Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a particular project.
Project management should also be a repeatable and predictable process – or as close to it as possible – that you can use for each project in your organization.
To achieve this, it’s important to have a clear and written project management process that covers the five stages of the project lifecycle:
- Project initiation
- Project planning
- Project execution
- Project monitoring
- Project closure
To underscore the importance of project management, recent statistics in project management indicate that a notable 58% of organizations have fully grasped the significance of implementing project management practices to increase performance.
This insight, however, is yet to resonate with 42% of companies, who might not fully appreciate project management as a pivotal element for achieving project success.
In this article, we’ll explore the five stages of the project management lifecycle in more detail, as well as cover some specific project management lifecycle tools and templates you can use to help achieve project success.
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What is the project management lifecycle?
Project management lifecycle is a framework that outlines the journey of a project, providing a set of distinct high-level stages required to transform an idea from concept into reality. Life cycles are the blueprint that ensures all project stakeholders are in sync, and the project’s goals are accomplished efficiently and effectively.
Stages of the project management process
This process is designed to be a general roadmap for project management. You and your team can adapt and modify your project management process to meet the objectives of your specific project.
Here are the key stages of the project management process, which can be adapted to fit specific project needs:
Initiation: Defining the project at a high level and assessing its feasibility.
Planning: Detailing the project scope, objectives, timelines, and resources.
Execution: Implementing the project plan, allocating resources, and executing project activities.
Monitoring and controlling: Tracking the project’s progress, managing changes, and ensuring the project stays aligned with the plan.
Closing: Finalizing all activities, delivering the project, and closing any contracts or documentation.
Project initiation
The first stage of your project management process is also one of the most critical. In this stage, the project manager and the key stakeholders must take an honest look at the proposed project to determine its value, feasibility, and benefit to the company.
This is the stage in which you pitch the business case for your project, and clearly identify why you’re doing it in the first place.
Some key project parameters to hash out in stage one of the project management process include:
- The project’s “why”.
- Research into the feasibility of the project.
- Project goals, timeline, costs, resources, etc.
- Cost-benefit analysis.
- Project brief – who, what, why, how, and how much.
Putting the legwork into clearly and accurately presenting each of these key project parameters will give you what you need to get final approval from decision makers and stakeholders at your company.
This phase of the project management process also offers incredibly value background information for your team. They will know exactly what the goals are and why they’re working on the project from the beginning, which in turn contributes to better team engagement and a sense of ownership over the project.
Project planning
Stage two of the project management process is where you build out your project plan, assigning resources, committing to your timeline and building your team.
Project managers should carefully – and in collaboration with their team and key stakeholders – lay out every detail of the project plan, from beginning to end. This plan will drive the project execution in its entirety.
While this phase will likely vary depending on the size of the company, some key deliverables to consider in stage two include:
- The project charter. Include the scope of work, time-effort estimates, work breakdown structure, team roles and responsibilities, project milestones, approval processes, and communication plans.
- Success metrics. Clearly outline what a successful project looks like. Choose KPIs that make sense for your project and establish goals that your team can work towards.
- Risk management plan. Outline all – or as many as possible – of the risk factors that could derail or delay your project. Identify the risk, provide details about what the risk is, and provide a contingency plan for what to do if that risk happens.
- Decision makers. Identify who the decision makers are early in the process and make sure they are kept in the loop for the duration of the project. Get their buy in to the plan early so that you can receive prompt sign off on the project deliverables once they’re complete.
The project planning phase is one of the most important parts of the project management process. This is where you outline the entirety of what can and will be completed during the project, and what success looks like.
Projects that become derailed or experience significant scope creep often suffer from a lack of solid planning in stage two.
Project execution
This stage of the project management process is when the actual work is done. This is when you take your plan outlined in the project charter and put it into action, including the tasks that are assigned to each team member.
Since project managers at this stage will be relying on the expertise of their team members to execute the plan, their role is to guide the group through each milestone. Think of the project manager as the rudder of the ship, while team members act as the sails, pushing the project forward.
