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What Is The Project Life Cycle: The 5 Phases Explained

The project life cycle is comprised of 5 key stages. Learn more about initiation, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing, and why the life cycle is so important.

All projects have a beginning and an end. They go through the same project management steps of initiation, planning, and execution. Projects are temporary efforts, born to create value, and when that value has been delivered, the project ceases to be. This cycle of project birth, maturity, and closure is known as the project life cycle, or project management life cycle.

I'm going to explore each phase of the life cycle and how you can apply it to your projects today and future projects. A key aspect of successfully managing projects within the project life cycle is being equipped with the right project management software tools or apps that can support each phase of the project.

What Is The Project Life Cycle?

The project life cycle is the phases of a project that are necessary for the effective delivery of that project. It dictates the order of processes and phases a project goes through as it's completed, and describes the high-level workflow of the project.

The PMI (Project Management Institute) has defined these five project management process groups, or project management phases, which come together to form the project life cycle.

• Project Initiation
• Project Planning
• Project Execution
• Project Monitoring & Controlling
• Project Closure

The PMI took what’s really common sense and called it the project life cycle. The PMI methodology is the de facto standard for project delivery, which you can find in their 370 page 7th edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) .

It’s a really long, and to be honest, deathly boring read, so here’s a condensed breakdown of each project management step, which contains all the important takeaways.

What Are The 5 Phases Of The Project Management Life Cycle?

Below, I go into each of the life cycle stages and explain what happens in each of the 5 phases of project management .

1. Project Initiation Phase

Initiating the first phase of the project life cycle is all about doing a project kickoff meeting with your team and with the client, and getting their commitment to start the project.

You bring together all of the available information in a systematic manner to define the project’s scope , cost, and resources. The goal of the initiation phase is to take the (sometimes) loose brief of a project and understand what the project needs to do and achieve in order to be successful.

That usually necessitates identifying the project stakeholders and making sure they all share the same perception of what the project is and the specific business case—the problem that the project is trying to solve. 

It’s during this project initiation phase that you also decide whether delivering the business case is feasible. As a project manager, you will need to conduct adequate research to determine the project goals and then propose a solution to achieve them.

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Key Steps During Project Initiation

• Make a project charter : What is the vision, objective, and goal of this project?
• Identify the high-level scope and deliverables: What is the product or service that needs to be provided?
• Conduct a feasibility study : What is the primary problem and its possible solutions?
• Ballpark the high-level cost and create a business case : What are the costs and benefits of the solution?
• Identify stakeholders: Who are the people this project affects, how does it affect them, and what are their needs?

Typically for Prince2 or PMI methodologies, the above is summed up in a Project Initiation Document (PID) , but in an agency, the information is usually captured in an initial statement of work (SoW).

2. Project Planning Phase

After receiving approval to proceed in the initiation phase, you can begin project planning, typically using a Gantt chart tool .

Planning is where you define all the work to be done and create the project roadmap that you follow for the remainder of the project. This is when you figure out how you’re going to perform the project and answer these questions:

• What exactly are we going to do?
• How are we going to do it?
• When are we going to do it?
• How will we know when we’re done?

During this project management step, you have to decide how you and your team will attain the goals of the project. It’s worth evaluating those goals with three criteria: what’s possible , passionate , and pervasive ?

• Possible: Strive for something that is achievable. Ask yourself, does this solution match the budget? Does my team have the ability to do this? Do we have enough time? Setting unrealistic goals is setting yourself up for failure.
• Passionate: Projects are tough, so you want a team that is emotionally engaged in the project. Ask yourself, is this a project that your team can be passionate about? Is it something that can bring them together to collaborate and achieve the same goal? Even though it might be their job to do what you tell them to do, no one is going to invest into something they don’t think is worthwhile
• Pervasive: Does this have the potential to become a ground-breaking success? Is this something that is a complete solution to the problem that was given to you or is it really just a band-aid solution? Does it have the potential to be improved on, developed, and to become a permanent way of working?

I like this 3 Ps lens for goals, but you might also be familiar with the principle of setting CLEAR goals: collaborative, limited, emotional, appreciable, and refinable. Read more about CLEAR goals and their benefits over SMART goals.

The planning phase results in a project plan that outlines the activities, tasks, dependencies, and time frames, as well as costs. In addition, it’s prudent to develop a plan for resources, quality, risk, acceptance criteria, communication, and procurement .

Key Steps For Project Planning

• Create a project management plan : Identify the phases, activities, constraints , and project schedule, and create a project timeline with a work breakdown structure (WBS) and Gantt chart .
• Create a financial plan : Create a project budget and cost estimate, and a plan to meet your maximum cost, complete with allocations across resources and departments
• Create a resource plan : Build a great team and recruit and schedule the resources and materials needed to deliver the project in your resource management software
• Create a quality plan : Set your quality targets and measures
• Create a risk plan : Identify the possible risks, assumptions , issues, and dependencies; assign an owner; and develop a mitigation plan for how you will avoid/overcome them
• Create an acceptance plan : Assign criteria for what constitutes ‘done’ and ‘delivered’
• Create a communication plan : List your stakeholders and plan the communication cadence in your project communications tool
• Create a procurement plan : Find any 3rd party suppliers required and agree on terms

3. Project Execution Phase

This is the part of the project life cycle where you finally get to execute on your awesome project plan. You bring your resources onboard, brief them, set the ground rules, and introduce them to one another. After that, everyone jumps in to perform the work identified in the plan. Easy peasy (in theory).

As the project manager, you shift from talking about a project and creating documentation to getting the green light to proceed with the execution phase. Now, you’re leading the team and managing them toward delivery. You’ll spend your time in briefings, meetings, and reviews, and keep the project on track as it moves through the project life cycle.

Key Steps For Project Execution

• Team leadership: Cast a vision for success and enable the team to deliver on it
• Create tasks : Clearly define what needs to be done and the criteria for each project task
• Task briefing : Ensure the team is clear about what they need to do, and when they need to do it by
• Client management : Work with the client to ensure deliverables are acceptable
• Communications : Ensure you’re informing and updating the right people at the right time through the right channel

4. Project Monitoring & Controlling Phase

This project management step involves reporting on performance and monitoring and controlling the project.

That means ensuring the project is going according to plan, and if it isn’t, controlling it by working out solutions to get it back on track. As a project manager, you’ll be monitoring and controlling a project in some way throughout all of the project life cycle phases.

First, that means ensuring you capture the data (usually derived from timesheets and reports in your project management software) to track progress effectively against the original plan.

Second, it means taking the data and comparing overall project progress, milestone and task completion, budget spend, and time allocated in the original plan. By comparing the actuals against the plan, you can establish whether or not you’re hitting the objectives for timeline, cost, quality, and success metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs).

And when you realize that things aren’t quite going to plan (they rarely do), it’s figuring out the options for pivoting the project so that it still delivers something the client is happy with while meeting the budget, timeline, and quality constraints. 

Pro-tip: usually that means reducing the scope of the project !

Key Steps For Project Monitoring And Controlling

• Cost & time management : Review timesheets and expenses to record, control, and track against the project’s budget, timeline, and tasks
• Quality management : Reviewing project deliverables and ensuring they meet the defined acceptance criteria
• Risk management : Monitor, control, manage, and mitigate potential risks and issues
• Acceptance management : Conduct user acceptance testing and create a reviewing system, ensuring that all deliverables meet the needs of the client
• Change management : When the project doesn’t go to plan, managing the process of acceptable changes with the client to ensure they’re happy with necessary changes

5. Project Closure Phase

In the closing phase of the project life cycle, your project is essentially over and your job as a project manager comes to a close. But the project’s not over yet. 

During this project closing step, before everyone forgets, it’s useful to hold a post-project review meeting or post-mortem to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the project and team, what went wrong or didn’t go so well, and how to improve in the future.

This can be one of the most rewarding stages of project management, as it’s a great opportunity to recognize and acknowledge valuable team members and celebrate successes.

Key Steps For Project Closure

• Project performance analysis : This is an overall look at how well the project was managed, and whether the initial estimates of costs and benefits were accurate. Were there unforeseen risks? What issues arose and how well were they dealt with? Has the project plan been changed, and how?
• Team analysis : Did everyone do what they were assigned to do? Were they passionate and motivated enough? Did they stay thorough and accountable? Was the communication within the project team healthy and constructive?
• Project closure : Document the tasks needed to bring the project to an official end. This includes closing supplier agreements, signing off contracts, and handing in all the necessary project documentation.
• Post-implementation review : Write down a formal analysis of successes and failure, resulting lessons learned , and suggestions for the future. At the end of every successful project, you will learn that room for improvement always remains.

Why Is The Project Life Cycle Important?

While the project life cycle might not sound that interesting, it is important because it’s what we as project managers lead and facilitate.

The steps involved in any project are generally the same: define a project’s objectives, create a project plan to meet the objectives, and then make stuff happen to accomplish it. Different project managers or agencies may use slightly different terms to describe the project life cycle phases in various projects, but fundamentally, they’re pretty much the same.

A project always has to start somewhere: the problem that needs fixing needs to be defined. A solution to fixing that problem and an approach to doing it then has to be created.

That plan has to then be put into action, and then that plan has to be tracked to make sure it does what it’s supposed to. The project is then deployed, performance is evaluated, and the project is officially over.

The project life cycle provides project managers with steps to follow throughout projects. It defines where to start, and where to go next at each stage in the project. No matter how crazy things get, you’ll have a reliable structure to go back to and regroup on. 

When The Project Life Cycle Gets Complex

The project life cycle is simple, right? No, of course not! Like most things in life, projects are complex and involve a large number of variables, along with plenty of grey area.

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If you’re just diving into the world of project management for the first time, you might feel intimidated by starting a new project. Fortunately, you can utilize the project life cycle, which is a set of stages that takes a project from start to completion. Read on to learn about each phase of the project lifecycle, its role in the success of the project, and how you can properly manage each phase for optimum results.

What are Project Phases?

Project phases are smaller portions of a project that represent distinct goals or milestones in the larger project lifecycle. Within the project lifecycle, there are 5 project phases, as defined by the Project Management Institute: 

• Project Initiation
• Project Planning
• Project Execution
• Project Monitoring and Control
• Project Closure

An entire project comes with a lot of requirements before it could even start, which are often gathered during the discovery phase or requirement phase. Once the project kicks off, each stage of the actual execution itself has another set of specific requirements of the project team, as well as key deliverables and action items that keep the project moving forward successfully. Mastering project phases is essential for keeping the project on track while completing essential tasks and checkpoints throughout the process. 

Read more: 14 Important Questions Project Managers Should Ask the Team

What are the 5 phases of project management, project initiation phase.

A team’s performance during the Project Initiation Phase can result in either authorization, delay, or discontinuation of a new project.

The main goal of the Initiation Phase is to ensure that the project meets business needs and that stakeholders and project teams are aligned on the project success criteria throughout the project life cycle.

To achieve the project goal, it’s best to involve internal and external stakeholders from the Initiation Phase . This way, you can effectively align expectations and increase the likelihood of completing all the deliverables throughout the project management life cycle.

During the Initiation Phase, the entire project team defines the project idea, and the project sponsor evaluates it and authorizes the project to proceed. The project manager starts the documentation process, which includes the justification, deliverables, risks, estimated cost, and resource requirements.

The Project Charter is a key deliverable of the Project Initiation Phase and contains all this information. It is the first formal definition of the project. It authorizes the project to exist, establishes the authority of the project manager, and documents high-level requirements, project milestones, and success criteria.

Another important document in the Initiation Phase is the Stakeholder Register. This document includes information about all the stakeholders of the project. It identifies the people, groups, and organizations that have an interest in the task, project, and its results.

Approval of the Project Charter signals the advance of the project to the next phase, the Project Planning Phase.

Read more: What is a Project Charter? Complete Guide & Examples

Project Planning Phase

Once the expectations and success criteria are clear, the next project management life cycle phase focuses on planning each task the team needs to perform to cover the scope, achieve the deliverables, and meet the overall goal.

