5 Phases of Project Management

1. Initiating
A new project is broadly defined and submitted for formal approval. This phase often begins
with a business case, which outlines the objectives, purpose, and deliverables of the proposed
project. Stakeholders are identified and preliminary requirements are documented. Key
outputs include the project charter which assists with Planning. Any feasibility testing should
also take place during this phase.

2. Planning
A comprehensive project plan is developed which outlines project costs and the budget,
scope, duration, deliverables, and quality, communications, metrics, risks, and resources.

3. Executing
The project is now ready to launch! The project manager typically uses a kick-off meeting to
introduce key tasks and milestones to the team, and discuss the project in detail. The main
activities associated with project execution include resource management, tracking
work, team meetings and reporting on progress. The project manager should regularly assess
progress to-date and adjust the original project plan as needed.

4. Monitoring/Controlling
Monitoring is conducted in parallel with project execution. Using KPIs and other metrics
defined in the project plan, the project manager monitors progress and performance to avoid
scope creep. Earned Value Management is a particularly useful tool during this phase.

5. Closing
Once the project is completed, run a post-mortem to document lessons learned for future
projects. It is also important to recognize and celebrate success. Finally, reassign resources
and update project documentation, including any collaboration sites.
Depending on the size and complexity of the project, you may need to tailor the five phases
as appropriate.
Let’s look at the first phase, Initiating, in more detail.

The 4 Phases of the Project Management Life Cycle

1. Initiation

2. Planning

3. Execution

4. Closure

Whether you’re working on a small project with modest business

goals or a large, multi-departmental initiative with sweeping
corporate implications, understanding the project management life
cycle is essential. Every project has essential milestones at the
beginning, in the middle, and at the end, following a path from
initiation to completion to evaluation.

Working with an understanding of the project management cycle

helps you keep your project organized and on track from ideation
to completion.

4 phases of the project management life cycle

The project management life cycle is usually broken down into four
phases: initiation, planning, execution, and closure—these make up
the path that takes your project from the beginning to the end.

1. Initiation

In the initiation phase of the project, you identify a business need,

problem, or opportunity and brainstorm ways that your team can
meet this need, solve this problem, or seize this opportunity. During
this step, you figure out an objective for your project, determine
whether the project is feasible, and identify the major deliverables
for the project.

Instead of waiting to have the project strategy decided for

you, Moira Alexander advocates for a mental switch from being a
project "manager" to becoming a project "leader":

"Project managers must be able to sell business leaders on the

intrinsic value they offer to the business at a strategic level when
they are at the table from the start of strategic planning instead of
after the fact decision-making. Project managers effectiveness is
drastically muted when offering a "fix-it" or "workaround" once
high-level directional business decisions are made without their
expertise."
Clearly it's worth it to do what it takes to make your voice heard
early, before the strategy is set in stone.

Steps for the project initiation phase may include the following:

 Undertaking a feasibility study – Identifying the primary

problem your project will solve and whether your project will
deliver a solution to that problem
 Identifying scope – Defining the depth and breadth of the
project
 Identifying deliverables – Defining the product or service to
provide
 Identifying project stakeholders – Figuring out whom the
project affects and what their needs may be
 Developing a business case – Using the above criteria to
compare the potential costs and benefits for the project to
determine if it moves forward

You’ll also develop a statement of work or project initiation

document, which may include basic project life cycle flowcharts.

2. Planning

Once the project is approved to move forward based on your

business case, statement of work, or project initiation document,
you move into the planning phase. In this phase, you break down
the larger project into smaller tasks, build your team, and prepare a
schedule for the completion of assignments. During this phase, you
create smaller goals within the larger project, making sure each is
achievable within the time frame. Smaller goals should have a high
potential for success.

