Project management lifecycle

A project is like a story that has a beginning, middle, and end. Each phase has unique characteristics & activities and produces a certain set of deliverables. The knowledge of those phases, activities, and unique set of deliverables (key documents or artifacts) is compiled in the project management lifecycle (PMLC).

Understanding the project management lifecycle isn’t just helpful, it’s essential for beginner project managers. It’s like having GPS directions for your project journey, without it, you’re at the risk of wandering.

This chapter is focused on explaining the concept of project management lifecycle. It is one of the most foundational concepts of project management that applies to every project and helps you structure your project.

What is the project management lifecycle?            

A project management lifecycle is a standard framework to structure a project from start to finish, ensuring nothing is overlooked along the way. It includes five phases: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure.

To easily sail through the process, project management experts across the globe created a standard roadmap to take a project from start to finish.

When you are assigned a project, there are ‘n’ number of tasks you need to juggle: identify requirements, define the scope of the project, outline the acceptance criteria, create a project schedule, plan resources, coordinate with stakeholders, manage the project team, etc.

The reasoning behind this standard framework of project management lifecycle was that irrespective of the project’s nature, complexity, and size of a project, every project has a start and finish. Every project goes through certain phases from start to finish and certain activities are performed and artifacts are created.

You can create as many steps in a project lifecycle but they eventually fall under these five phases: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure.

Five phases in project lifecycle management

The project management lifecycle breaks a project into five phases:

Let’s discuss what each phase covers.

1. Initiation

Initiation is the first phase of the project management lifecycle and the starting point for all projects. This is the phase where the focus is on defining the purpose, and objectives of the project, identifying all the stakeholders and their vested interests in the project, and conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the project to ensure the project is profitable.

The purpose of this phase is to gather the project requirements and ensure stakeholder buy-in for the project.

Based on the established understanding of the project and agreement from all the stakeholders on the outlined scope, a project plan is created for the project’s success.

Project initiation phase includes the following key activities:

• bringing together all the information of the project- objectives, purpose, goals, and requirements – to document the project scope in writing.
• identifying all the stakeholders of the project to learn about their expectations.
• conducting a feasibility study to determine the project’s profitability with a cost-benefit analysis.

This project kick-off meeting results in the creation of the following five key documents:

• Project proposal or project requirements document: Outlines the project’s purpose, key objectives, high-level requirements, and anticipated outcomes. It essentially describes the problem, need, or opportunity that the project aims to address For example: For a project aimed at launching a new mobile app, the document might state:
  • Purpose: To provide an app that helps users track their daily habits.
  • Key objectives: Increase daily active users by 25% in the first quarter after launch.
  • High-level requirements: A mobile app with a user-friendly interface, analytics for tracking habits, and integration with wearable devices.

• Business case: Justifies the benefits, costs, and potential risks associated with the project based on the findings of feasibility studies. Example: For the same app project, the business case might state:
  • Benefits: An estimated revenue boost of $50,000/month from subscriptions.
  • Costs: Development, marketing, and operational costs totaling $100,000.
  • Risks: Delays in development or lack of user adoption due to market saturation.

• Initial Risk Register: Defines potential risks at the outset and their likelihood and impact. Example: Risk for the mobile app project:
  • Risk: Delays in approval from app stores.
  • Likelihood: High.
  • Impact: Launch delayed by at least two weeks, leading to lost revenue.

• Stakeholder Register: Lists all stakeholders, their roles, expectations, and influence. Example: For the app project:
  • Stakeholders:
    • Development team: Responsible for coding and testing.
    • Marketing team: Promote the app before launch.
    • Users: Provide feedback and reviews.
    • Expectations: High-quality app delivered on time with minimal bugs.

• Project Charter or master document: Outlines the project purpose, objectives, scope, stakeholders, constraints, and high-level requirements, authorizes the project, and assigns the project manager. Example: For the app project, the charter might include:
  • Purpose: Create a habit-tracking app for everyday users.
  • Objectives: Launch in three months with a fully functional MVP.
  • Constraints: Development budget capped at $80,000.

2. Planning

The planning phase is the most crucial phase of the project management lifecycle, and it defines the roadmap for the project. It includes creating a comprehensive plan for the project that counters every aspect of the project that needs to be managed- from tasks, costs, schedule, milestones, quality, deliverables, risks, and so on.

The purpose of this phase of project management is to make sure the project’s scope is outlined comprehensively, resources are secured for the work to be done in the project, and to plan for the risks that might unfold to ensure the project’s success.