In the Project Planning Phase, the project team members dive into specific requirements, tasks, timelines, and actions. The project manager works with the entire team to create the design, enumerate the task list, and estimate the budget.

The project team builds the resource plan, the communications plan, and the initial project schedule. The project manager also establishes the roles and responsibilities of the team and stakeholders. The project scope is finalized depending on approved available resources and client priorities.

During the Planning Phase , the project team finalizes the Work Breakdown Structure, Project Plan, Requirements List, Communications Management Plan, and other relevant documents to iron out the workflow and coordination with involved parties.

The Project Plan is a key deliverable and contains a detailed work breakdown structure (WBS) or task list with start and end dates, and estimated effort and duration. It identifies milestones, resources, and the schedule. It also includes task dependencies that will allow the project team to use the critical path method if it chooses.

Other important deliverables are the Communications Management Plan, which helps facilitate effective communication with stakeholders, and the Resource Allocation Plan which identifies the schedule of project team resources as to their availability during the whole project life cycle.

Something PMs should keep in mind: As you discover more information, you may have to adjust your previous Project Plan and related procedures. More complex projects will require more back-and-forth approvals for every task created.

Project planning is an iterative process so the project manager should review, revise, and revisit all the plans at least once a month until the completion of the project. It is crucial for the project team to involve relevant stakeholders in this stage of the project life cycle as well.

Read more: Project Management Communication Plan

Project Execution Phase

The Project Execution Phase is where the project team executes and follows through on tasks based on the Project Plan. At this stage, the team spends most of its time coordinating with people, helping to ensure quality work, keeping track of resources, and updating stakeholders.

Sometimes called the Implementation Phase, this is the phase when the project manager tries to manage every task and aspect of project delivery to keep the project on track for the remaining duration of the project life cycle.

The project team focuses on achieving all the objectives set in the earlier phases. At this phase, the project leader likely uses project management software to assign every task to team members. Tools that centralize task information, along with resource availability and team communication can simplify and optimize the needed project management processes.

Quality Assurance documentation, meeting minutes, and Work Orders are some of the documents created during the Execution Phase of the project management life cycle.

It’s also likely that you’ll discover new information that will require a revisit and update of the initial project management plans. Be vigilant with change requests, and make sure that the necessary adjustments are managed.

Read more: Understanding Different Types of Stakeholders and Their Roles

Project Monitoring & Control Phase

The best way to ensure progress and improvement is by tracking and reviewing project performance.

Simultaneously during execution, the project team carefully tracks the progress of the project based on the Project Plan established earlier. Tracking the performance of the project through various metrics is crucial to ensure the project stays on schedule, within budget, and within scope.

The project team keeps track of change management documents, spending records, QA checklists, and team time tracking. They are able to measure where efforts and resources go throughout the project life cycle, crosschecking it with the Project Plan.

Both the Execution Phase and Monitoring & Control Phase are critical times that can determine project success. Aside from monitoring the progress of tasks, the project manager also tries to identify issues or risks, creates a mitigation plan with the team, and reports the project status regularly to stakeholders.

Being diligent in recording and measuring project progress puts the project team in a strategic position. They can identify bottlenecks and initiate essential discussions or project management process improvements.

Having a proactive approach will allow the project team to respond rapidly to any change in the plan. Consistent and appropriate status reporting will update interested stakeholders and provide them the opportunity to intervene in or redirect the project as needed.

If additional planning, time, or resources are needed, you’ll need to communicate them to relevant project stakeholders before it’s too late. You’ll also have the data and results to back up your requests, so you have a better chance of justifying your requests and maintaining their trust despite circumstances.

Read more: 10 Best Project Management Software Buyers’ Guide

Project Closure Phase

In the last project management life cycle phase, all the activities related to its completion are concluded. These may involve the submission of a final deliverable, fulfilling contractual obligations, terminating relevant agreements, and releasing project resources.

The causes of a project closure can be completion, cancellation, termination, or transfer to a new organization. The documentation required to complete Project Closure will differ depending on the situation.

In this phase, the project manager communicates the final project disposition and status to all stakeholders. This phase also ensures to inform participants and stakeholders of any follow-on activities or continuing product life cycle so they can communicate and coordinate with the people in charge.

Regardless of the outcome of the project life cycle, however, it would be good for the team to conduct a project retrospective. During this post-mortem activity, the project team can process new lessons and ensure the improvement of current project management processes for a future project.

During the project closeout, documents to turn over can include various project documentation, final meeting minutes, and other closure reports. These documents can identify and capture lessons learned and best practices for future reference and reuse.

It is a good idea to organize and store project materials in a shared team folder. These materials can provide reference during performance evaluation. The opportunity to continuously test, improve, or reinvent ways to manage the whole project life cycle can help grow the organization and its business.

Read more: How to Host a Good Project Post-Mortem Meeting

VIDEO: Recap of 5 Project Management Phases

Why Are Project Phases Important?

All projects go through each of the five phases regardless of their size.

The decision to officially divide a project into phases is an excellent way to manage the team’s focus, allocate resources, and align the entire project life cycle with clients and stakeholders.

By thinking in terms of phases, the project team ensures that deliverables produced at the end of each phase meet the project’s goals. Managing a project by phase also makes sure that the team is properly prepared for the next phase.

Project life cycle phases provide additional benefits. The approach provides a structured approach for project delivery. Defined activities, outputs, and responsibilities create a clear and common roadmap for the project team to follow.

Defined phases and defined roles show a visible framework easily understood by all team members and stakeholders. Assignment of responsibilities by phase clarifies what the team should only be doing in each phase and helps streamline communication.

Working on projects phase by phase helps track and link progress directly to each phase. Completion of each phase is easily recognizable by all involved.

Another benefit of project management by phase is the progressive evolution of the project. This helps identify areas that need greater attention for a particular phase. It also marks clearly the points and opportunities for structured reviews to support project governance.

Though equally important, they are not to be confused with the process groups outlined in PMBOK’s IPECC model , which also includes initiation, planning, execution, control, and closure but refers to a collection of activities needed to achieve specific goals. Process groups are sometimes considered part of project phases.

While PMBOK recommends assigning project phases according to a project’s life cycle, project teams can follow their own system depending on their industry, organizational policies, and other relevant factors. For example, teams and organizations focused on monitoring the usage of resources can use the critical chain project management methodology.

Read next: Key Project Management Terms and Concepts

Throughout the project lifecycle, there are a variety of tools that can be used to limit stress, automate workflows, and keep the project moving successfully. 

Gantt Charts

Gantt charts are a powerful planning tool that can help teams visualize individual deadlines against task dependencies and overall project progress. This type of chart can be especially useful early on in the project lifecycle, particularly the planning stage. 

Project Management Software

Project management software solutions are likely the most well-known tools in project management—and for good reason. Within one application, users can set task deadlines, view project overviews, extract data about project progress, automate workflows, and more. 

Collaboration Tools

Whether it’s a remote team, in-office, or a hybrid blend, collaboration is one of the most important elements of running a successful project. While some project management software solutions offer built-in collaboration tools, utilizing the power of other tools that are directly centered around team communication, such as Slack, can ensure the team has a central space to communicate updates. 

Throughout the project lifecycle, the project manager takes ownership of the project and relays updates to team members. As each phase of the project progresses, the project manager will facilitate discussions, track progress, and address any roadblocks.

The project initiation phase is arguably the most important phase of the project lifecycle, as this is when the project is conceived and approved so that work can begin. During this phase, it’s common for a team to present a proposal in order to gain approval for the project.

Read more: Project Proposal with Template

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5 phases of the project life cycle: An end-to-end guide

If you've ever been responsible for planning and delivering a project, you know how many moving parts fall into a project management life cycle. 

First, you need to decide why this project is taking place and what it will accomplish.

Then comes planning, assigning, and setting deadlines. Of course, you should track your project milestones every step of the way. Finally, you must deliver the entire project to your client on time and within budget.

That’s a lot to plan and manage.

Breaking down the project life cycle and carefully planning tasks makes the process much easier. It helps you stay on top of your deadlines, progress, and goals so you deliver a successful product.  

Today, we’ll explore the five phases of a project life cycle and how to tackle them like a pro!

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5 phases of the project life cycle

• What is a project life cycle?

A project lifecycle is a series of phases that define the process of taking a project from its inception to completion. It provides structure — or, rather, a roadmap — to help you organize, manage, and track progress.

Each phase has its own objectives and deliverables that build on the next and eventually lead to the successful completion of a project. This allows the project manager to break down every task and request into smaller, manageable chunks so it's easier to carefully plan and deliver everything.

Learning a project life cycle (and why it is so useful) gives leaders a framework to plan, execute, and deliver every project like a smooth operator.

• What are the 5 phases of the project life cycle?

Much like you would break down the life cycle of a customer or a product, there are phases to the process to help you stay on track. Knowing each phase's key milestones and deliverables will help you plan and manage your projects effectively. Here, we'll explore the five stages of the project life cycle phase and how to execute each one effectively.

• 1. Project initiation phase

Every project life cycle starts with the same question: Why are we doing this project in the first place?

This phase of the project management life cycle is called project initiation. It helps determine the vision, goals, and scope of the project. This is where you set up the roadmap for success and decide whether it’s feasible. Here, teams discuss the problem that the project will solve and how they plan to achieve their goals (whether internally or for a stakeholder). 

Suppose your client is having problems turning landing page visitors into leads with their latest marketing campaign. In that case, the initiation phase will analyze the problem and brainstorm how to overcome the roadblocks. 

To do this, your team will need to: 

Break down the problem in detail so you can figure out whether or not your plan will actually fix or solve the project.

Calculate how long the project will last, how many resources you'll need, and whether or not your agency has the capacity to take it on.

Identify the individual deliverables for the project (i.e., landing page audit to track conversions, new strategy implementation).

Write a detailed description (project charter) of what the project work will look like (including a project timeline and costs) for the client, so they can see if it fits with their budget and time constraints.

Don't spend a ton of time and resources on the project initiation phase. It’s likely that you (and your client) are still deciding whether or not the project is a good fit. Try to think of it as a contract rather than a scope of work. 

Once a project charter is delivered outlining your plan, you’re all set! Now, you just need to wait for their answer. 

Project objectives during the initiation phase

Feasibility study: What problem must the client solve, and can you fix it?

Identify project scope: Outline the project's goals, milestones, and budget.

Establish the success criteria: Does your agency have the bandwidth to take on the project?

Identify the project stakeholders: Who will be involved in the project? How does the project affect them? What are their needs and expectations?

Prepare and deliver a project charter: Outline the project timeline, budget, and deliverables to your client for review.

Gain stakeholder approval: Get the client's sign-off to move forward.

Once the project has been given the green light, move on to Phase 2 of the project life cycle — planning. 

• 2. Project planning phase

The planning phase is where your team goes from "How do we solve this problem?" to "Here's how we're going to solve this problem."

This is where ideas, deadlines, milestones, and expectations are put onto paper. It's also where the project schedule is put into place.

Before sitting your team down to start brainstorming about the project timeline, the project manager has some specifics to work out. For example: 

Who will be working on the project?

Which team members will be responsible for delivering each task?

What are the key project milestones and goals, and when do they need to be delivered? 

Will the project's timeline rely on dependencies? (i.e., what task must be finished before this other one can start?) 

Where should your team communicate and collaborate once the project kicks off?

Which metrics will you use to measure project success once work begins?  

As you can see, there are a lot of project pieces to organize before you can even meet with your team with a solid plan. The next part of the planning phase is to build an in-depth project plan that acts like your team's "north star."

This is where task lists, milestones, deadlines, and expectations are written in black and white to keep everyone aligned. You'll also need to consider the project's budget and timeline to ensure the client gets what they want within their specified time frame and budget.

