructing a new railway station. It's a time-bound initiative with specific objectives, dedicated resources, and it results in something new that didn't exist before.

Business as Usual (BAU), by contrast, is the routine operation of that railway station once it's open. That means things like running daily train services, performing regular maintenance, and managing passenger operations.

The same applies in other industries. For example, launching a new digital banking app is a project, but once it's live, handling customer support and maintaining the app is BAU.

This distinction helps clarify when work is about creating change versus when it's about sustaining the status quo.

Managing the Overlap: When Teams Work on Both Projects and BAU

In many organisations, the same people work across both projects and BAU. For example, a maintenance engineer might spend part of their time supporting a project to introduce new equipment, then return to routine inspections and repairs. This dual role is common but it requires awareness of when the mindset and approach need to shift.

Without that awareness, there's a risk that project work is treated with the same urgency (or lack thereof) as BAU, leading to delays or misaligned priorities. I've fallen into this trap myself, assuming everyone understood the shift needed between maintenance mode and transformation mode. In hindsight, clear communication about which hat people are wearing makes all the difference.

The stakes are higher than we often realise: when BAU and project work get blurred, progress stalls. But when people are clear on what they're delivering (change or maintenance) they perform better and feel less overwhelmed.

Key Takeaways

A project is a temporary endeavour that delivers change. BAU is about maintaining stability
Projects need clear objectives, timeframes, and resources
The same individuals often wear both project and BAU hats, but the mindset must adapt
Clarity on whether work is a project or BAU helps set expectations and ensures the right governance is in place

If people know when they're contributing to a project, they can approach it with the right level of focus and urgency. That alone can be the difference between delivering something valuable and getting stuck in the day-to-day. It's a simple distinction, but getting it right? That's what helps us make things happen.

References

Association for Project Management (2019). Body of Knowledge, 7th Edition
Project Management Institute (2021). PMBOK Guide, 7th Edition

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What is a Project and How is it Different from Business as Usual?