5 phases of the project management lifecycle explained

When you’re gearing up for a big adventure or even just a day of exploring, having a plan keeps you on track. The same principle applies to projects. Setting milestones helps you break down tasks, allocate resources, plan budgets, and stay on schedule. It’s not just about logistics; it’s about making the whole endeavor feel more manageable by taking it one step at a time. In the world of project management, this structured approach is known as the ‘project management lifecycle.’

Consequences of poor project management

Before we discuss the benefits of following the project management lifecycle, let’s examine how poor management can impact your project.

• Communication breakdowns: One of the biggest threats to a project is a breakdown in communication. This occurs when you don’t have a structured plan for delegating tasks or reporting your progress. The end result? No one really knows who’s doing what, when their deadlines are, or what’s expected of them. Moreover, frequent communication breakdowns take an emotional toll and, over time, can build frustration and resentment.
• Wasted money and resources: A lack of structure means you won’t be able to assign budgets and resources effectively. The more you plan and evaluate a project, the easier it is to forecast the requirements and outcome. If you skip these important steps, you have a high risk of incorrectly estimating what resources you’ll need to complete the project, and you’ll end up wasting precious time and money fixing preventable issues.
• Project failures: Missing a deadline or going over budget isn’t just an inconvenience. You’ll have to answer to stakeholders — who won’t be happy — and your project could be classed a failure.

Importance of project management lifecycle

The project management lifecycle serves as a roadmap for navigating the complexities of project execution from initiation to closure. Its importance lies in providing structure, clarity, and a systematic approach to achieving project goals efficiently and effectively. By breaking down the project into distinct phases, the lifecycle enables project managers to identify key milestones, allocate resources, manage risks, and track progress throughout the project’s duration. Additionally, it facilitates communication and collaboration among project stakeholders, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives and enhancing transparency and accountability. Ultimately, a well-defined project management lifecycle is essential for delivering projects on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of stakeholders.

What is the project management lifecycle?

We’re glad you asked! The project management lifecycle is a systematic framework that guides the planning, execution, monitoring, and closure of projects from inception to completion. It encompasses a series of distinct phases, each with its own set of activities, deliverables, and objectives.

The project management lifecycle consists of five phases: initiation, planning, execution, controlling/monitoring, and closure.

Phases of the project management lifecycle

Phase 1: Initiation

First up, it’s the initiation phase. This is where you host a kick-off meeting to determine your project’s reason for existence. What’s your business problem? How will you solve it? Is it feasible? What’s the scope, and what are the major deliverables? And who needs to be involved? You may want to map out some SMART goals to help organize your thinking.

Many projects also require investment, whether it’s a commitment of resources from your boss or financial support from stakeholders. You’ll need to organize this data and present it as a well-thought-out project proposal, and then turn that info into a statement of work. It takes a lot of time upfront, but as with everything, the more you prepare, the easier your project will be later on.

Phase 2: Planning

Next is the planning stage. Now is the time to break down your project into manageable tasks based on your statement of work.

Assess your resources, budget, and schedules, and translate these components into a schedule. You may find it helpful to create a workflow diagram for this stage, which will give you a top-down view of the individual project tasks and the flow of information between individuals or teams. It’ll also help you figure out the order in which specific tasks must be done.

Make an effort to involve your team at this stage to hear their thoughts on capacity and timings. Decide whether you want to employ a bottom-up or top-down management approach — or something in between. A good rule of thumb is to choose a bottom-up approach if it’s a long, complex project. If you’re on a tight timeframe, then go top-down.

Here’s a ‘planning stage’ checklist:

• Draft a project plan. Include all your timings and key dates.
• Make a workflow diagram. Include timeframes, scope, and possible constraints.
• Create a financial plan. List investments, estimates, and estimated returns.
• Gather resources. This could include assembling a team and assigning roles, liaising with other departments, enlisting external help, and determining what software or training your team needs to perform tasks efficiently.
• Identify the risks. Prepare for obstacles by listing the financial, logistical, or scheduling risks and devising contingency plans.

Phase 3: Execution

Here’s the exciting part: Your project comes to life. If you’re a manager, your job is to oversee the timeline and budget and ensure everyone sticks to the plan. At the same time, you must pay close attention to potential problems and adapt quickly when you’re thrown a curveball.