However, building a project plan can be a time-consuming process. If you don't already have one, you can easily make your own , save it, and use it to plan future projects. Or simply download our free project plan template to help your team manage projects more efficiently to complete them on time and stay within budget.

Automate your processes with templates

Use project and task list templates to ensure your team never misses a step at each phase of your product development process, and use triggers to automatically add due dates or reassign tasks for smoother, more efficient team handovers as you move through the project’s life cycle.

Get started with Teamwork.com

Once you've got a project plan in place, the next step is to call a team meeting to get feedback from the people working on it. This meeting will hash out some finer details, like whether the project deliverables and timelines are realistic. 

Project objectives during the planning phase

Complete a detailed project plan: Clearly outline deliverables, dependencies, milestones, and deadlines. Devise a work breakdown structure to break tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Allocate tasks: Assign tasks to team members based on each person’s skills and availability. Ensure everyone understands their roles, responsibilities, and expectations and they have access to the resources they need.

Create a financial plan: Map out the project’s budget and add in any contingencies for unexpected expenses — detail allocations for every cost associated with the project.

Establish timelines & expectations: Outline the project timeline, communication protocols, and rules of engagement. Set your quality targets, review points, and success criteria.

Devise a risk mitigation plan: Identify potential risks and create mitigation plans. Detail how to handle scope creep, unexpected delays, and other disruptions.

Now that your team is up to speed and your plan is in place, it's time to begin the project work.

• 3. Project execution phase

The execution phase is where the rubber meets the road. This is where your team puts in the work to bring ideas and plans to fruition. 

You've already decided who is responsible for what tasks and when they need to be done, so it's time to get rolling. This is where the project manager keeps a close eye on progress, reviews team members' work, and ensures everyone stays on track.

Your responsibilities in this phase of the project include: 

Task management and conducting regular meetings with your team to make sure everything is on track.

Ensure the team hits milestones and allocated resources aren’t stretched beyond capacity.

Talk to your team regularly to set expectations, provide updates on project progress, and give the next steps to keep the project moving smoothly.

Even with the smallest projects, keeping tabs on both individual and project-wide progress can be tough. Fortunately, you can automate most of this process with the right tools. 

Project reporting solutions like Teamwork.com can be used to track milestones and flag them when they are at risk of being missed. Each project milestone is tracked automatically and kept inside a Planned vs. Actual Milestone Report you can access from anywhere.

This report breaks down the percentage of tasks completed within each milestone (and when they’re due) so project managers can easily see whether they’ll be finished in time. 

Using the time period dropdown in the top right, you can switch between week, month, and quarter views.

If deadlines are at risk of being missed, the report will alert you so that additional resources can be allocated to get your timeline back on track.

Project objectives during the execution phase

Monitor progress: How is your team progressing against the project plan? Has your team completed all of their tasks on time and hit the planned milestones?

Provide feedback & support: Give consistent updates, recognize a job well done, and provide timely feedback. Encourage, support, and motivate your team to keep them engaged.

Manage risks & bottlenecks: Review the project plan, task list, and timeline regularly to spot any risks or bottlenecks. Is anything holding up progress? Are there any tasks that need to be reassigned or scheduled differently? Refer to your risk mitigation plan to address any issues quickly.

Communicate progress: Hold regular meetings with your team and other stakeholders. Give updates on project progress, answer questions, and address any potential issues.

With everything running smoothly, it's time to take a closer look at the project numbers and make sure budgets and productivity are on pace. This is phase four of the project life cycle — control. 

• 4. Project control phase

Progress is fantastic, but not without the budget, deliverables, and client expectations aligning every step of the way. In other words, you need to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks and that you stay on track with your original targets. To ensure this happens, it’s time to dig into some critical metrics.

For project managers, this means: 

Tracking resource utilization and task competition rates to ensure everyone is working at the predicted productivity rate

Measuring spent vs. remaining budget while also calculating if you need to cut costs to meet the forecasted project spend

Keeping in regular contact with the client and updating them on progress, as well as getting feedback about any issues they have throughout the project

Once again, doing all of this is hard without the right project management software . Manually keeping tabs on which tasks are getting done or how much money is being spent can easily take up most of your day. 

Teamwork.com’s health report solves this by giving project managers a real-time snapshot of the most critical parts of a project. 

Automatically track everything from task progress to milestones and budgets as Teamwork.com combines all this data into a dashboard. Project managers can quickly see which deliverables may be at risk if they don't take action. 

This phase is also where you need to be strict about where your project team spends their time. 

Let's say that your team is conducting a six-week website audit for a client. After two weeks, it's clear that there is a lot of work to do on their site — more work than in the original project outline. 

It's up to the project manager to talk to the client and outline that if they want the extra problems tackled, the project charter needs to be updated to reflect the extra work (and extra costs). Communicating with the client before your team does any extra work is the only way to ensure the project doesn’t fall victim to scope creep. 

Project objectives during the control phase

Review progress: Track project progress, resource utilization, and task completion rates. Is your team’s productivity meeting what you originally forecasted? Did any tasks slip through the cracks? 

Analyze budget: Review your budget and ensure the project spend aligns with your initial predictions. Is the project staying on budget? Are there areas where you can cut costs?

Client communication and change management: Keep your client informed about possible problems with the project charter (i.e., extra work your team has come across that needs to be completed before the project can move forward). Address any issues they have and get their feedback.

Risk management: Are you monitoring possible risks to your project’s health and dealing with them so the work will still get delivered on time? This is critical to preventing costly delays and maintaining client relationships.

When all the work for the project has been completed, it is time to deliver it to the client and wrap everything up.

• 5. Project closure phase

Don’t be fooled by the name.

The final stage of a project life cycle — the project closure phase — is more than just delivering files to your client and waiting for your check. 

First, you need to conduct a smooth handover with your client and make sure they're happy with your team's work as per the initial statement of work. Ask for their feedback and if they've got any suggestions on improving it if you work together again. 

Then the team needs to complete a project retrospective to see what went right, what went wrong, and what needs to be improved. This should include: 

A meeting with team feedback on what worked best or how it could improve

Analyzing report analytics to see how the project budget, resource utilization, and timeframes matched up to what was originally planned

Planning to fix any problems in the next project

Post-mortems don’t just help your team work better on the next project — they also show your clients that you're serious about doing your best work for them. This (hopefully) gets them jazzed about using your agency again. 

Project objectives during the closure phase

Project performance analysis: An overview of the project management process, including how the project was managed, whether it met the cost and benefits, and any unforeseen issues that arose during the execution. How did the team perform? Did everyone meet their expectations, and was the communication plan effective?

Document project closure: Assess and outline all the tasks you need to do before the official project delivery. Sign off contracts, close open supplier agreements, and allocate unused budget for future projects.

Post-implementation review: Every project is a learning process. Document successes, failures, and suggestions for future projects. 

• Mastering the project life cycle makes your pipeline more efficient

The multi-step process of a project life cycle can be overwhelming if you don't have a project management plan in place. You'll need to plan everything from writing project charters to tracking progress and preventing scope creep to ensure a successful project.

When you understand each phase of a project's life cycle, this becomes a lot less daunting. Breaking each phase down into manageable pieces will help you navigate your project pipeline successfully and deliver every project on budget and on time. 

With Teamwork.com, it’s easy to track every phase of your project from start to finish. Try it free for 30 days!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Willow is a Brand and Communications Specialist at Teamwork.com. She has a deep understanding of agencies, and works to develop content and campaigns that speak their language and support their unique needs.

The engineer’s guide to project management software

How architects use project management software (+ 5 top tools)

What does a finance project manager do?

Product project management: How to ensure your agency delivers for early-stage founders

Standardizing your product management workflow for superior project outcomes

How product leads leverage the sprint cycle to meet client deadlines

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What Is the Project Life Cycle?

There are many different types of projects, but interestingly, they all have one thing in common. They all go through the same cycle, known as the project life cycle, or project management life cycle.

The 5 Project Life Cycle Phases

The project life cycle is made up of five project stages: project initiation, project planning, project execution, monitoring & control and project closing. Each of these phases is necessary for the effective delivery of the project .

Here’s a general description of the phases that make up the project life cycle and what can you do in each for successful project delivery. For example, you’ll need to produce important project documentation at each step in the process.

1. Project Initiation Phase

This is the start of the project for the project manager, who is responsible for defining the project at a high level. This usually begins with a business case , feasibility study, cost-benefit analysis and other types of research to determine whether the project is feasible and should or shouldn’t be undertaken. Stakeholders provide input. If the project is approved, then a project charter is created, which provides an overview of the project and sets up the stage for your project plan.

2. Project Planning Phase

This is where the project plan is created, and all involved in the project will follow it. This phase begins by setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) goals. The scope of the project is defined and a project management plan is created, identifying cost, quality, resources and a timetable. Some of the features of this phase include a scope statement, setting of milestones, communication, risk management plans and a work breakdown structure.

3. Project Executing Phase

Now begins the part of the project that most people think of as the project: executing the tasks, deliverables and milestones defined in the project scope . Some tasks that make up this phase include developing the team and assigning resources using key performance indicators, executing the project plan, procurement management and tracking and monitoring progress. If needed, you can set status meetings and revise the schedule and plan.

4. Project Monitoring and Controlling Phase

The project monitoring and controlling phase consists of setting up controls and key performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of the project execution. The monitoring and controlling project phase is very important to make sure the execution goes as planned in terms of schedule , scope and budget baselines.

5. Project Closing Phase

It’s not over until the project closure phase it’s over. Completing the deliverables to the satisfaction of your stakeholders is key, of course, but the project manager must now disassemble the apparatus created to fulfill the project. That means closing out work with contractors, making sure everyone has been paid and ensuring that all project documents are signed off on and archived to help with planning future projects.

Once this has been done, the project manager often has a post-mortem with the project team to highlight what worked and what didn’t work, so that successes can be repeated and mistakes avoided.

Understanding the Project Management Life Cycle

Jennifer Bridges, PMP, is our resident project management expert. She hosts hundreds of our training videos, including this one explaining the project management life cycle.

ProjectManager Helps Manage the Project Life Cycle

ProjectManager is a robust project management software that offers multiple project views and features for each step of the project management life cycle. Here are some of its key project management tools.

Plan, Schedule and Track with Gantt Charts

Our online Gantt chart helps you plan the project, collecting your task list into a timeline. The duration for each task can then be set and each task assigned to a team member. Collaboration happens at the task level on the Gantt chart, where team members can comment and add relevant documents and images. They can even tag those not assigned to the task and they’ll be notified by email.

Multiple Project Management Tools

The Gantt chart is just one of ProjectManager’s project management views. You can also use the kanban view , dashboards, workload charts, timesheets and other tools. Use kanban boards to visualize the workflow, where cards represent the tasks, keeping team members focused on what they’re working on and project managers get a bird’s eye view. Resources can be reallocated and important dates, such as holidays and vacation days, are marked to know who can work when.

Create Project Reports in Minutes

One-click reporting gives project managers the data to present to stakeholders on various aspects of the project. These reports can be filtered to show the information you want and allow for deeper dives as necessary. The real-time dashboard shows project metrics in colorful and easy-to-read graphs and charts, giving you the most accurate picture of your project’s progress.

More Project Management Templates Can Help Manage the Project Life Cycle

We have created dozens of project management templates to help project managers manage each phase of the project life cycle. Here are some of them.

Project Charter Template

The project charter is the main outcome of the project initiation phase. Our free project charter template is a great place to start building your project and get it approved by stakeholders.

Project Plan Template

A project plan is a thorough project management document that guides the project execution. Our free project plan template is fully customizable, so you can include what matters most to your project.

Project Budget Template

Our free project budget template is a great starting point to gather your project tasks, estimate their costs and create a basic project budget. However, if you truly want to use advanced project management features and have full control over your project portfolio, you should try ProjectManager.

