The 4 Primary Phases of a Project Management Life Cycle

Don’t let your next IT project end up like this. Unfortunately, companies fall into this trap every day by starting major projects without the right planning and execution.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though. Over the last 40 years, the role of the project manager has grown and staked its place in Australian businesses.

Needless to say, the first step is understanding how to approach your next project. The last thing you should do is dive in before you have done your research and made a plan.

There are four big phases of any project management life cycle. Sometimes a fifth phase is mentioned—a monitoring or controlling phase at the end after closure. For this explanation, we’ve included it in the fourth phase.

Phase One: Initiation

The very first step is to identify your problem or need. It could also be an opportunity that is available for your company. Sometimes, it helps to have an outside service come in and analyse your company to identify existing skills gaps.

Then you need to sit down and brainstorm ways to address the problem or need. If it’s an opportunity, then brainstorm ways that you can go about achieving that opportunity.

This is also the time to develop and determine what the goal of the project is. You need to have a clear goal to work towards. This also helps to know whether or not you successfully completed the project.

Once you know all of this, decide whether or not the project is worth continuing a pursuit of. You may find that a project is not worth pursuing—this can save your company thousands of dollars.

It is also important to listen to the input of those who will be managing and working on the project. These people need to take on a “leader” role so that they have an influence on strategy formation.

Without this input, you risk making your project managers take on a more “deal with it” role. This makes them a lot less effective in their management of the project.

To be successful, it helps to have the input and expertise of an experienced project manager. They can give you advice when it comes to preparing an analysis and knowing what is involved in a project.

Initiation Phase Checklist

Use this checklist to make sure that you do your due diligence during the initiation phase.

Phase Two: Planning

You should only move forward to the planning stage after the project has gotten approval in the initiation phase. This approval should have been given based on the need for the project, statement of goals, and initiation analysis report.

Think of this phase as the strategy creation phase. You’ll divide up the project into smaller, more manageable tasks and goals. Then you’ll select your team based on the needs and the skills that they bring to the project.

Once you have the tasks and the team, you’ll create a schedule. That way you have a timeline of when certain pieces of the project need to be completed by.

It will also help keep your team organised so that everyone knows when they can expect certain tasks to be done. These smaller goals on the timeline need to be large enough to not create a cluttered timeline, but also small enough to be achievable.

Once you have everything in place, you need to have a team meeting. Go over the tasks, goals, and timeline with everyone together.

You need to make sure everyone is on the same page. This is the time for your team to speak up if something conflicts or doesn’t make sense.

Create a budget for the project. Work with your team members to determine where financial resources will be needed.

Planning Phase Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure you cover all your bases during the planning phase.

Phase Three: Execution

Now that you have gotten approval and done your due diligence in the planning stage, it’s time to get to work! The execution phase is where you put all that research and planning into action.

The lead project manager is responsible for keeping the entire project on track. They’ll need to check in with the individual team members to make sure they stay organised and on track to meet their goals.

While you’ll do everything to try and stay on track on your designed timeline, this doesn’t always happen. It is important to know when team members are falling off the timeline.

Then you can readily correct the issue or adjust the timeline to accommodate the delay. Once you determine that the timeline needs to change, it is important to communicate this to the rest of the team.

It helps to have regular meetings at the milestone points of the project. This helps the team to communicate their progress with each other. It also helps to address any roadblocks or new problems that weren’t foreseen.

Don’t forget to actively monitor the budget during this phase. Costs can easily multiply out of control if you don’t consistently track expenses.

Execution Phase Checklist

Use this checklist to help you work your way through the execution phase.

Phase Four: Closure

You should only enter the closure phase when all of your team members have completed their work. You should have all the tasks and milestones completed and be at the end of your timeline.

The closure phase is where you wrap up any loose ends that pop up and evaluate the project as a whole. The final deliverables from the project should get delivered at this time.

You may need to create a timeline for updates.

Closure Phase Checklist

This checklist will help you work through the closure phase as you finish up your project and tie up any loose ends.

Project Management Life Cycle

Many companies fail when they decide to start a project, this leads to wasted time, effort, and money. It doesn’t have to be this way.

By following a structured plan, you can help ensure that your projects are a success. Start in the initiation phase where you identify potential projects. You’ll do research and determine if the project is feasible or even worth pursuing.

Then you’ll enter the planning phase where you’ll get your ducks in a row. This way everything is in place for when you start the project during the execution phase.

During the execution phase, monitor the team’s progress. Address any potential issues to help keep the project on track. If you do get off the original timeline, be sure to communicate that with the rest of the team.

The finals phase of your project is to finish up anything that is still outstanding. It’s also the time to evaluate how the project went and prepare a report of how the project went and lessons learned.

By following these steps as you worth through the project management life cycle you will give your company the best chance for having a successfully completed project.

Inquire today about project management services so that your next investment is sure to be a success.