Project Planning

• Both short-term and long-term projects require planning, but long-term projects are more likely to be planned out entirely ahead of time, including contingency strategies. Long-term projects are more likely to be complicated in nature and require extensive planning. Because the business climate and the goals of a short-term project are unlikely to evolve during the project, it is typically unnecessary to have a backup plan for this type of project.
  
  

Work Methods

• Typically you would complete the work required for a short-term project all at one time. Work on long-term projects may be interspersed with work on various short-term projects. Alternatively, long-term projects may be your only focus for weeks or months at a time. Long-term projects may be completed by more than one person or department working in cooperation. This is more likely with long-term projects than with short-term projects, although cooperative work can apply to any type of project.
  
  

Project Completion

• Long-term projects may be broken down into sections, with several smaller, intermediate goals leading to one primary goal. Short-term projects typically have one goal, and all work is completed to accomplish this overreaching goal. In addition, short-term projects typically have a defined end date or way to establish that the project has been completed. Long-term projects may lack this, and the ways to mark completion of the project have to be defined as the project progresses.
  
  

Project Evaluation

• Short-term projects are usually evaluated after completion of the project, whereas long-term projects may be evaluated while the project is under way. This allows strategies to change if the project is not going as originally planned or if the evaluation results show other types of work are necessary. Ongoing evaluation is necessary in long-term projects because the business environment may change as the project progresses.