Related Content

• Project Management: The Ultimate Guide
• Project Execution Strategies
• Project Initiation: How to Start Your Project Off Right
• 5 Steps to Project Closure (Checklist Included)

ProjectManager is an award-winning project management solution that assists you in all aspects of project management. Online planning tools and web-based task management features let you collaborate on the go and make adjustments. Then, create comprehensive reports from the data with only a few clicks. Try it for yourself by taking this free 30-day trial today.

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Project Management and project lifecycle

2020, Project Management and project life cycle

a breif introduction to the project management with project life cycle

Related Papers

Jana Kostalova

The project management theory and standards offer a wide range of project management methods and tools. To ensure the maximum possible effectiveness of application of a particular methods or tools, it is necessary to assess suitability of their application within project life cycle stages, and also their suitability from the point of view of the type of the solved project. The paper authors aimed to identify suitable project management methods and tools, and assess their applicability from the point of view of individual project life cycle stages and from the point of view of the type of the solved projects.

Mohammed Elyas

David Biggins

Project management is increasingly important to organisations because projects are the method by which organisations respond to their environment. A key element within project management is the standards and methods that are used to control and conduct projects, collectively known as project management methods (PMMs) and exemplified by PRINCE2, the Project Management Institute’s and the Association for Project Management’s Bodies of Knowledge (PMBOK and APMBOK). The purpose of this paper is to apply the life cycle approach to PMMs, stimulate debate on the accuracy and merits of the life cycle approach and to facilitate the development of the life cycle in the future. Currently no life cycle process exists for PMMs. Developed from desk-based research and empirical evidence, a life cycle has been proposed consisting of five stages: Select, Embed, Tailor, Operate and Develop. The stages are explained and a call made for further research to develop and validate the life cycle model.

Sabawoon Gahiz

Every project, regardless of scope or complexity, goes through a series of stages from conception to completion. These phases of a project life cycle are synonymous to life cycle of living beings. There is no universal consensus on the number of phases in a project cycle. an understanding of the life cycle is important to successful completion of the project as it facilitates typical project consists of four phases: conceptualization (initiation), planning, execution and termination (closure). each phase is marked by one or more deliverables such as concept note, feasibility report, implementation plan, HRD plan, resource allocation plan, evaluation report etc.

Project Management for Engineering, Business, and Technology

Catalina Soare

PM World Journal

Dr Paul D Giammalvo

This paper goes on the record and challenges the definitions of “life cycle” and “life span” terminology Kik Piney and Dr. Ken Smith used in their respective articles AND to clarify the confusion between the names of the Asset Life Span PHASES and the PROCESS GROUPINGS, which unfortunately, share similar names and are frequently confused. Ref Piney, C. (2023). On the Subject of Project Life Cycle Terminology, Letter to the Editor, PMWorld Journal, Vol. XII, Issue VII, July https://pmworldjournal.com/article/on-project-life-cycleterminology Ref: Smith, K. F. (2023). Project Life Cycle * Sophie’s Choice: What’s in a Word? Commentary, PM World Journal, Vol. XII, Issue VI, June. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wpcontent/uploads/2023/06/pmwj130-Jun2023-Smith-project-life-cycle-sophies-choice-2.pdf

Project Management Journal

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Shalini Gangatharan

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4 Phases of the Project Management Lifecycle Explained

The project management lifecycle consists of four steps: initiating, planning, executing, and closing.

What is the project management lifecycle?

The project management lifecycle is a step-by-step framework of best practices used to monitor a project from its beginning to its end. It provides project managers with a structured way to create, execute, and finish a project.

This project management process generally includes four phases: initiating, planning, executing, and closing. Some may also include a fifth “monitoring and controlling” phase between the executing and closing stages. Each step plays a crucial role in making sure the project has the best chance of achieving its goals.

The project management lifecycle provides projects with structure and tools to ensure they have the best chance of being successful. As a project manager, it is a process you will want to know well.

The Project Management Lifecycle: 4 Steps

1. initiating.

In the initiation phase, you will define the project. You will sort out the project goals, scope, and resources of the project and what roles are needed on the team. Clarifying what stakeholders expect out of the project, and what exactly the project is aiming to achieve (and why) will give the project and team clear direction.

This is a crucial phase to the project’s success. Without clarity around what needs to be achieved and why the project runs the risk of not accomplishing the end results and meeting the expectations of stakeholders.

Some steps in the initiation phase include:

Communicating with stakeholders to understand the purpose and desired outcomes of the project

Identifying the scope of the project

Determining SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound)

Clarifying resources like budget and time constraints

Confirming team size and roles required

Determining how often and which stakeholders will be involved throughout the project

Compiling a project proposal and project charter

Tools and documents used in the initiation phase can include:

Project proposal: The project proposal defines a project and outlines key dates, requirements, and goals.

Project charter: This is a definitive document that describes the project and main details necessary to reach its goals. This can include potential risks, benefits, constraints, and key stakeholders.

RACI chart: A RACI chart, lays down the roles and responsibilities of members of a project team.

Dive deeper: Get an in-depth look at the project management lifecycle through the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate . Learn job-ready skills at your own pace in six months or less.

2. Planning

In the planning phase, you will determine the steps to actually achieve the project goals—the “how” of completing a project. 

You will establish budgets, timelines, milestones, source materials, and necessary documents. This step also involves calculating and predicting risk, establishing change processes in place, and outlining communication protocols. If the initiation phase is assembling your troops, the planning phase is deciding what to do with them.

The planning phase can include the following steps:

Deciding on milestones that lead up to goal completion

Developing a schedule for tasks and milestones, including time estimates and potential time buffers

Establishing change processes

Determining how and how often to communicate with team members and stakeholders

Creating and signing documents such as non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or requests for proposal (RFPs)

Assessing and managing risk by creating a risk register

Holding a kick-off meeting to start a project

Tools you might use in a planning phase include: 

Gantt chart: A horizontal bar chart in which members can see what tasks must be completed in which order and how long each task is expected to take

Risk register: A chart that lists risks associated with the project, along with their probability, potential impact, risk level, and mitigation plans

3. Execute and complete tasks

Executing a project means putting your plan into action and keeping the team on track. Generally, this means tracking and measuring progress, managing quality, mitigating risk, managing the budget, and using data to inform your decisions. 

Specific steps might include:

Using tools like GANTT or burndown charts to track progress on tasks

Responding to risks when they manifest

Recording costs

Keeping team members motivated and on task

Keeping stakeholders informed of progress

Incorporating changes via change requests

Some tools you might use include:

Change requests: These are documents used to propose changes to a project’s scope or goals

Burndown chart: This chart breaks down tasks on a granular level and visualises the amount of time remaining

4. Close projects

In the closing phase of the project management lifecycle, you will conclude project activities, turn the finished product or service over to its new owners and assess the things that went well and did not go so well. It will also be a time to celebrate your hard work.

Steps in the closing phase can include:

Conducting retrospectives and take notes of changes you can implement in the future

Communicating to stakeholders at the end of the project and providing an impact report

Communicating with the new owners of a project

Creating a project closeout report

Celebrating the end of the project and your successes

Tools used in the closing phase include:

Impact report: This report compiles a series of metrics that showcase how your project made a difference and is presented to your stakeholders.

Project closeout report: A project closeout report provides a summary of your project’s accomplishments, and provides key learnings for future project managers to reference.

Getting started in project management

Mastering all steps of the project management lifecycle is an ongoing process that will continue throughout your career. Learning the formal aspects—the tools, steps, and vocabulary used in the process—can set you up for success in your beginning days as a project manager. If you are interested in increasing your knowledge of project management, consider the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate to learn job-ready project management skills at your own pace.

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Blog Data Visualization What is The Project Life Cycle & its 5 Main Phases?

What is The Project Life Cycle & its 5 Main Phases?

Written by: Midori Nediger Oct 31, 2023

To an outsider, it might seem like the project management process is easy…just talking to clients, scheduling meetings, assigning tasks and reminding team members of deadlines.

But anyone who has managed a project will tell you it’s much more than that, which is why the project life cycle is so useful.

What is a project life cycle?

The project life cycle is a 5-step framework designed to help project managers guide their projects successfully from start to finish. The purpose of the project life cycle is to create an easy-to-follow framework to guide projects.

What are the 5 main stages of the project life cycle?

• The project initiation stage : Define project goals, evaluate feasibility and establish the project’s purpose and stakeholders.
• The project planning stage : Create a comprehensive project blueprint outlining tasks, timelines and resource allocation .
• The project execution stage : Put the project plan into action, ensuring effective communication and coordination among team members.
• The project monitoring & controlling stage : Track project progress, identify any deviations and make necessary adjustments to keep the project on course.
• The project closure stage : Complete all project tasks, obtain client approval and conduct a thorough review to capture valuable insights for future projects.

Understanding and planning for the 5 stages of the project life cycle can help you manage, organize and plan so your project will go off without a hitch.

A project management life cycle will help:

• Ease communication between project teams and stakeholders with the help of agile project management tools
• Ensure goals are achievable with the available resources
• Help mitigate risk and keep projects on track

But what does each stage of the cycle look like?

1. Project initiation stage: Define project goals, evaluate feasibility and establish the project’s purpose and stakeholders.

The initiation stage of the project management life cycle is when you meet with clients and stakeholders to understand their goals, motivations and hopes for the project.

During this stage the aim is to hash out the high-level goals that must be met for you to consider the project a success. There’s lots of research, discovery and discussion, but very little detailed planning in this phase.

The key project management steps for the initiation stage include:

• Identifying project objectives and deliverables
• Outlining project risks , dependencies, constraints and priorities
• Establishing project scope based on deadlines and available resources
• Submitting a project proposal for approval (our proposal maker can help you with that)

We’ve got a more detailed guide to writing a project management plan if you want more information. This covers project management basics along with all the elements that need to be included. You can also get PMP Certification to get specific training on how to do this.

I’ll go through the basics here.

Let’s take a look at what’s involved for each of these tasks.

Kick off the project management process by identifying project objectives and deliverables

Start by talking with your stakeholders or clients to get to know their needs. Try to tease out what’s important to them, what projects they’ve tried in the past and what they hope to see in the future.

From there, you can move on to building out the concrete objectives and deliverables that your team will be responsible for, given the scope of the project and the available resources.

Be sure to document the takeaways from these initial meetings…you’ll want to have a record of the agreed-upon deliverables when it comes to the project closure stage.

Pro-tip: Set S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals. For example: “In 3 months, increase blog conversion rates by 5%”.

Outline project risks, dependencies, constraints and priorities

Once you’ve mapped out the high-level project goals, it’s time to explore all of the variables that might impact the progress of the project, including:

• Risks: Factors that can negatively impact the cost, goals, timeline, or results of a project
• Dependencies: Relationships between activities or tasks
• Constraints: Limiting factors like technology, resources, time and cost

By identifying all of these variables early on you can nip a lot of potential problems in the bud, before they throw off your whole project timeline . 

A risk breakdown structure , like the one below, can aid in identifying and assessing all of the risks in your project. A risk breakdown structure is a hierarchical representation of risks, starting with the high-level risks and then breaking it down into more granular risks.  It can be an essential tool for project risk management . 

Establish project scope based on deadlines and available resources

With a handle on all of the variables at play, you can start breaking the project down into more actionable steps. Set boundaries on project scope based on your deadlines and the resources at your disposal and think about what skill set your future team will need .

Mind maps and flowcharts can be helpful for organizing all of the moving parts to map out what’s reasonable based on project constraints.

Summarize the takeaways of the project initiation stage in a project proposal

All of the details that you establish during the initiation stage should be outlined in a project proposal, the only major deliverable for this initiation stage.

A project proposal is a report that details all of the goals, scope, requirements, budget, participants and deadlines of a project.

Not to be confused with a project plan , which includes a much more in-depth description of how the project will be executed, a project proposal should be no longer than a few pages.

Depending on the complexity of a project, an action plan one-pager, like the one below, might suffice.

Check out our  job proposal templates ,  business proposal templates  and consulting proposal templates for more options.

