Running head: PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
CC603
ASSIGNMENT 1
PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

Lectures Name : Dr. Khalid Gazi Bin Hj. Ali

Lectures Comments :

Submit date :

26 Jul 2015
Name

No. Matrix

Mohammad Shahrul Hazrin Bin Mahad Hamdi

16DKA13F1119

Marks :%

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Introduction of Project Life Cycle

The project manager and project team have one shared goal: to carry out the
work of the project for the purpose of meeting the projects objectives. Every project
has a beginning, a middle period during which activities move the project toward
completion, and an ending (either successful or unsuccessful). A standard project
typically has the following four major phases (each with its own agenda of tasks and
issues): initiation, planning, execution or implementation, and closure. Taken
together, these phases represent the path a project takes from the beginning to its end
and are generally referred to as the project life cycle.
Project life cycle also have defined phases between the project kickoff and
project closeout. A phase represents a grouping of similar activities that has a very
loosely defined beginning and end. Phases are typically sequential, where the prior
phase is essentially complete before the beginning of the next phase; however,
phases do not have clear-cut end dates and some activities in an early phase of the
project will continue into the later phases. This is in contrast to project beginning and
ending dates and milestone dates, which do have clearly defined dates with the
expectation that these dates will be met.

The Phases of Project Life Cycle

Every project has certain phases of development. A clear understanding of
these phases allows managers and executives to maintain control of the project more
efficiently. By definition, a project has a beginning and an end and passes through
several phases of development known as life cycle phases. These phases are varied

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depending upon the industry involved but all follow the same basic steps. It is
important to realize that the project life cycle for each project may differ, in both the
number of phases it may have and the detail within each of these phases.
The project life cycle consists of four phases, initiation, planning, execution
(including monitoring and controlling) and evaluation. Initiation involves starting up
the project, by documenting a business case, feasibility study, terms of reference,
appointing the team and setting up a Project Office. Planning involves setting out
the roadmap for the project by creating the following plans: project plan, resource
plan, financial plan, quality plan, acceptance plan and communications plan.
Execution involves building the deliverables and controlling the project delivery,
scope, costs, quality, risks and issues. Closure involves winding-down the project by
releasing staff, handing over deliverables to the customer and completing a post
implementation review.

Initiation Phase
During the first of these phases, the initiation phase, the project objective or
need is identified; this can be a business problem or opportunity. An appropriate
response to the need is documented in a business case with recommended solution
options. A feasibility study is conducted to investigate whether each option
addresses the project objective and a final recommended solution is determined.
Issues of feasibility (can we do the project?) and justification (should we do the
project?) are addressed.

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Once the recommended solution is approved, a project is initiated to deliver

the approved solution and a project manager is appointed. The major deliverables
and the participating work groups are identified, and the project team begins to take
shape. Approval is then sought by the project manager to move onto the detailed
planning phase.

Planning Phase
After defining the project and appointing the project team, you're ready to
enter the detailed Project Planning phase. This involves creating a suite of planning
documents to help guide the team throughout the project delivery. Planning involves
identifying and scheduling the work packages or activities necessary to perform the
work; constructing estimates of duration, cost, and resources; developing plans to
ensure quality, manage risks, and control scope; establishing communications and
reporting strategies; acquiring resources, both people and contracts; and integrating
these elements into a comprehensive planning document.
The planning phase is where the project solution is further developed in as
much detail as possible and you plan the steps necessary to meet the projects
objective. In this step, the team identifies all of the work to be done. The projects
tasks and resource requirements are identified, along with the strategy for producing
them. This is also referred to as scope management. A project plan is created
outlining the activities, tasks, dependencies and timeframes. The project manager
coordinates the preparation of a project budget; by providing cost estimates for the
labor, equipment and materials costs. The budget is used to monitor and control cost
expenditures during project execution.

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Execution Phase

During the third phase, the implementation phase, the project plan is put into
motion and the work of the project is performed. It is important to maintain control
and communicate as needed during implementation. Progress is continuously
monitored and appropriate adjustments are made and recorded as variances from the
original plan. In any project, a project manager spends most of the time in this step.
During project implementation, people are carrying out the tasks, and
progress information is being reported through regular team meetings. The project
manager uses this information to maintain control over the direction of the project
by comparing the progress reports with the project plan to measure the performance
of the project activities and take corrective action as needed. The first course of
action should always be to bring the project back on course (i.e., to return it to the
original plan). If that cannot happen, the team should record variations from the
original plan and record and publish modifications to the plan.
Throughout this step, project sponsors and other key stakeholders should be
kept informed of the projects status according to the agreed-on frequency and
format of communication. The plan should be updated and published on a regular
basis.
Status reports should always emphasize the anticipated end point in terms of
cost, schedule, and quality of deliverables. Each project deliverable produced should
be reviewed for quality and measured against the acceptance criteria. Once all of the
deliverables have been produced and the customer has accepted the final solution,
the project is ready for closure.

