Project Life Cycle

- Project Initiation

Unit 06 : Managing Successful Computing project

Anutthara Senanayake
Lecturer in Computing
MBA, BSc in Information Technology (Curtin University)
Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology
No. 63, King Street, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Tel   : +94 817 8 18 102 |  Direct : +94 817 8 18 102
  Email : [email protected]
Web : www.apiit.lk
Project Life Cycle

Execut
Initiate Plan Close
e
• Identify scope
• Identify tasks,
• Establish dependencies • Monitor
• Sign off
organization and schedule • Communicate
• Conduct a
• Project • Plan resources and report
formal post
charter and • Clarify trades • Correct and
mortem
definition off and decision control
making
principles
• Develop a risk
management
plan

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Project Life Cycle

Initiation Planning Execution Close

Initiation Planning Execution Close

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 Project Initiation
▸ This is the start of the project, and the goal of this phase is to define the project at a

broad level.

▸ This phase usually begins with a Business Case

▸ This is when you will research whether the project is feasible and if it should be

undertaken.

▸ If Feasibility Testing needs to be done, this is the stage of the project in which that

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will be completed.
Project Initiation Cont.
▸ Important STAKEHOLDERS will do their due diligence to help decide if the
project is a “go.”
▸ If it is given the green light, you will need to create a PROJECT CHARTER or
a PROJECT INITIATION DOCUMENT (PID) that outlines the purpose and
requirements of the project.

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Business Case
▸ A business case is used to explain the reason for starting a project. The business
case shows how the use of financial and other resources are in support of a business
need. A business case will be adaptable, fitting the size and risk of the proposal, but
it will structurally be the same from project to project. It deals not in technical
issues, but the business concerns of the project, and it needs to be comprehensive.

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Example – Business Case

Suppose you and your spouse are considering

moving to a new home. You will need to weigh up
the pros and cons of moving. 

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Example – Business Case

Imagine a heating repair services company that uses a

paper-based set of forms filled in by an engineer during
site visits. The spare parts required to fix the heater are
recorded on a form which is given to staff to process back
in the office. They then order the parts, and schedule a
follow-up visit for the engineer to fix the heater.

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Your Example

Building a
Tree
House

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Feasibility
Study
Criteria

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 Project Charter
▸ A PROJECT CHARTER outlines the purpose for the project and how it will be structured and
executed. In it, the goals(aims), objectives, scope ,deliverables, constraints, risks & dependencies,
Budget and Spending, Communications Plan and Assumptions for the project are all detailed.
Responsibilities for the project team and stakeholders are also described.
▸ This next step helps to identify the project goals and objectives clearly. It defines the scope of the
project and lists all the deliverables.
▸ The project charter will also list the roles and responsibilities of the project team and identify the
project’s customers and stakeholders. It is at this point that the project is organized structurally,
documenting the project plan and listing all risks, issues and assumptions.
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 Project Goals (Aims) and Objectives
▸ Goals and objectives are statements that describe what the project will accomplish, or
the business value the project will achieve.
▸ Goals are high level statements that provide overall context for what the project is
trying to achieve, and should align to business goals.
▸ Objectives are lower level statements that describe the specific, tangible products and
deliverables that the project will deliver.
▸ An objectives can be evaluated at the conclusion of a project to see whether it was
achieved or not.
▸ Goal statements are designed to be vague. Objectives should not be vague. 12
 Project Goals (Aims) and Objectives Cont.
▸ Objectives need to be well-worded to be

SMART:
Specific,
Measurable,
Attainable/Achievable,
Realistic and
Time-bound.

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 Project Goals (Aims) and Objectives Cont.
▸ Understanding the real goals and objectives behind your project is a key driver to
project success.
▸ Proper communication of project goals and objectives and confirming them with
project stakeholders leads to reduced misunderstandings and higher success ratio.
▸ Clear goals and SMART objectives define the target a project needs to fulfil.
Project Goals (Aims) and Objectives Cont.
▸ An example of a project goal is:

“To increase the overall satisfaction levels for stakeholders calling for support with their
licensing needs".