Either way, when you’re a few months into the project, trying to prioritize the work of your team and make decisions that impact the direction of the project, you’ll thank yourself for creating clear documentation of these high-level project goals.

Create a professional looking project life cycle visualization

Make sure your project life cycle visualization sits within your company branding for a truly professional looking design. Venngage Business users can use the My Brand Kit  and see their company colors, logos and fonts automatically applied to Venngage templates.

Business users can also invite feedback directly to their design with the Venngage comment feature. Learn more about My Brand Kit, Comment Mode and more features of the Venngage Business account:

2. Project planning stage: Create a comprehensive project blueprint outlining tasks, timelines and resource allocation.

Once your project proposal has been approved, it’s time to move on to the project planning stage of the project life cycle.

The project planning stage is when you create a comprehensive project plan , which involves:

• Translating your proposal into a series of actionable tasks and scheduling them in a project roadmap
• Documenting processes or workflows that your team will use (you could try using a process infographic for this)
• Creating measurable short-term goals from high-level project goals
• Addressing potential issues that could derail your roadmap

This project plan will be the source of truth for your team when any questions, conflicts, or issues arise throughout the project.

Let’s dig into the most important major deliverable of the project planning stage: the project roadmap.

Create a project roadmap with project tasks and milestones

Creating a project roadmap is one of the more important project management life cycle steps, crucial for organizing your team and keeping work on track. A project roadmap outlines all of the start and end dates of every major project task (plus any big milestones you’re working towards). 

Pro Tip: Use our roadmap maker to create professional, engaging roadmaps.

Gantt charts (like the one below) are a great tool for project roadmapping, because they can show the duration and timing of a number of dependent tasks. They’re perfect for planning and scheduling and eventually monitoring progress throughout the execution stage of the project life cycle.

The best thing about using a Gantt chart for your project roadmap?

You can show a number of concurrent timelines on a single chart , which makes it easy to account for task dependencies.

For example, this Gantt chart template shows project tasks for multiple teams over the course of a few months:

The visual format of a Gantt chart makes visualizing and adjusting for dependencies much easier than a spreadsheet. And because it’s visual, it’s easy for you team to see, understand and give feedback on their upcoming tasks.

Once your roadmap is in place, the last step of the planning stage is to assemble your team and hold a project kickoff, launching you into the next stage of the project life cycle: the execution stage.  

Check out this blog post for more Gantt chart templates .

3. Project execution stage: Put the project plan into action, ensuring effective communication and coordination among team members.

The project execution stage is the true start of the project, when you carry out all of the tasks and activities you mapped out in the planning stage.

This is where the majority of the project work takes place and it requires constant monitoring. Expect to adjust your goals and roadmap as you get deeper into the project.

As a project manager, your main responsibilities of the project execution stage are to:

• Monitor and control the execution process, reviewing the quality of the team’s output
• Adjust and update tasks, goals and deadlines to meet changing conditions
• Communicate between your team and the project stakeholders

Create status reports to communicate execution progress throughout the project management process

Although most of your time during the execution stage of the project management process will be spent monitoring and adjusting to keep the project on track, you’ll also need to keep stakeholders up to date with any changes to the project status.

Using a project status report template , like the one below, will help make sure you don’t leave out any pertinent details when you’re communicating with stakeholders.

For example, this status report includes an overview of project performance so far, plus up-to-date project milestones:

While this status report template is shorter, focused around an executive summary, but includes space for notes from every team representative:

KPIs and budget updates should also be included, if you have any.

4. Project monitoring & controlling stage: track project progress, identify any deviations and make necessary adjustments

The monitoring and controlling stage of a project is a critical phase that ensures project activities align with the predetermined objectives and milestones.

During this phase, project managers and stakeholders closely oversee project progress, assess performance and make necessary adjustments to keep the project on track.

Effective monitoring and controlling practices are essential for mitigating risks, identifying potential issues and ensuring the project’s timely completion within the allocated budget.

During the monitoring and controlling stage of a project, the key project management steps include:

• Measure and assess the project’s progress against the project plan and key performance indicators.
• Identify and manage potential risks that could impact project objectives, and implement strategies to mitigate these risks.
• Monitor and evaluate the quality of project deliverables to ensure they meet predefined standards and client expectations.
• Assess and handle any changes to project scope, schedule or resources effectively, while considering their potential impact on the project.
• Maintain open lines of communication with stakeholders, keeping them informed about the project’s progress and addressing any concerns or issues promptly.
• Identify and address any project issues or conflicts that may arise, aiming to resolve them efficiently to prevent delays or disruptions.

Create a quality control checklist to maintain consistent quality standards throughout the project lifecycle

To systematically evaluate each deliverable against established quality benchmarks can take a lot of time. A great tip for project managers is to use a quality control checklist to quickly identify any deviations or discrepancies and take corrective actions to maintain the overall quality of the project.

Quality control checklists help in maintaining consistent quality standards throughout the project. By defining specific quality criteria, project managers can ensure that all deliverables meet the same level of quality, thereby enhancing the overall project integrity and customer satisfaction.

These checklists enable the early identification of any deficiencies or discrepancies in the project deliverables. By detecting quality issues early in the project lifecycle, quality control checklists help in minimizing the need for rework and additional corrections.

Here’s a quality control checklist template you can use in the monitoring and controlling stage of your project:

5. Project closure stage: analyze results, summarize key learnings and plan next steps

Once you’ve achieved your project goals and the results have been signed off on by your stakeholders, it’s time for the project closure stage.

In the project closure stage of the project management process, you:

• Hand off deliverables
• Release team members and project resources
• Analyze project performance in a project retrospective

A project retrospective is as much about reviewing the success of the project as it is about extracting learnings that can apply to future projects. Projects will never go without obstacles and there will always be things to learn that will ease the progress of other projects.

There are many ways to run a project retrospective meeting , but you should try to identify your biggest wins and losses and come up with solutions. If you’re an external consultant, you might even ask your client for feedback .

Keep track of your notes somewhere that will be accessible by your whole team, like a shared spreadsheet (or send out an email after the meeting):

Another duty of a project manager in the project closure phase can be to analyze the performance of the team, based on the quality of their work and how well they were able to meet deadlines.

These performance reviews can be delivered to team members (or higher-ups) in the form of an easy to read visual summary, like the one below:

But remember…your project isn’t complete until all of your documents have been handed over and approved by your client or stakeholder.

Use Venngage to communicate your progress throughout the project life cycle

Any project manager worth their salt knows that clear communication is the backbone of any successful project. Venngage helps you make your communication visual , so that you can wow clients and keep your team aligned.

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Home — Essay Samples — Business — Project Management — What is the Project Management Life Cycle

What is The Project Management Life Cycle

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Published: Jan 29, 2019

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The initiation phase, the planning phase, the execution phase, the closing phase.

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What is a Project Life Cycle and Its 5 Stages? 

The project management life cycle guides the  project managers  and their team members. It consists of five project phases, starting with the project initiation phase and ending in project closure, in which a project manager supplies the client with finished deliverables. This article explains each project phase in detail, touching upon the essential tasks each phase consists of.

What is Project Life Cycle?

According to the Sixth Edition of the PMBOK® Guide, a project life cycle is the series of phases that a project passes through from start to completion.

A project phase is a grouping of logically related activities that culminate in completing one or more deliverables. The phases might be sequential, iterative, or overlapping, as well as their titles, numbers, and durations. Project management life cycle phases are decided by the management and control requirements of the organisation(s) involved in the project, its nature, and its intended use.

All project phases have a start and end date and a control point. Considering the present situation, the control point aims to reevaluate the  project charter  and business documentation. At that point, the project's performance is compared to the project management plan to evaluate whether the project should be amended, terminated, or proceed as planned.

The comparison is made because every project has a start and a finish; the specific deliverables and work vary from project to project. Various elements, such as those inside the organisation, the industry, the technology used, or the development approach, can impact the project life cycle.

Regardless of the exact activity performed, the life cycle offers the basic structure for project management. Despite all project differences, size and complexity, a typical project life cycle has five phases.

Five Phases of the Project Management Life Cycle

One of the benefits of a project management life cycle is its role as a guide. The phases make the process straightforward for the project manager and project team.

This way, they always know the next step and how to move projects from initiation to closure. The project management life cycle consists of five phases of the project:

1. Project Initiation Phase

The first phase in the project management life cycle is the initiation phase. This phase is the starting point for all projects when we need to make a favourable decision about the objectives we need to achieve.

It consists of a few steps. First, you need to identify the primary problem that the project will fix. It would be best if you determined the  project scope  and, finally, the stakeholders. After that step, you can develop a business case and a statement of work.

A business case is used to determine whether the project will proceed. It compares the potential costs and benefits of the project. The other important document, the  statement of work , contains information about the project's objectives, deliverables, and other project scope details.

Key Activities:

• Project definition and scope identification.
• Preliminary stakeholder analysis.
• Initial feasibility assessment.

During the project initiation, we need to be very clearly focused on the goal so we can share it with other project team members. It has been proven that people who set themselves stretching goals are the highest achievers and are least affected by negative stress.

2. Project Planning Phase

This phase of the project is the plan that tells you where you are supposed to be in the first place. Without a plan, you have no idea if you are doing okay and no control. You need to know: How long will it take? How much will it cost? What must be done?

In project management,  project planning  means breaking large tasks down into smaller, more easily managed chunks, which can produce a more realistic schedule. Thus, the danger of "ground rush" is removed, a term used in parachuting when the ground rushes to hit you when you are unprepared in the last stages of a jump.

• This is when limbs are broken because all the energy is crammed into the last few seconds, and panic ensues, so we forget our basic training. It can happen when we must set the correct priorities in the project plan. Planning is a necessity. Usually, the planning process contains the following steps: Identify the project timeline and divide it into phases containing specific tasks that need to be performed within those phases.
• Estimate the budget and determine how much to spend on the project to achieve the maximum return on investment. Gather the resources and start building the team.

During this stage, you should consider potential risks and quality roadblocks. Identify issues and start  planning to mitigate those risks  to maintain the project's quality and timeline.

Make a risk assessment that allows you to quantify and qualify any predictable problems in a project. It is acknowledged that by taking a proactive stance, we can better cope with problems if they arise in our work or social lives.

We can develop contingency plans to provide planned alternatives if problems occur in our project instead of reacting to unplanned emergencies.

You can use techniques that ensure we only concern ourselves with the significant issues and confront these first before becoming bogged down or sidetracked by irrelevant matters. This is often referred to as the 80:20 rule.

3. Project Execution Phase

In the execution phase, work begins on implementing the project plan. This means putting it into action as soon as possible. The famous quote "Procrastination is the thief of time" is used for project execution.

Of course, it is only sometimes possible to do it with others. Achieving something, like managing projects, requires teamwork.

Remember, in our private lives, those with good friends have more exciting lives; people must learn to rely on the support of others by consciously delegating and thus sharing the load.

The delegation also shows that you respect and trust the team, which will build personal loyalty and strong personal relationships and, in turn, encourage people to take ownership of specific tasks and feel part of the big picture.

During the execution phase, project managers should focus on a few things. Tasks should be assigned to appropriate team members and provided with the necessary guidance and explanation on completing them.

Key Components: 

• Task execution and project deliverables production.
• Team collaboration and communication.
• Ongoing monitoring of project progress.

Communication with team members, clients, and stakeholders is necessary, as everyone involved with a project should be updated on the progress made during the project's execution.

4. Project Control Phase

The process started in the previous execution phase, and now, in this project management life cycle phase, the focus is on monitoring the processes as the work is performed. Typically, control is the day-to-day effort of project managers to keep project work on track.

 Key Activities:

• Real-time monitoring of project activities.
• Identification and resolution of issues.
• Adjustments to project plans if necessary.

Tracking and assessing project performance is the most effective technique for ensuring progress and development. A project manager should ensure that team members meet their assigned tasks' time and quality goals.