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Closure Phase

During the final closure, or completion phase, the emphasis is on releasing

the final deliverables to the customer, handing over project documentation to the
business, terminating supplier contracts, releasing project resources, and
communicating the closure of the project to all stakeholders. The last remaining step
is to conduct lessons-learned studies to examine what went well and what didnt.
Through this type of analysis, the wisdom of experience is transferred back to the
project organization, which will help future project teams.
Many projects skip this phase. Once the Execution Phase is complete, they
simply move on. It's unfortunate since they really don't know if the project objectives
have been met, don't organize the project artifacts to be easily found for future
project's reference, and don't identify the key issues and lessons learned by the
project that can be applied to future projects.
Performing Project Closure will benefit both your company and your career.
If you do this well, you will set yourself up to lead high-visibility, business-critical
projects. So make sure your projects go through the full project management life
cycle.

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The Diagram of Project Life Cycle

Diagram 1.1: Project Life Cycle Phase

Diagram 1.2: Project Management Knowledge Areas

Diagram 1.3: Phases of the Project Life Cycle

Diagram 1.4: Project Management Output

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Diagram 1.5: Project Initial Phase Key Steps

Diagram 1.6: Project Planning Phase Key Steps

Diagram 1.7: Project Execution Phase Details

Diagram 1.8: Project Closure Phase

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The Characteristic of Project Life Cycle

Project life cycle descriptions can be very general or very detailed. Highly
detailed descriptions of life cycles can include forms, charts, and checklists to
provide structure and control. Most project life cycles share a number of common
characteristics:
i.

Phases are generally sequential and are usually defined by some form of

ii.

technical information transfer or technical component handoff.

Cost and staffing levels are low at the start, peak during the intermediate
phases, and drop rapidly as the project draws to a conclusion. Figure 2-1

iii.

illustrates this pattern.

The level of uncertainty is highest and, hence, risk of failing to achieve the
objectives is greatest at the start of the project. The certainty of completion

iv.

generally gets progressively better as the project continues.

The ability of the stakeholders to influence the final characteristics of the
projects product and the final cost of the project is highest at the start, and
gets progressively lower as the project continues. A major contributor to this
phenomenon is that the cost of changes and correcting errors generally
increases as the project continues.

The phase of a project represents the completion of one or more deliverables

and identifies the technical works and other activities needed in each of the phases.

Characteristic
i.

Cost and staffing levels:

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- The concentration of cost and staffing are slight at the beginning,

increasing toward the completion and decreasing rapidly toward the
ii.

finishing of the project.

Adding value:
- The ability to control costs and add value to the projects output is at its
greatest during the Conceptual Phase and at its least during the Finishing

iii.

Phase.
Probability of project success:
- At the start of the project, the chance of successfully completing the
project is lowest; therefore, the risk and uncertainty are highest. The
likelihood of successful completion generally gets progressively higher as

iv.

the project continues.

Potential savings and cost to change:
- As a project progresses, the cost of alteration or addition increases. The
earlier in the project life cycle that errors are identified, the cheaper they are
to correct. As the project progresses, the ability to achieve savings
diminishes. Similarly, the cost to change increases as the project progresses

v.

through the Project Life Cycle.

Ability of stakeholders influence:
- Generally, at the start of the project, the stakeholders are able to influence
the final characteristics of the projects outcome and the final cost of the

vi.

project.
Uncertainty and financial commitment:
- The level of uncertainty and risk is highest during the Conceptual and
Development Phases and, as more information about the project is known, it
will gradually be reduced through the Execution Phase. Unlike financial
commitment, it is usually lower during the initial phases and much higher
during the Execution Phase.

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vii.

11

Production of information:
- The information developed during the Conceptual and Development
Phases will be used in the Execution and Finishing Phases. Thus, it is
important to ensure that the project management information system and
communication plans are established early.
Table 1.1: Characteristics of the Project Life Cycle

In todays dynamic and competitive business environment, many

organizations are realizing the importance of project management. Project
management has appeared as a trend in the continuing performance improvement in
organizations. Therefore, it is important for facility management professionals to
understand the phases of the Project Life Cycle, its characteristics and implications
in carrying out the functions of project management.

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