Project planning phase includes the following key activities:

• Defining the detailed scope of the project by breaking a project into small chunks with well-defined phases, tasks, and milestones
• Estimating the resource requirements for each task and creating a project plan
• Planning for various risks in a project

This leads to the creation of the following set of artifacts:

• Requirements document: It is a document that translates stakeholder needs into requirements to create the detailed scope of the project.
• Work breakdown structure (WBS): This is the most important artifact of the project planning phase, which provides the hierarchical decomposition of project deliverables into smaller and manageable deliverables.
• Project management plan: It is a comprehensive document that defines all project components and outlines how the project will be executed, monitored, and closed. Key project components include scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, communication, and resources.

Project management plan includes an individual plan for each component:

• Scope Management Plan
• Quality Management Plan
• Project Schedule
• Budget Plan
• Risk Management Plan
• Communication Plan
• Resource Management Plan

I hope by now you have understood how the project management lifecycle organizes a project and helps the project manager. I do not want to disappoint you but there is an additional note to the planning phase.

Additional note:

A project management plan is a dynamic document that evolves as the project progresses. Planning is not static. As more information becomes available, project managers revisit and refine the plan, ensuring it reflects the project’s growing needs. It is for good!

3. Execution

Execution is the third phase of the project where work finally begins on the project. Everything outlined in the project management plan is actually implemented in this stage.

This is a point where a project manager feels like a project team manager. The project manager has to assign tasks, coordinate with the team, clarify roles, arrange resources, and deal with day-to-day challenges.

The purpose of this phase is to ensure everything outlined in the project management plan is executed properly so that there are minimum deviations.

Project execution phases include:

• Assigning tasks to the team  members and providing clear instructions
• Obtaining necessary resources and allocating them efficiently
• Facilitating clear and timely exchange of information and collaboration with team to resolve issues as they come up

This leads to the creation of the following set of artifacts:

• Status reports: Regular updates on project progress, risks, and issues
• Updated risk register: Continuously updated with new risks, their impact, and mitigation actions
• Change requests: Formal documents for requesting scope, schedule, or cost changes

Additional note:

To be honest, this is the most challenging phase for any project manager, and you learn most about real-world project management in this phase. It is because you have to get things done from the team. The actual work on the project is not in your hands. You have to rely on your team for completion!

4. Monitoring and control

Monitor and control are what ensure that your project doesn’t veer off course. In this stage, you’ll track the project’s performance closely and make adjustments as needed to ensure it stays aligned with the goals.

Project monitoring and controlling phase includes the following key activities:

• Regularly gathering data, tracking progress, and analyzing project reports to measure against planned goals.
• Identifying deviations from the planned roadmap and making adjustments to keep the project on course.
• Ensuring stakeholders remain informed about progress, changes, and any potential impacts on project outcomes.

This leads to the creation of the following artifacts:

• Performance reports: Compare actual performance against baselines for scope, schedule, and cost
• Quality control reports: Documents the results of quality inspections and any defects identified
• Change log: Keeps a record of all changes made to the project, their reasons, and approvals

Additional notes:

Quality control is implemented at this stage of the project. It is going to be the most challenging phase for the project manager because most projects derailed during this stage. A proactive approach is required at this stage.

5. Closure

Project closure is the last stage of the project management lifecycle that formalizes the project completion and documents lessons learned. It is the most relaxed phase of the project where a project manager gets to evaluate the project.

Project closure includes the following key activities:

• Securing approvals and formal acceptance of deliverables by stakeholders or clients
• Documenting lessons learned from the project for future reference
• Communicating project closure to stakeholders

This results in the creation of the following key artifacts:

• Final deliverables: Complete and approved outputs handed over to the client or stakeholders.
• Final sign-off document: Formal acceptance of deliverables by stakeholders or clients.
• Final project report: Summarizes project objectives, performance, achievements, and any deviations.
• Lessons learned document: Highlights successes, challenges, and improvement opportunities for future projects.
• Project archive: Includes a compilation of all project documentation for future reference.

Additional notes:

Project closure signifies the end of the project’s execution but in reality, a project goes to transition into the operational phase, where the product of the project is handed over for ongoing support and maintenance.