Another critical aspect to manage is cost. Monitoring the budget and  resources  keeps the project on track. You should also scan your change management documents, spending records, and QA checklists. This way, you can track where your efforts and resources flow throughout the project life cycle and double-check your planning. You can spot bottlenecks and start essential conversations about project management process improvements.

By setting apparent milestones to review our progress in life or a project, we are in a better position to take corrective action if things are not going as planned. Alternatively, we can give ourselves a positive reward if we have achieved a significant milestone ahead of schedule.

Control also requires you to give regular feedback to all stakeholders on how well you are progressing. If more preparation, time, or resources are needed, notify all relevant project stakeholders before it is too late. For this, you should have data and results backing up your requests. This way, you have a better chance of justifying your requests and maintaining their trust.

5. Project Close Out Phase

Project closure is defined as the learning stage of a project. We collect and store data on our successes and shortcomings in this phase. This ensures we do not continue to follow the same predictable path to failure.

Often, we do not learn from our experiences and find ourselves in unproductive relationships or situations, which can lead to a downward spiral into negative self-criticism.

If you stay on task even after the project ends, you will be prepared to apply all you have learned to your next project. Ensure all project aspects are completed, and no loose ends remain.

• Final project evaluation and assessment.
• Formal acceptance of deliverables.
• Project closure documentation.

The closing process involves handing the deliverables to the client and documentation to the owners, cancelling supplier contracts and releasing staff and equipment. You should also provide a report to key stakeholders and allocate the remaining resources for future budgets.

The essential benefit the closure phase has for the project completion is emphasising the importance of formal project management and bringing in the knowledge that will benefit the business in the future.

Project closure begins with a candid evaluation of the project's performance, followed by identifying best practices and lessons learned. The project assessment report keeps this valuable information on hand for future initiatives. It serves as a reservoir for knowledge gained through trial and error and a medium for communicating that knowledge throughout the organisation.

In your current organisation, you will find that much of your work is increasingly done in a project format. Remember, a project is a problem/need scheduled for a solution, and as Roy Keane said,  " If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. "

Making the Most Out of Project Life Cycle

Understanding the project life cycle and its five phases is essential for professionals at every level of project management. The initiation phase sets the groundwork, the planning phase charts the course, the execution phase brings plans to life, the monitoring and controlling phase ensures course correction, and the closing phase marks the successful project culmination.

Collaborating with the Institute of Project Management can be transformative for those aspiring to deepen their understanding and gain hands-on exposure to the project life cycle. Our  Certified Project Management Diploma  provides a comprehensive curriculum, equipping project managers with the skills to execute and organise projects seamlessly using the project life cycle.

Enrolling in this programme enhances project managers' theoretical knowledge and gives them practical insights into applying the project life cycle principles. This collaborative learning experience propels professionals to master project management, ensuring they are well-prepared to lead projects successfully.

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Mastering the project life cycle: Your complete guide (+ examples)

09 Feb 2023 By Jo Johansson

In this article 📖

The project life cycle , just like a good story, has a beginning, a middle, and (hopefully) a happy end. The beginning involves the ever-so-important planning; then comes the middle, where teams complete various tasks to move the project closer to completion; and finally, an end to review what went well and what didn’t.

This, in a nutshell, is the project life cycle: the phases a project moves through from start to finish. It’s a useful way to think about projects, as it helps teams successfully navigate them from initiation to closure, no matter how big or small the project is.

Of course, there’s quite a bit more to it than this. And so, in this guide, we leave no stone unturned, exploring almost everything you need to know about the project life cycle, including:

What is a project life cycle?  

The project life cycle is a framework project managers use to help them plan and execute projects strategically and effectively to meet project goals.

Project life cycle definition 

The project life cycle consists of a series of steps, phases, or stages a project goes through from beginning to finish—sometimes linearly and sometimes not. There are usually five  phases of the project life cycle : initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure.

Characteristics of the project life cycle include:

• A start and finish with distinct phases
• Project objectives defined at the beginning 
• A plan for achieving the objectives
• Deliverables and tasks to be completed
• Systems for managing projects
• A list of stakeholders

Types of project life cycles

While the project life cycle stages are widely recognized, there are variations in how project teams use and follow them. Some follow them linearly, while others go for a more flexible approach. 

There are different types of project life cycles teams can make use of depending on the type of project they’re working on.

Here are five of the most common types of project life cycles:

1. Predictive (or waterfall) life cycle

Also known as the waterfall or fully-plan-driven project cycle, the predictive life cycle is the most traditional and easiest to understand. 

The plan is created upfront, with a defined schedule, scope, and costs. A single product or service usually gets delivered at the end.  

The project follows a linear progression through the five steps of the project cycle: initiate, plan, execute, control, and close. The team moves on to the next phase only once the previous stage is complete—and performs each phase once. 

This approach provides a solid project plan that’s easily replicated.

The linear and predictive waterfall model.

2. Iterative life cycle

The iterative life cycle also consists of the five project phases, but there’s no linear progression. Each stage in the cycle is performed as many times as needed. For instance, a project team may move between the execution and monitoring phases multiple times before moving on to closure. 

This life cycle is ideal when the project scope is unclear, but the customer still wants the best solution. Customer feedback is received at the end of each phase and informs the next stage, so planning continuously happens throughout the project’s life.

3. Incremental life cycle

During the incremental life cycle, the project is delivered in multiple increments or sets. Each set consists of progressing through the five project phases linearly until completion. And each phase must be completed before moving on to the next. 

At the end of each set, a deliverable is produced, with feedback informing the next set. This means that the cycle of moving through the five phases happens multiple times.  

As with the iterative life cycle, the incremental one is ideal for unpredictable scopes and where timely delivery is crucial. 

4. Agile (or adaptive) life cycle

Also known as the change-driven or adaptive approach, the agile life cycle combines iterative and incremental life cycles. This type of cycle is more open to change and adaptation and doesn’t follow a linear progression. The initial phase only happens once—with planning, execution, and control stages happening in iterations, usually multiple times. 

Each iteration delivered is followed by feedback that informs the next iteration or set. This life cycle is ideal for projects where feedback is essential, timely project delivery is crucial, and the scope is unclear.

The Agile model is more open to change and adaptation and doesn’t follow a linear progression.

5. Hybrid life cycle

The hybrid life cycle is a combination of project management approaches. An example is the agile life cycle, which combines iterative and incremental project management approaches. 

Hybrids are ideal for when any of the other approaches aren’t suitable.  

Okay, now that we’ve got the hang of different types of project life cycles, let’s dive a bit deeper into the phases and what happens in each.

The phases of a project life cycle

The diagram below shows the five stages of the project life cycle, which we will discuss in more detail next. Just keep in mind that not everyone uses five stages. Some choose to focus on a four-phase project life cycle while others may opt for something entirely different.

As we mentioned earlier, the choice mostly boils down to personal preference and the needs of the project. For instance, some PMs may prefer the 5-phase cycle because it’s more detailed, while others may pick four phases because it’s more straightforward.

If you’re dealing with a complex project, you might want to opt for the 5-phase cycle, whereas if you’re in a time crunch, you might want to opt for the 4-phase cycle.

An overview of the five phases of the project life cycle.

Phase 1: Initiation—kicking things off

Initiation is the project kick-off phase, to get the full download of information from key stakeholders. At a high level, this phase defines the problem, details what needs to be done, and is an opportunity to define all the stakeholders.

The initiation phase will vary depending on the size of the project. For a freelancer working with a client to write a few blog posts, the initiation phase may involve one brainstorming meeting to clarify the details. 

For a project team working on a large project with many deliverables over months, this phase will be more comprehensive—and will probably involve producing a business case and feasibility study. 

Regardless, these are the types of tasks you can expect to tackle during the project life cycle initiation phase :

• Create a project charter that details the scope and project objectives
• Identify the stakeholders , which includes the project team, project managers, project sponsors, and clients
• Conduct a feasibility study to determine if it’s possible to tackle the project
• Create a business case to see if the project is worth pursuing: analyze benefits, costs, and risks
• Build an estimate of the project costs to guide budgeting

You’ll usually capture all this information in a Project Initiation Document (PID).

Phase 2: Planning—the foundation of your entire project

Once you have the green light for the project, it’s time for planning. Planning lays the groundwork for the rest of the project and helps you move intelligently through it. 

You’ll detail all the work and how you plan on doing it. More specifically, the project life cycle planning phase involves :

• Creating a project plan that includes project objectives, deliverables, timelines, project constraints, a project schedule, and project dependencies
• Preparing a project budget by building a financial plan with cost estimates for labor, material, and equipment
• Specifying resource requirements like labor and materials to help with resource scheduling and allocation 
• Managing risk by identifying potential problems and creating contingency plans 
• Creating a communication plan that details the information you’ll need, who needs that information, how often you’ll communicate, and how you’ll communicate
• Setting quality targets and control measures via a quality plan
• Listing the criteria for what customers deem a completed project
• Detailing the processes, systems, and tools you’ll use to manage and track your projects . How will you manage and schedule your team? How will you track resource utilization to ensure you’re making the best use of those resources? Workload planning tools can help.

Workload planning tools for happier teams and smoother projects

The right workload planning tool like Resource Guru helps you identify, categorize, and better schedule resources by seeing who’s overloaded and underutilized. From there, you can:

• Identify bottlenecks where demand (for people) is higher than supply, so you can plan ahead and hire more people if needed
• Assign the right people to the right projects to prevent overload and burnout, while improving employee retention

It’s as simple as dragging and dropping to rebalance workloads. Et voila! Resource scheduling is done.

Resource Guru’s flexible drag-and-drop scheduling tool.

Phase 3: Execution (or implementation)—getting the work done 

The execution or implementation phase is where you put planning into motion. The aim is to complete deliverables to achieve the project objectives.

The project manager will typically carry out these tasks during the project execution phase:

• Allocating resources and budget
• Scheduling tasks
• Briefing the project team 
• Coordinating and managing the team and schedule
• Attending client reviews and regular team meetings to share progress 

Phase 4: Monitoring (or controlling)—tracking progress against the plan

The monitoring or controlling phase goes hand-in-hand with the execution phase. It’s about monitoring the project’s overall progress to see if you’re meeting project objectives and are on track. 

You’ll need to track performance metrics like budget, cost variance, resource utilization, and client satisfaction. Where there are deviations from the original plan, always first try to get the project back on course. If this isn’t possible and you need to modify the plan, take note of this, so you have a record to refer back to later.

Ways to track project progress , include:

• Regular team meetings to get feedback on how things are going.
• Client review meetings where you answer questions. This helps create a constant feedback loop that allows you to include client changes earlier, rather than later when it may be difficult to backtrack and can become costly. Make sure you compare these change requests against the initial project scope to control scope creep before it gets out of hand.
• Using tools like resource management software to track resource utilization to ensure you’re getting the most out of your team and preventing team burnout .

Phase 5: Closure—wrapping things up

During this phase, the project winds down and comes to a close. You’ll spend time wrapping things up by handing over project documentation, releasing final deliverables, terminating contracts, and informing everyone that the project is complete.

You can also conduct a project post-mortem to assess what worked and what didn’t. This could be a wrap-up meeting with all stakeholders or a project report you deliver to everyone. 

Regardless, use this information to learn from mistakes and build on the wins to ensure the success of future projects.

Advantages and disadvantages of project life cycle

Now that you have a thorough understanding of the phases of the project management life cycle, let’s look at the pros and cons.

Take note : The following is a high-level look at the pros and cons of the project life cycle and doesn’t involve a one-to-one comparison between the different types of project life cycle models.