Likewise, you’ll need to assign projects to your team members and brief everyone to make sure they fully understand all expectations. Good organizational communication skills are essential here: make sure your instructions are accurate, easy to understand, and in line with business objectives.

Phase 4: Monitoring and maintenance

After project kick-off, you need to keep track of your team and monitor the progress of your plans. It’s important to find out whether everyone is coping with the work assigned to them, working to a high standard, and feeling motivated. As a project manager, it’s up to you to decide when it’s necessary to reallocate work or make adjustments to the project schedule.

Even with excellent planning, you’ll occasionally run into external delays. Sometimes, it takes longer than expected to get signoff on critical elements from stakeholders outside the company, or suppliers and contractors can’t uphold an agreement. You’ll also need to keep track of budgets and resources and stay in communication with stakeholders to adapt to these hurdles.

If you’re developing software or a new product, this stage will also include iterative prototype testing, development, and review.

Phase 5: Project closure

Before you can really call it a day, you need to officially close the project and review it to evaluate its success.

• Did your project meet its goals? Were the projects delivered on time and on budget? You can use this data to inform subsequent projects, so make it detailed and present it in an easy-to-understand format. Visually, via a diagram or chart is best.
• Did your team members perform to the best of their ability? If not, is it a performance issue on their part, or could your briefing and support have been better?
• Have you done all your housekeeping? Archive all your documentation (in case you need it later) and prepare your reports to present to the wider team and stakeholders.

Agile and iterative approaches to project management

Agile and iterative approaches to project management offer flexible and adaptive methodologies for managing projects in dynamic and rapidly changing environments. Unlike traditional waterfall methodologies, which follow a linear sequence of phases, agile methodologies such as Scrum and Kanban prioritize iterative development, continuous feedback, and incremental delivery of value to customers. These approaches emphasize collaboration, transparency, and responsiveness to changing requirements, enabling teams to deliver high-quality products or services more quickly and efficiently. By embracing agile principles, project managers can foster innovation, empower teams, and enhance customer satisfaction while mitigating risks and maximizing project success.

Project management tools for strategy and planning

As you embark on a project, you have many options for structuring the phases of the project lifecycle. Here are a few project management tools to consider as you develop a strategy.

Kanban

A Kanban board is a system for organizing your workflow by creating prioritization categories. The basic layout is a chart with columns labeled as To Do, In Progress, Delayed, and Done. Depending on the needs of the project, you could also include a section for tasks that need reviewing or testing.

The goal is to visualize team progress and ensure that efforts and resources are focused in the right places. While Kanban systems originated as physical boards, you can use a Kanban diagram to record your progress digitally.

Work breakdown structure

A work breakdown structure (WBS) diagram is a hierarchical chart of a project and its deliverables. This diagram is a great resource for visualizing the scope of a project or sorting roles by team.

A WBS diagram is essentially a vertical flowchart with categories listed horizontally. Under each category, you can include the tasks or deliverables needed to complete a specific section of the project under each category. A WBS is beneficial for event chain management (ECM), which involves identifying critical event chains to mitigate risks or delays in the project.

RACI chart

A RACI chart is another tool for supervising the roles and responsibilities of your project team. The chart includes columns listing the roles or departments involved and rows listing their assigned tasks. In the corresponding cells, you use a letter code to identify the status of an assignee’s involvement. While standard codes include Responsible (R), Consulted (C), and (Informed), you can choose whatever identification method works for you.

Gantt chart

Designed for accurate planning, Gantt charts are a color-coded schedule of tasks your team needs to work on. This simple bar chart shows the timespans of different tasks and where they overlap, so you can easily keep track of deadlines.

Cacoo & Backlog

Presenting your plans for your project management lifecycle in a clear, accessible way helps ensure the project has a straightforward path to success. Cacoo is a great diagramming tool for creating and managing these visuals.

Project management software also plays a crucial role in supporting project managers and teams throughout the project lifecycle. Tools like Backlog offer a wide range of features and functionalities designed to streamline project planning, execution, monitoring, and reporting processes.

By following the project management lifecycle and leveraging the right tools and methodologies, you can set your projects up for success and navigate even the most challenging terrain with confidence.

This post was originally published on May 15, 2019, and updated most recently on May 15, 2024.