A project management team leader is responsible for many things. One of the first things he or she has to do is to set up a systematic procedure to accomplish the project goal. This procedure or set of procedures is known as a technique. A technique, in turn, is comprised of a series of smaller processes.
The primary focus of the project management team should always be to produce the desired result. That result will vary from project to project and in some cases it will change based on customer needs and desires. Usually that result is one of three things:
1) A product. This is either a physical product, such as machinery or software, or an intellectual product, such as a book or other text.
2) A service.
3) A specific response to supplied input.
The technique used will vary based on the other resources available. The project management structure will encompass and define human resources, software, hardware, facilities, time, and financial resources. The technique will be defined by comparison and analysis of these resources in application to the project goal.
This term is defined in the 3rd and the 4th edition of the PMBOK.