Advantages of project life cycle

• A reliable structure for managing and delivering projects helps teams navigate and deliver projects on time and on budget
• The framework , which is usually visible to all, makes it easy to define roles , so everyone knows what to do
• You can easily track the project’s progress against the phases . Everyone can easily stay updated on the project’s status
• Clear steps, deliverables, and project goals foster better communication and collaboration
• Planning for risks is easy so that you can minimize their impact

Disadvantages of project life cycle

• The project life cycle consists of distinct phases, making it rather rigid . This rigidity is not suitable for all projects. It may be why there are different versions of the cycle to accommodate different project types
• A rigid project approach can stifle creativity , particularly moving through the project linearly
• Some teams overcomplicate the stages of the cycle , which leads to slow project delivery and unnecessary costs
• Moving through the life cycle can be overly time and resource intensive
• Teams can waste time, money, and resources if the need or problem isn’t properly defined

Critical success factors across the project life cycle

• Specific and measurable project objectives . For instance, the objective of “increase total organic traffic by 20% by the end of August 2023” is much better than “increase traffic.” It provides a precise number for the increase, so you know what to aim for and you aren’t choosing a number arbitrarily during the project. It’s also measurable; you can pull stats to see if you’ve reached your goal. Finally, there’s a deadline, so you’re not aimlessly tracking a metric indefinitely.
• Proper planning . Planning is the foundation of any project as it guides your actions. It includes your project plan, budget, communication plan, schedule, and systems for success.
• Scope control . Scope control helps keep a project on track and on budget. Without it, you risk the project going beyond what was agreed. A real possibility considering that nearly 50% of all projects experience scope creep . Scope creep causes project delays, resource allocation issues, and budgeting problems. Control scope creep by having a clear project schedule and a change management plan.
• Proper project tracking . Tracking progress against the plan helps you stay on track. Weekly status meetings can help steer the ship.
• The right project management tools . The right tools help simplify project management, keep you organized, and help you stay on track. Use them for task scheduling, resource allocation , budgeting, and compiling cost estimates.
• Proper communication . Regular communication between stakeholders ensures everyone stays aligned and is working together.
• Management support and buy-in . Without management agreement that the project is essential, you’ll struggle to progress. Create a business case to get buy-in.
• Resource allocation . Project success depends on allocating the right resources to the right areas and in the right amount. If you have too few resources, your team will be spread thin. Too many, and you may blow your project budget out of the water.
• Strong leadership . PMs must be competent and effective leaders who inspire and can get the most out of their teams.
• Risk management . No project is without hiccups. There need to be contingency plans.

Project life cycle examples

Below are two project management life cycle examples: one for a smaller project and another for a larger one.

Example 1: Website redesign

Initiation : A web designer (Joe) has a project kick-off meeting with a client to understand the problems with the existing site and the goal of the new one. One of the objectives is to modernize the site. 

Planning : Joe completes the creative brief, which includes the scope, milestones, and costs. The milestones allow for client feedback. Both parties agree on the number of changes allowed at each milestone and what the definition of a change is, so there’s no confusion.

Execution : Joe produces wireframes and mock-ups for delivery at different milestones. Feedback at each checkpoint informs the next phase. 

Monitoring : Joe uses the checkpoints to track project progress and control scope creep. For instance, at the first checkpoint, the client wants to change the placement of an icon. This change is minor, so scope creep is not a concern. For the remaining checkpoints, the project proceeds without a hitch.

Closure : Joe delivers the final prototype. The client is happy and signs off. 

Example 2: Developing software

Initiation : A moving company wants to create an app to help price their moves because the team is making math mistakes that are costing the company thousands of dollars. A business case is created to detail the problem as well as the benefits and costs of the software. The project gets the green light, and a project manager (PM) is appointed.

Planning : The PM creates a project plan highlighting the costs, deliverables, timelines, scope, and resources. One new resource is a specialist app developer the team had not initially discussed. The PM flags this to the CEO, who approves the extra budget. They hire a developer to work in-house.

Execution : The PM works with the developer and implements checkpoints across design, development, and testing. After milestones one and two, the project is moving ahead as planned. 

Monitoring : The third milestone arrives, and the team needs to confirm if the app is ready for testing. But they need more development time and want to add an extra feature. 

The PM, again, flags this to the CEO, who approves and agrees to a budget increase of $40,000. The PM adjusts the project schedule to account for the changes—and pushes it out by two months.

Closure : The team deploys the app and starts using it. The developer helps train everyone, so they understand how to use it. The PM conducts a project post-mortem with the team where they recognize they were flexible and adaptable but could’ve better defined the requirements.

The bottom line on project life cycles

Sure, the inflexibility of the life cycle makes it an unsuitable framework for certain projects. But it’s still a valuable way to think about them because it provides structure to otherwise chaotic projects.

Now, you definitely don’t need to follow this structure blindly—it’s not the be-all, end-all for project success. Instead, use the underlying concepts, ideas, and information from this guide and adapt them to build your own. 

Maybe your projects will follow a more linear progression and closely resemble the traditional predictive cycle? Or perhaps you’ll lean toward a more hybrid model and embrace adaptability?

It’s your choice .

As a project manager, you know your project, resources, and team better than anyone else. So view these life cycles as an adaptable framework and apply them when needed—you know what’s best for your project.

Recommended Resource Guru reads:

• Workload planning: a complete guide
• Project collaboration: the key to successful project management (and happy teams)
• Team burnout: 9 ways project managers can prevent it (before it’s too late)

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The Importance of Following the Project Life Cycle: A Case Study

by Vijay Kumar, PMP | Aug 21, 2023 | Project Management | 0 comments

Table of Contents

Project life cycle

The project life cycle is a series of phases that a project goes through from inception to completion. These phases involve different activities, tasks, and milestones that help manage the project and ensure that it meets stakeholders’ requirements. The project life cycle is a fundamental concept in project management, and understanding its different phases is crucial for managing projects successfully.

In this article, we will discuss the different phases of the project life cycle, their importance, and the activities that take place in each phase.

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Phase 1: Initiation

The initiation phase marks the beginning of the project life cycle. During this phase, the project’s purpose and objectives are defined, and the project team is established. This phase is critical because it sets the foundation for the project’s success. The key activities that take place in this phase include:

• Identifying the project stakeholders and their requirements.

• Defining the project scope, objectives, and deliverables.

• Conducting a feasibility study to determine if the project is viable.

• Creating a project charter to formally authorize the project.

Phase 2: Planning

The planning phase is where the project team develops the project plan. The project plan is a comprehensive document that outlines how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled. This phase is critical because it provides a roadmap for the project and ensures that all key stakeholders are aligned. The key activities that take place in this phase include:

• Developing a detailed project schedule.

• Defining the project budget and resource requirements.

• Identifying project risks and developing a risk mitigation plan.

• Creating a communication plan to ensure stakeholders are informed about project progress.

Phase 3: Execution

The execution phase is where the project team completes the actual work to deliver the project’s objectives. This phase is the longest and most critical phase in the project life cycle. During this phase, the project managers closely monitor the project’s progress and make any necessary adjustments to ensure that the project is on track. The key activities that take place in this phase include:

• Managing project resources to deliver project deliverables.

• Motivating and managing project team members to ensure they deliver their tasks on time and to the required standards.

• Monitoring project progress and making any necessary adjustments.

• Managing project stakeholders’ expectations and ensuring they are kept informed of the project’s progress.

Phase 4: Monitoring & Control

The monitoring and control phase is where the project team closely monitors the project’s progress to ensure it meets the defined objectives. This phase is critical because it ensures that the project is on track, and any deviations from the plan are addressed proactively. The key activities that take place in this phase include:

• Monitoring project progress against the baseline plan.

• Tracking project costs against the budget.

• Identifying and addressing any deviations from the project plan.

• Managing project risks and ensuring the risk mitigation plan is effective.

Phase 5: Closure

The closure phase marks the end of the project life cycle. During this phase, the project is formally closed out, and the necessary documentation is completed. This phase is critical because it ensures that the project’s objectives have been met, and any outstanding issues are resolved. The key activities that take place in this phase include:

• Conducting a final project review to ensure that all project objectives have been met.

• Creating a final project report to document the project’s outcomes.

• Closing out project accounts and completing any necessary financial paperwork.

• Handing over the project deliverables to the client and obtaining formal acceptance.

PMP Certification Exam Prep Test: PMBOK7 Edition

Stakeholder involvement is crucial in change management because:

The ability to manage project change effectively is crucial for:

Which of the following is NOT a component of successful change management?

A key component of successful change management is:

An effective risk management strategy involves:

The primary goal of integrating quality into project management processes is to:

Adaptability in project management requires:

In risk management, 'transfer' refers to:

Continuous learning in project management contributes to change management by:

In project management, effective communication of changes involves:

In project management, a 'risk' is best defined as:

The primary reason for resistance to change in projects is often:

The 'Plan-Do-Check-Act' (PDCA) cycle in quality management is essential because it:

The main challenge in enabling change to achieve the envisioned future state is:

Resilience in a project team can be best described as the team's ability to:

Project resilience is supported by:

Effective risk management involves:

Adaptability and resilience in project teams are characterized by their:

How can change management contribute to the envisioned future state of a project?

The project manager's adaptability to change is crucial because:

The role of adaptability in project management is to:

A project's success in managing complexities primarily relies on the project manager's ability to:

Managing project complexities effectively often involves:

What is the role of a Change Control Board (CCB) in project management?

An effective change management plan includes:

The average score is 16%

Restart quiz

In conclusion, a project’s life cycle consists of different phases that take the project from inception to completion. Each phase has its unique set of activities and objectives that, when executed effectively, provide the foundation for successful project delivery. Therefore, project managers need to understand the different project life cycle phases and allocate the necessary resources to ensure that each phase is executed effectively. By doing so, they can ensure that the project objectives are met, and the stakeholders’ expectations are fulfilled, leading to increased project success rates.

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Project Life Cycle and Schedule Delay Analysis Research Paper

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Project life cycle, schedule delay analysis techniques in industry & research, literature review.

The business environment today is increasingly becoming challenging as new firms continue to come up targeting the same markets and emerging trends bring about the need to constantly change operational strategies. Firms are keen on protecting their market share, and that means that they have to produce quality products at competitive prices. In such a challenging business environment, project management is becoming a popular tool for managing competition. Instead of having a continuous production as used to be the case traditionally, firms are now breaking their operational activities into specific projects with clear timeline and goals. In each project, the top management is interested in ensuring that the desired goal is achieved in the best way possible. That is why the project life cycle and schedule delay analysis have become relevant in the modern business environment. In this paper, the researcher seeks to explain different project life cycles and schedule delay analysis.

Understanding the Concept of a Project

According to Shermon and Gilmour (2017), the term project refers to “a piece of planned activities that should be completed within a specified period at a given budget, and meant to achieve a specific goal.” A project brings together individuals who share skills to pool their effort in achieving the desired objective within an organization. The project manager is expected to supervise such activities and to make sure that the materials needed are made available as may be desirable (Shermon & Gilmour (2017).

Application of Different Project Life Cycles

Project life cycle refers to different phases that a project always goes through, from the time of its initiation to the time of its completion (Syed, 2012). Different projects may have different life cycle depending on their nature, size, and many other factors. Scholars and project management experts have come up with three categories of project life cycle. The three include predictive, iterative and incremental, and adaptive project life cycles. It is important to discuss each of these project life cycles in details.

According to Cox (2013), predictive life cycle, sometimes called full plan-driven, is a case where all the major project constraints- scope, cost, and time- are predetermined before the initiation stage. Such a project can be broken down into phases, which may be overlapping or sequential. In such cases, detailed planning is often done at the onset of the project and the stakeholders fully informed of what is expected of them and the outcome of such projects (Cox, 2013). Predictive life cycle should be used when undertaking capital-intensive projects that have a significant impact on an organization’s success. Such projects are always expected to be completed within a given time, at a pre-determined cost, and its outcome should be what is desired. A good example of such a project would be a construction of a new cancer unit at a local healthcare center. In such an involving project, the scope, cost, and time needed to complete the project must be predetermined so that the stakeholders can understand the relevance of the project, its needs, and the expected benefits upon its completion.