Why project life cycle management is important

Project management lifecycle provides a clear roadmap to manage a project from start to finish. It plays a key role in managing a project by helping a project manager:

• defines what to do at each step of the project
• break a project into easily manageable, small phases

This leads to the following benefits:

1. Increase project success

Project management lifecycle provides knowledge and guidance to the project manager about each phase of the project, the activities included in it, and its outcomes. This makes it easy for a project manager to implement the activities needed to complete a project from start to finish. It results in increased project success because every aspect of the project is taken care of.

2. Make it easy to manage project work

Project management lifecycle breaks a project into smaller phases. This makes it easy for a project manager to manage the project. A project manager can better implement the project activities, utilize the resources, and focus on the phase of the project at hand. The phases make the process straightforward for the project manager and project team.

3. Enhances planning and organization

Project management lifecycle focuses on setting realistic goals, identifying risks, allocating resources, and creating schedules. A well-structured lifecycle ensures thorough planning, which reduces the likelihood of project delays, budget overruns, or scope creep.

4. Foster communication and collaboration

Project management lifecycle creates artifacts throughout the project. It fosters communication by establishing a common language that all stakeholders can comprehend. This enables better coordination and reduces misunderstandings.

5. Better ability to manage project risk

Project management lifecycle involves creating a detailed plan for the project risks early in the project and monitoring them throughout the project lifecycle. The systematic approach enables project teams to anticipate, analyze, and mitigate risks before they escalate. Any deviations from the plan are identified early, enabling corrective actions to keep the project on track.

Not just that, project phases are critical juncture points for a project manager to track project performance and decide whether the project should be amended, terminated, or proceed as planned.

Challenges in project life cycle management

There are challenges associated with every phase of the project management lifecycle. Here are some common challenges you might face:

• Incomplete or unclear requirements: Not being able to comprehensively gather stakeholder requirements leads to unclear objectives and poorly defined scope. This eventually results in misalignment or ambiguity in the project’s goals and scope creep.
• Unrealistic schedules or budgets: Most managers are guilty of planning fallacy. This leads to overoptimistic estimations that can lead to impractical timelines or cost constraints. It results in poor project plan and failure to follow the project plan.
• Scope creep: Unauthorized changes, evolving expectations, external influences, or poorly managed changes lead to scope creep that can derail timelines and budgets.  
• Difficulty in tracking progress and KPIs: Poor tracking of tasks and milestones effectively in real-time makes it hard to catch issues early and adjust accordingly.
• Communication gaps: Poor communication among project team members, stakeholders, or vendors can lead to misunderstandings and delays. This miscommunication or lack of collaboration leads to confusion, missed deadlines, and inefficiencies. In addition, managing diverse personalities, skills, and potential conflicts within the team can be challenging.
• Risk management: New risks emerging during the project can be overlooked or poorly managed. Without a solid risk management plan, unexpected problems can delay progress or increase costs.
• Incomplete deliverables: Ensuring all project deliverables meet the agreed-upon quality and are completed.

By addressing these challenges, you can prevent them from derailing your project’s success.

Best practices for project life cycle management

You can follow these simple best practices to manage your projects more effectively:

• Engage with stakeholders: Identify all key stakeholders and engage with them stakeholders in workshops or interviews to capture detailed requirements. Document requirements clearly and validate them with stakeholders. Involve them in the early stages to align expectations.
• Use the SMART framework to define objectives and goals: Define clear objectives and scope using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) framework. Create a detailed project charter outlining scope, objectives, and constraints and get it validated by stakeholders.
• Create a realistic schedule or budget: Use project planning techniques to develop realistic plans such as work breakdown structure (WBS), historical data, expert judgment, and three-point estimates. Make use of project management software to create a detailed breakdown of tasks.
• Monitor progress regularly: Use KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and dashboards to measure progress. Keep track of milestones and compare them against your baseline to make timely adjustments.
• Prevent scope creep: Implement a change control process requiring formal approvals for any scope changes. Monitor for signs of scope creep, track interdependencies, and continuously reassess risks. Enforce the agreed-upon change control process.
• Communicate effectively: Encourage open communication within the team. Schedule regular team meetings, share information, and use collaboration tools to encourage communication  
• Verify deliverables: Use checklists to ensure all project deliverables meet agreed-upon quality and requirements.

By following these practices, you can keep your project organized and on track from start to finish.

Conclusion: How the project life cycle drives success

Project lifecycle drives success by providing a clear roadmap to manage a project from start to finish. It defines what step you need to take at each step of the project. With the knowledge of the project management lifecycle, you know what to do in a project at each phase. This helps you apply project management to real projects, resulting in increased project success, better management of the project work, and optimal use of resources.