3.

How to Manage a Project Step by Step

3.1 – Initiation Phase
1. Documentation: Every project has documentation that must be
completed before the project can begin in earnest, such as a business
case, which lists the reasons why the project is needed, the project
objectives, and what the return on investment will be. There’s a
feasibility study to determine if the project is even possible with
consideration to an organization’s resources and business goals.
2. Assemble Project Team: Resources are needed to execute any project.
Before a project schedule can be made, a project team must be created to
cover the skill sets and experience the project demands. This includes
creating job descriptions, what the objective is, and what their
responsibilities will be in the project. All this information can be later
put into a team charter.
3. Set up Project Office: The project management office is usually a
physical space set up for the project manager. Determining where this
will be is part of the initiation phase of a project. Not only the project
manager, but any support staff will be located in this space. So, the
infrastructure for the project management office needs to be set up,
which includes having project management software and any equipment
needed for the project.
3.2 – Planning Phase
1. Create Task List: Tasks are the smaller activities that build up to the
final deliverable in a project. They are in essence tiny projects and
identifying them is a critical project planning step. Develop a task list by
putting the final project deliverable on the top of a work breakdown
structure, which is a tree diagram that maps the path to completing the
project without missing any vital steps along the way.
 2. Make a Budget: Tasks cost money. They require team members to
execute and other resources, which can include materials, tools, etc. the
budget is a way to estimate the cost of the project.
3. Risk Management Plan: If only the project would conform to the plan.
But there are always changes, some within our control and others
outside of it. Before starting a project, you need to try and identify
risks and have a risk management plan to monitor and respond quickly
to them.
4. Communications Plan: Good communications means a successful
project. A clear communication plan ensures the people who need to
be kept informed will be, along with the level of information they
require, the frequency and how they will get it.
5. Make a Project Schedule: The Gantt chart is the preferred (a type of bar
chart illustrates a project schedule, the tasks performed on the vertical axis, and time intervals on
the horizontal axis. The width of the horizontal bars shows the duration of each activity)
preferred method used to schedule the projects. Some tasks are
dependent on others before they can start or end, and these task
dependencies can create bottlenecks later on in the project.
6. Assign Tasks: are only ideas until they’re given to a team member to
complete. All the preparation you’ve put into planning is dependent on
getting that assignment out to the team, so they can do what they were
hired to do.
3.3 – Execution Phase
1. Task Management: To make sure a task is done right, it has to be
managed each step on the way, from planning to completion. This
involves monitoring and reporting to make sure the task is being
executed within the timeframe of the planned schedule. Project managers
and team members need to manage their tasks. Task lists and Kanban
boards are two popular tools for task management.
2. Schedule Management: Once a schedule is created, it must be
monitored through the project execution to make sure it stays on track.
Proper schedule management charts a path to keep task progress, goals,
 priorities and deadlines matching with the schedule. Effective schedule
management means greater productivity. Project management software
should have time tracking features to help with this process.
3. Cost Management: Just as a schedule is planned, so too is the budget.
But that doesn’t mean the job is done. As anyone with a wallet knows,
money has a tendency to disappear. Project costs must be controlled to
keep them within the agreed budget.
4. Quality Management: Deliverables should be produced on time and
within budget, but if the quality is lacking then the project isn’t
successful. Therefore, make sure whatever success criteria and quality
requirements have been set by stakeholders is being met.
5. Change Management: Broadly, change management is a process for
improving business processes, budget allocation and operations in an
organization. However, when applied to project management, the focus
is narrowed to the project itself and controlling changes in scope during
the execution phase.
6. Procurement Management: Few is the project that can be done without
having to purchase, rent or contract with outside resources. This process
is called procurement. Managing relationships with vendors and
suppliers is what procurement management is all about.
7. Resource Management: Resources are anything needed to get the
project done. That includes the team, supplies, equipment, materials, etc.
Resource planning includes the roles and responsibilities for the team,
what they’ll need and where they’ll be working.
8. Collaboration: Once the execution of the project begins, the planning
leads the way, but team members need to have tools to work together so
they can stay in close communications. This leads to greater
productivity. Collaboration can be facilitated by team-building exercises
and tools that connect team members, whether they’re in the same office
or working remotely.
3.4 – Monitor & Control Phase
1. Monitor the Process: When executing a project, one is constantly
monitoring its progress from every angle and doing the best to control
the process to maintain the schedule and budget of the project plan. This
technique can be summed up as constantly checking the actual
performance of the project against its planned performance.
2. Reporting: Reporting has a twofold impact on the project: One is that it
allows project managers to track progress, and two, it provides data for
stakeholders during presentations to keep them in the loop.
Project reports can vary from task progress to variance and cost. There
are reports on: project & portfolio status, timesheets, workload,
allocation and expenses.
3.5 – Closing Phase
1. Transfer Deliverables: we reach this phase when the project is about
producing a deliverable. “That marks the end of the project execution
and the beginning of the project close”.
Therefore, we must make sure all deliverables are identified, complete
and handed off to the proper party.
2. Confirm Completion: in this stage the confirmation is needed from all
stakeholders, clients, even the team. That means sign-offs, so there is no
confusion and last-minute change requests.
3. Review Documentation: This is usually the responsibility of the Project
Manager for going over all contracts and documentation to make sure
everything has been okay and signed off on.
4. Release Resources: Before a project is completed, the team, any
contract workers, rentals, etc. must be officially released. We must have
a process in place to notify and make sure everyone is paid up.
5. Furthermore, there is a needed concept we should Do here which is a
Post-Mortem: A post-mortem is when the finished project is analyzed
to note what worked and what didn’t.
This is a great way to repeat successes and repair mistakes for the next
project.
6. We shouldn’t forget to celebrate with the team! They deserve it.