It’s critical that the team sticks to the plan at this stage of the project management process, as this is when scope creeps and all of those risk factors from stage two can start to enter into the equation.
The project manager is responsible for following project variables:
- Budget. Is the planned budget still sufficient to finish the project?
- Timelines. Is the team meeting their deadlines in order to stick to the planned timeline?
- Resources. Do we have enough resources to complete the project as planned?
- Risks. Have any of the identified risks occurred? How did we handle them? Has it affected the project timeline?
- Internal reviews and communications. How is the team doing? Is everyone confident that the project is going according to plan?
- Meetings. Staging regular meetings to address concerns, share updates, and maintain engagement.
The great thing about this phase of the project management process – apart from this being when all the action occurs – is that the project manager gets to see their well thought out plan unfold. If the project manager did their due diligence in stages one and two, then stage three should be smooth sailing.
Project monitoring
Stage four of the project management process is executed in conjunction with stage three. This relates to the actual monitoring and reporting of KPIs, budgets, resources, and timelines associated with the project, and communicating them to all stakeholders.
Project managers can use a wide variety of tools to accurately monitor their project variables. MindManager, for example, allows project managers and their teams to track task completion, task dependencies, and resource allocation in one single dashboard.
The Gantt and Kanban views in MindManager are also a great way to visualize your overall project timeline and the critical path to success.
The exact project metrics that relate to a given project will naturally determine which tools are most suitable for stage four of the project management process.
Project closure
Once you’ve gotten through stages three and four of the project management process (i.e., executing your plan and completing the project) it’s now time to close out the project.
This includes closing out tasks in your project management platforms, handing off project deliverables to key stakeholders, finalizing your KPI reporting, and holding a debriefing session with your team.
The debrief at the end of each project is often skipped, but can be one of the most valuable exercises in the entire project management process. Having a casual and honest conversation with your team about what worked, what didn’t work, and what could be done better is valuable insight to help guide your project management process in the future.
Once all the final administrative work is done, and the project is officially closed out, don’t forget to celebrate with your team! Congratulations, you’ve now completed one full life cycle of the project management process.
In the next section, we’ll explore some project management lifecycle process tools and templates that project managers can use at each stage of the lifecycle process mentioned above.
Project lifecycle management tools
Utilizing the right tools and templates during each of the project management lifecycle phases can significantly streamline the process.
Here’s a rundown of some tools and templates tailored for each stage of the project management lifecycle:
Project initiation
- Project charter template: A document that formally authorizes a project, providing a high-level overview including objectives, scope, stakeholders, and goals.
- Stakeholder analysis tools: Tools like stakeholder matrix or mind maps to identify and assess the interests and expectations of stakeholders.
- Feasibility study document: To evaluate the practicality and viability of the project.
Project planning
- Work breakdown structure (WBS) tools: Tools like WBS software or map templates to break down the project into smaller, more manageable parts.
- Gantt chart software: Tools like MindManager which helps you create Gantt charts for scheduling and visualizing project timelines.
- Budgeting documents: To plan and monitor the project budget.
- Risk management: For identifying, assessing, and planning for risks.
Project execution
- Project management software: Platforms like Jira, which now integrates with MindManager, for task management, collaboration, and tracking project progress.
- Resource allocation tools: Tools to manage and allocate resources effectively.
- Communication platforms: Tools like Microsoft Teams, which also integrates with MindManager, to facilitate communication among team members.
Project monitoring
- Performance dashboard: Dashboards within project management software to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Change request forms: To manage and document change requests.
- Issue log solutions: To track and manage issues as they arise.
Project closure
- Project closure templates: Templates to ensure all project aspects are completed and objectives are met.
- Lessons learned maps: To document lessons learned for future reference.
- Project evaluation forms: Forms to evaluate the performance and outcome of the project.
The assortment of tools and templates outlined for each stage of the project management lifecycle provides a structured pathway.
It also empowers project managers to navigate through the intricacies of project execution seamlessly.
These resources are instrumental in ensuring that every phase of the project is well-coordinated, monitored, and aligned with the overarching project goals.
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