Iterative and Incremental

In iterative (incremental) life cycle, the project is often broken into different phases based on the goal desired by an organization (Warburton, 2013). The project team will then address each phase of the project independently without worrying about the constraints of the next phase of the project. At the beginning of each phase, the project members and other relevant stakeholders- specifically the donors- will define activities, which are necessary and the inputs needed to complete the stage. Once one phase is completed, the same process will be followed to complete the next phase until such a time that the whole project will be completed. This project life cycle is often used when undertaking large projects that may take a long time to complete, and may be affected by the changing environmental forces, making it impossible and undesirable to make all the predictions at the beginning. An example of such a project is managing communicable diseases within a given region. Every time there is an outbreak of a communicable disease, a team doctors, nurses, and other clinical officers will be assembled and assigned the task of dealing with that specific problem. Once they complete their task, they may be assembled once again to address another outbreak with the primary goal of ensuring that people within that region lead a healthy life.

The adaptive, also known as change driven life cycle, may be sequential or overlapping in nature, but majorly focuses on introducing change, which sometimes may be sudden (Syed, 2012). Adaptive life cycle is common when handling projects focused on introducing continuous change in an organization. Like in the iterative life cycle, the adaptive life cycle is often addressed phase after phase, because it is not easy to predict the possible future requirements that change may bring. A good example of a project that would need adaptive life cycle is introducing emerging technologies in the sales department of a leading retail store. The management must appreciate that as technology keeps changing, it is necessary to embrace new methods of serving customers. Projects undertaken in such areas must focus on introducing change in a seamless manner and with minimal resistance if any. It must also be appreciated that the new methods embraced today may need to be overhauled in the future when emerging technologies introduce better methods.

Project management is increasingly becoming an important topic in the modern business environment where firms have been forced to re-strategize their operations to manage competition and other emerging market challenges. One of the common concerns among project managers and sponsors is schedule delays. When a project fails to start at schedule time or the completion date is passed, then a series of undesirable outcomes may emerge that may affect the project itself, other related projects, and the organization. Some delays are excusable- especially those caused by market forces or natural events- while others are not. Some delays are critical in terms of their impact while others are not. It is important to understand the nature and possible causes of these delays, then come up with a plan on how to manage them.

When undertaking various projects, it is important to appreciate that various risks may occur that may affect the expected outcome. One of the common risks when undertaking a project is the possibility of delays. Delays often have a major disruption on project costs and the outcome, especially if it was expected to start giving returns after a specific period. When scheduling projects, it is always the expectation of the stakeholders- especially the owners- that after the stated time, the activities will be completed and the benefits shall be enjoyed as planned (Spencer, 2012). However, when that fails to happen, issues may arise that may have a devastating impact on various parties involved. It is important to understand types of project delays, possible causes, and the impact that they may have, which is the focus of this section of the research project.

Schedule delay in the project is a concern that has attracted the attention of many scholars and experts in different industries not only in the United Arab Emirates but also in other parts of the world. Scholars have conducted extensive research to help explain possible causes of project delays, different types of delays, and their impact (Sergeant & Wieliczko, 2014). In this section, the researcher will review what other scholars have found out in their previous studies.

Project Delays

According to Shermon and Gilmour (2017), project delay refers to a situation where a project is not completed in time as per the schedule provided during the planning stage. In the construction industry, project delays are very common. The problem is also common in various other industries, based on various factors. Vanhoucke (2012) says that whenever a delay occurs, one of the most common outcomes is the cost overrun. Once the scheduled date is passed, such a project may be prone to adverse effects such as inflation, increasing the cost of managing the employees, and keeping the raw materials flowing. Project delays often cause a strained relationship between the contractor and the employer, especially when the contractor is an independent entity hired to complete the specified activities. As such, it is an undesirable occurrence should be avoided at all costs. First, it is important to look at the common types of delays.

Types of Delays

Delays in project schedule can be categorized into four main classes. One of the common classifications of project delays is a critical and non-critical category. When a delay has a direct impact on the scheduled delivery date, then it is considered a critical delay. Critical delays may arise because of a number of reasons, and as Kloppenborg (2015) notes, they are undesirable because of their impact. Failure to control these critical delays may not just have an impact on the delivery date of a project but also on its cost and the possible outcome. On the other hand, if a delay has no effect on the delivery date, which means that it does not affect activities on a project’s critical path, it will be classified as a non-critical delay (Information Resources Management Association, 2015).

It may not warrant much attention because of its less significant impact on the overall outcome of the project. The excusable and non-excusable delay is another important classification of schedule delays. When a delay is caused by forces outside the control of the contractor, such as delayed approval by the client, terror attack, political or social unrest, and natural calamities, then it will be considered excusable. In many cases, the contractor may be justified to have an extension of time and sometimes, additional compensation (Shermon & Gilmour, 2017). On the other hand, when a delay arises from mistakes of the contractor such, as poor planning and delayed procurement, they are considered inexcusable. The contractor may be liable for the arising additional costs based on the conditions set in the contract.

Another class of schedule delay is concurrent and non-concurrent. When a delay in the completion of one project affects the completion of other projects, then it is classified as a concurrent delay. On the other hand, when the delay of a single project does not overlap and affect the completion of other projects, then it is considered a non-concurrent delay. The last class of schedule delay looked at in this paper is compensable or non-compensable delays. According to Shermon and Gilmour (2017), cases where the contractor is entitled to additional compensation and time extension is considered compensable delays. It is understood that they are not to blame for the delays. However, delays where they cannot be granted time extension or an additional benefit is classified as non-compensable.

Reasons for Delays

Schedule delays may be causes by a number of factors. According to AbouRizk (2010), reasons for the delays can broadly be classified as internal or external causes from the perspective of the contractor. Internal reasons for project delays are within the direct control of the project manager or the contractor. They fall under the non-excusable delays. They include poor planning or scheduling, delayed procurement, delay in submitting important documents, poor mobilization, and failure by the contractor to include critical events or activities when signing the contract. On the other hand, external reasons for delays are beyond the control of the contactor. They include cases of a terror attack, natural calamities, political and social unrest, and failure of the client to deliver the needed resources or make approvals as stated in the contract.

Impact of the Delays

It is important to appreciate that delays in the completion of projects may have various impacts, most of which are undesirable. Cost and time overruns are the most common outcomes of a delayed project. Sometimes the inflated cost can be so high that the donors may opt to abandon the project. In such eventualities, the owners of the project may consider a lawsuit against the contractor, especially when it is established that causes of the delays were inexcusable. In other cases, the affected parties may consider negotiation as a way of addressing the dispute. The figure below summarizes the possible impact of delays.

Research Objective

When conducting research, Pica (2015) says that it is advisable to come up with clear research objectives that will guide the entire process. The objectives act as a guide to a researcher, pointing out clearly what needs to be achieved and how it can be achieved through the study. In this research project, it was considered necessary to define the research objective that guided the process of conducting the research as follows:

• To explain various categories of project life cycle and explore types, reasons, and impact of project delays in various industries.

Schedule Delay Analysis in Industry

According to Anderson, Anderson, and Parker (2013), once a project has been approved, it is always the expectation of all the stakeholders that it will be completed within the specified time using the assigned resources. However, cases often occur when the scheduled project fails to take off at the required time because of a number of issues. Delay in starting a project is a critical problem because it may have a direct impact on the outcome. The problem is not unique to any particular industry within the United Arab Emirates. It affects almost every single industry because of various reasons. One of the main reasons, as shown in table 1 below, is the delay in payments. In case the donors fail to avail the needed resources in time, it may not be easy to complete the given project within the desired time (Pica, 2015).

The materials and construction industry is one of the worst affected when it comes to project delays. Pica (2015) says that delays are common in the construction industry because of the highly involving activities, which are often subject to changing environmental forces. These projects are easily affected by nature such as unpredicted heavy rains. Fluctuation in the market price of the materials needed for such projects may also affect the ability to complete the project in time because it will be necessary to halt the project to address fundamental issues. IT & electronics and the petrochemical industries are also prone to project delays. Other vulnerable industries include food, general trading, and the chemical industries. Table 1 below compares the delays by industry in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Schedule Delay Analysis in Research

Project management experts and scholars are currently working tirelessly to find ways of eliminating cases of project delays in various industries. The best way of solving this problem is to come up with a comprehensive research on how this issue can be addressed. Lock (2014) says that although each industry may have unique factors that cause delays, most of the reasons why projects are not completed in time are rather universal. It means that it is possible to come up with a universal solution that only needs to be modified based on the industry in which one is operating. When conducting the research, the focus should be on understanding the primary causes of project delays.

Blanton (2015) says that one must appreciate that with the changes happening in various fields, especially in communication and technology, some of these causes of delays continue to change. Improved technology means improved accuracy in the construction sector hence reduced chances of possible delays. However, one must appreciate that even as the world embraced improved technology; new challenges arise that did not exist before such as cybercrime. It means that the method used in collecting data must emphasize on both primary and secondary information. Secondary data such as published sources may help in understanding the traditional problems. On the other hand, primary data collected from the players in these industries will help in understanding the emerging problems. Having such integrated information will enable the researcher to come up with a comprehensive plan on how to address the problem.

Schedule delays in project management are common problems that affect various projects irrespective of the industry. Their occurrences are undesirable because of the impact in terms of costs, benefits, and the ripple effect it may have on other projects. Some delays are more critical than others are in an organizational setting. Other delays are excusable while others are not based on their causes. Understanding the nature and causes of the delays makes it easy to plan on how to manage them. As discussed in this paper, some of these delays are caused by forces of nature or market trends, which are out of control of a firm. The most important thing is to understand how to deal with them in case they occur to minimize their impact on a project and the organization involved.

AbouRizk, S. (2010). Role of simulation in construction engineering and management. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 136 (10), 1140–1153.

Anderson, M., Anderson, E., & Parker, G. (2013). Operations management for dummies . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Blanton, S. (2015). Information technology project management . London, UK: Cengage Learning.

Cox, D. (2013). Project management at work: Practical, relevant results . Bloomington, IN, iUniverse.

Information Resources Management Association. (2015). Banking, finance, and accounting: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications . Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference.

Kloppenborg, T. J. (2015). Contemporary project management: Organize, plan, perform . Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Lock, D. (2014). The essentials of project management . Burlington, VT: Gower.

Nicholas, J., & Steyn, H. (2017). Project management for engineering, business, and technology . New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

Pica, M. (2015). Project life cycle economics: Cost estimation, management, and effectiveness in construction projects . New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

Rossberg, J., & Olausson, M. (2012). Pro Application lifecycle management with Visual Studio 2012 . Berkeley, CA: Apress.

Sergeant, M., & Wieliczko, M. (2014). Construction Contract Variations. London, UK: Infoma Limited.

Shermon, D., & Gilmour, M. (2017). Cost Engineering Health Check: How Good are Those Numbers? New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

Spencer, C. (2012). Politics, Agricultural Development, and Conflict Resolution: An In-Depth Analysis of the Moyen Bani Programme in Mali . Lanham: University Press of America.

Syed, A. (2012). Advanced building technologies for sustainability . Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Vanhoucke, M. (2012). Project Management with Dynamic Scheduling: Baseline Scheduling, Risk Analysis and Project Control . Alemania, Germany: Springer Healthcare Ltd.

Warburton, R. (2013). Art and science of project management . New York, NY: Rw Press.

• Delay Factors in Different Contract Types
• Holyrood Inquiry: Factors of Delay and Cost Escalation
• Claims in Public Construction Projects in Oman
• Project Scope, Termination and Evaluation
• Project Time and Costs Estimation and Reduction
• Project Resources and Communication
• Hunter Institute's Information Technology Project
• Saudi National Project Management Office's Practices
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, January 7). Project Life Cycle and Schedule Delay Analysis. https://ivypanda.com/essays/project-life-cycle-and-schedule-delay-analysis/

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IvyPanda . 2021. "Project Life Cycle and Schedule Delay Analysis." January 7, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/project-life-cycle-and-schedule-delay-analysis/.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Project Life Cycle and Schedule Delay Analysis." January 7, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/project-life-cycle-and-schedule-delay-analysis/.