4 Easy Steps to Project Management

Project Management is a complex subject and there are many different ways of planning projects. The Project Life Cycle refers to a logical series of activities to achieve a project's goals or objectives. This article summarises each key stage in this cycle.







Project Life Cycle



The concepts of the project life cycle and the work breakdown structure (WBS, which you will deal with later in the course) have developed recently as a means of breaking down a large project into manageable chunks. You will discover that the subdivisions of a job in a work breakdown structure are hierarchical, and this approach has much merit as we will see. The project life cycle approach, however, divides the project along sequential grounds.



Projects are frequently very large and it is difficult for one person, or indeed even a small number of people, to contain everything in their head at the same time. They also involve a considerable degree of risk; companies that are good at project management frequently divide large projects into a series of project phases in order to achieve a greater degree of project control.

The term "life cycle" is an entirely appropriate one for projects, as noted earlier; all projects have a definite start date, a scope of work and then a definite end, much like anything that is alive. Any project can go through this process, regardless of its relative complexity.





The Four Stage Life Cycle Model



1) Concept/Initiation – This is the first stage of the project and, although it can appear minor in terms of timescale, it should not be underestimated in its relative importance to the project as a whole. In this stage, the need for the project is first of all established, followed by a feasibility study (which some may say comes before the origins of the project, but I think it is more correctly placed here), and then the scope of the project is defined. Also defined is the approach to be taken to deliver the desired project outcomes. The project manager is appointed and in turn, he selects the team members based on their skills and experience.





2) Design/Planning – The second phase of a project should include a detailed identification and breakdown of each task to be completed during the project – in terms used earlier in the course,

the production of a plan in the form of a Gantt chart or something similar. It should also include a risk analysis and a definition of the criterion for the successful completion of each project deliverable (essentially the setting of KPI’s). The stakeholders are identified, responsibilities are further assigned, hold points (milestones in the plan) identified, initial problems highlighted and resolved.





3) Implementation – Implementation usually takes the longest period of time, and involves the greatest degree of effort by the largest number of people throughout the project. The most important issue in this phase is to ensure project activities are properly executed and controlled. During the implementation phase, the project team ensure that the plan is worked through, and any problems are resolved. They also ensure that any emergent work that emerges during implementation is also completed. As the implementation stage progresses, groups across the organisation become more deeply involved in planning for the final testing, production, and support if required.





4) Close-out – In the final stage of the project, the project manager must ensure that the project is completed on time and to budget. The close-out phase almost always comes with a close-out report, a hand-over document in some industries. This report is likely to contain the following: a formal acceptance of the final product by the client, lessons learned and a formal project closure

notification to higher management.





This article has been put together by the distance learning organisation Start Learning who are experts in home study.



If you want to find out more about Project Management or many other distance learning courses please browse their website: Start Learning



Kerrana McAvoy

Academic Director – Start Learning

Start Learning