Steps for the project planning phase may include the following:
  Creating a project plan – Identifying the project timeline,
including the phases of the project, the tasks to be performed,
and possible constraints
 Creating workflow documents or process maps – Visualizing
the project timeline by diagramming key milestones
 Estimating budget and creating a financial plan – Using cost
estimates to determine how much to spend on the project to
get the maximum return on investment
 Gathering resources – Building your functional team from
internal and external talent pools while making sure everyone
has the necessary tools (software, hardware, etc.) to complete
their tasks
 Anticipating risks and potential quality roadblocks –
Identifying issues that may cause your project to stall while
planning to mitigate those risks and maintain the project’s
quality and timeline

The planning phase is also where you bring your team on board,
usually with a project kick off meeting. It is important to have
everything outlined and explained so that team members can
quickly get to work in the next phase.

3. Execution

You’ve received business approval, developed a plan, and built your

team. Now it’s time to get to work. The execution phase turns your
plan into action. The project manager’s job in this phase of the
project management life cycle is to keep work on track, organize
team members, manage timelines, and make sure the work is done
according to the original plan.

Steps for the project execution phase may include the following:
  Creating tasks and organizing workflows – Assigning granular
aspects of the projects to the appropriate team members,
making sure team members are not overworked
 Briefing team members on tasks – Explaining tasks to team
members, providing necessary guidance on how they should
be completed, and organizing process-related training if
necessary
 Communicating with team members, clients, and upper
management – Providing updates to project stakeholders at
all levels
 Monitoring quality of work – Ensuring that team members are
meeting their time and quality goals for tasks
 Managing budget – Monitoring spending and keeping the
project on track in terms of assets and resources

If you have a properly documented process already in place,

executing the project will be much easier.

. Closure

Once your team has completed work on a project, you enter the
closure phase. In the closure phase, you provide final deliverables,
release project resources, and determine the success of the project.
Just because the major project work is over, that doesn’t mean the
project manager’s job is done—there are still important things to
do, including evaluating what did and did not work with the project.

Steps for the project closure phase may include the following:

 Analysing project performance – Determining whether the

project's goals were met (tasks completed, on time and on
budget) and the initial problem solved using a prepared
checklist [link to checklist template]
  Analysing team performance – Evaluating how team members
performed, including whether they met their goals along with
timeliness and quality of work
 Documenting project closure – Making sure that all aspects of
the project are completed with no loose ends remaining and
providing reports to key stakeholders
 Conducting post-implementation reviews – Conducting a final
analysis of the project, taking into account lessons learned for
similar projects in the future
 Accounting for used and unused budget – Allocating
remaining resources for future projects
 By remaining on task even though the project’s work is
completed, you will be prepared to take everything you’ve
learned and implement it for your next project.

What is Project Selection?

Project Selection is a process to assess each project idea and select the project with the highest priority.

Projects are still just suggestions at this stage, so the selection is often made based on only brief
descriptions of the project. As some projects will only be ideas, you may need to write a brief description of
each project before conducting the selection process.
Selection of projects is based on:

 Benefits: A measure of the positive outcomes of the project. These are often described as "the
reasons why you are undertaking the project". The types of benefits of eradication projects include:
o Biodiversity
o Economic
o Social and cultural
o Fulfilling commitments made as part of national, regional or international plans and agreements.
 Feasibility: A measure of the likelihood of the project being a success, i.e. achieving its objectives.
Projects vary greatly in complexity and risk. By considering feasibility when selecting projects it means
the easiest projects with the greatest benefits are given priority.

The benefits of completing the Project Selection are:

 a transparent and documented record of why a particular project was selected

 a priority order for projects, that takes into account their importance and how achievable the project is
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Dividing complex projects to simpler and manageable tasks is the process

identified as Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

Usually, the project managers use this method for simplifying the project
execution. In WBS, much larger tasks are broken down to manageable
chunks of work. These chunks can be easily supervised and estimated.

WBS is not restricted to a specific field when it comes to application. This

methodology can be used for any type of project management.