▸ The above goal does not specify how stakeholder satisfaction will be increased. Is it
by enhancing technology, or by training people, or is it by changing strategies.
Project Goals (Aims) and Objectives Cont.
▸ An example of an objective statement is:

“Enhance the capabilities and skill level of the staff handling stakeholder interactions
within a period of three months on licensing services and on how to track the status of
stakeholder requests aiming to increase the ratio of first time response to 75%“

▸ The above objective is:

 Specific, Achievable and Realistic
 Measurable in terms of first time response ratio
 Time bound as it should be completed within 3 months
Your Example
▸ Goal
▸ Objectives

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Project Scope
▸ Clearly defining project scope leads to SUCCESS
▸ Project scope is about clearly communicating what is included in your project
and more importantly what is not included
▸ The main purpose of the scope definition is to clearly describe the boundaries of
your project and get all stakeholders to agree to it.
▸ Scope is tightly linked to the project goals and objectives
▸ It is the project manager’s responsibility to ensure scope is managed throughout
the project and scope CREEP (incremental expansion of the project scope) is
avoided.
Project Scope Cont.
▸ Changes to the scope should be managed by the project manager in a structured
manner via change control process throughout the project
▸ Change control guarantees that impact on Cost /Budget, Schedule/ Time,
Scope/Quality is defined and agreed amongst all the parties
▸ Scope is defined at a high level during initiation stage and is detailed during the
planning stage
Your Example
▸ Scope
Deliverables
▸ Once the goals / objectives and scope are defined, the project manager needs to clearly define
the set of deliverables that the project is expected to achieve.
▸ Deliverables can be either Tangible or Intangible.
▸ For example:
a report, a document or a system upgrade are considered tangible deliverables
while deliverables such as “achieving recognition” or “building capability or human
competence” are intangible
▸ Deliverables must be achievable, so when defining a deliverable you should ask yourself
“can this actually be delivered?”
▸ Major deliverables are defined during initiation and detailed during the planning stage
Your Example
▸ Deliverables
Stakeholders
▸ Project stakeholders are entities that have an interest in a given project. These
stakeholders may be inside or outside an organization.
▸ Stakeholders need to be updated regularly on project progress or upon achievement
of key milestones. Such communication is covered in the project communication
plan
Your Example
▸ Stakeholders
Constraints, Risks & Dependencies
▸ A Constraint is the state of being restricted or compelled to avoid or perform some
action.
▸ Project constraints include anything that may limit the project team ability to
complete the project successfully.
▸ Typically constraints relate to resources, cost, personnel, schedule, scope or quality
▸ Clearly understanding the project constraints is important for the project manager to
plan around them
Constraints, Risks & Dependencies Cont.
▸ Project risks are areas of concern that may materialize into issues during the
life-cycle of the project and which may impact the project’s scope, resources,
cost or schedule
▸ The source of project risks could be financial, technical, contractual, legal,
social, etc.
▸ Risks must be identified and managed at the beginning of the project and
throughout the project life-cycle
Your Example
▸ Constraints and Risks
Budget and Spending
▸ Clarity of the specified project budget and tracking of actual expenditures over
time is a necessity.
▸ Many project fail because they go over and above the expected cost and planned
budget.
Communications Plan
▸ Once all the stakeholders are defined, a project communication plan needs to be defined. A
high level communication plan is defined in the charter and detailed during project
planning.
▸ A well planned project has a well planned communication strategy. The following are some
options when creating a Communication Plan

 Initiation meeting
 Project kick-off (First Meeting)
 Status reports
 Team meetings
 Target presentations
 Audit/Review
Assumptions
▸ Finally, all the assumptions that are applicable to your project need to be
documented.
▸ Examples of project assumptions:

• Working hours of key members

• Availability of office space
• Access to specialized resources
• Working hours of the project
• Deliverable review and approval time etc…
Thank You

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