Following are a few reasons for creating a WBS in a project:

 Accurate and readable project organization.

 Accurate assignment of responsibilities to the project team.

 Indicates the project milestones and control points.

 Helps to estimate the cost, time and risk.

 Illustrate the project scope, so the stakeholders can have a better

understanding of the same.

Project Management Information System (PMIS) are system tools and

techniques used in project management to deliver information. Project
managers use the techniques and tools to collect, combine and distribute
information through electronic and manual means. Project Management
Information System (PMIS) is used by upper and lower management to
communicate with each other.
Project Management Information System (PMIS) help
plan, execute and close project management goals. During the
planning process, project managers use PMIS for budget framework such
as estimating costs. The Project Management Information System is also
used to create a specific schedule and define the scope baseline. At
the execution of the project management goals, the project management
team collects information into one database. The PMIS is used to compare
the baseline with the actual accomplishment of each activity, manage
materials, collect financial data, and keep a record for reporting purposes.
During the close of the project, the Project Management Information
System is used to review the goals to check if the tasks were
accomplished. Then, it is used to create a final report of the project close.
To conclude, the project management information system (PMIS) is used to
plan schedules, budget and execute work to be accomplished in project
management.

Project Termination

Project termination (or close-out) is the last stage of managing the project,
and occurs after the implementation phase has ended. Acceptance testing
has been carried out, and the project deliverables have been handed over
to the client. The project team has been disbanded and unused resources
have been disposed of as appropriate. All outstanding bills have been
passed for payment, and the final invoices for work carried out have been
issued. The main purpose of the close-out stage is to evaluate how well
you performed, and to learn lessons for the future. A final project status
report is prepared that should contain a summary of changes to the project
scope (if any), and show how actual completion dates for project
milestones and costs accrued compare with the final version of the project
schedule and budget. All significant variances from the project baseline
should be explained here. A review is then undertaken with the client and
other project stakeholders, during which the project outcomes are
evaluated against the project's stated aims and objectives. The results of
the review are recorded in a close-out report. The questions the
stakeholders should be asked will vary depending on the nature of the
project, but will normally include questions such as:

 Was the project completed on time (or were delays

acceptable limits?)
 Were budgetary requirements adhered to?
 Were project management procedures used effectively?
 Was communication effective?
 How did the project team perform?
 Was the overall outcome acceptable?
 What changes could be made for future projects?
 Projects fail for many reasons, some of which are outside the control of the
project manager. External factors that can affect the outcome include a
changing commercial environment, lack of support from senior
management (including the provision of adequate resources), or lack of co-
operation from the project client. Internal factors include inadequate
expertise within the project team, a lack of planning and management,
poorly defined project objectives, and a failure to communicate effectively.
However, despite the fact that a project may not have fulfilled the
expectations of its stakeholders, future projects can benefit from the
lessons learned from a post-project appraisal process. It is important to
learn lessons from successful aspects of the project as well as from
mistakes. In that way, not only can the same mistakes be avoided in future,
but good practice can be implemented in future projects.

Component Elements of Project Controls.

Depending upon how Project Controls is viewed will influence what is considered as the
component parts of the function. Here it is assumed that project controls is concerned
with estimating initial baseline performance metrics, determining the current status of the
project, estimating future potential of the project, identifying any variances (baseline to
current position and baseline to potential future position), and considering appropriate
action to be taken to recover any positive variance. Here variance refers to actual
differences identified in project control documents and also the potential variations
possible from project threats, issues and opportunities. On this basis the component
elements of Project Controls are to do with measuring and monitoring controlling
variables, these are principally time and cost aspects:

 Planning and Scheduling

 Risk Management (includes identification & assessment)
 Cost estimating and management
 Scope and Change Management
 Earned Value Management
 Document Control
 Supplier Performance
 Maintaining the project baseline
 Reporting
This is not an exhaustive list of all attributes of project controls, we believe it
encompasses the key important ones.