Project Management

Definition

Project management is the use of specific knowledge, skills, tools and

techniques to deliver something of value to people. The development of
software for an improved business process, the construction of a building,
the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of sales into a new
geographic market—these are all examples of projects.

Phases of the Project Life Cycle

A project life cycle is divided into five phases, from brainstorming to

completion. The work done in five stages ages are:
Another diagrammatic expression

1. Project Initiation/ Brainstorming

Brainstorming is the stage before starting a project in which a project, its nature,
the vision, scope, and stakeholders are identified. The project’s importance and
relevancy are checked in this stage to ensure that no time is lost by starting a
wrong project. The project initiation phase is the first stage of turning an abstract
idea into a meaningful goal.

2. Project Planning

Once brainstorming has been done, and the project and its objectives are
identified, the next step in the project lifecycle is planning. In this phase, all the
planning related to a project, the subtasks associated with it, the project’s
schedule, the budget, risk, the completion date, and milestones are all
predetermined for smooth working on a project.

Planning is a crucial phase in which the overall project and its approach are
discussed. Alternative plans are also finalized in this phase to avoid any failure
of the project.

Stage 2 works with S.M.A.R.T AND C.L.E.A.R GOALS

S.M.A.R.T Goals:
The ‘SMART’ criteria ensure that the goals you set for your project are critically
analysed. It is an established method that reduces risk and allows project
managers to make clearly defined and achievable goals.

The acronym SMART stands for

C.L.E.A.R. Goals:

The ‘CLEAR’ method of setting up goals is designed to cater to the dynamic

nature of a modern workplace. Today’s fast-paced businesses require flexibility
and immediate results and CLEAR can help citizen developers with that.

The acronym for CLEAR stands for

During the planning stage, the scope of the project is defined. There is a
possibility of changing the scope of the project demands it but the project manager
must approve the change. Project managers also develop a work breakdown
structure (WBS), which clearly visualizes the entire project in different sections
for the team management.

3. Project Execution

Dependent upon the previous phase, the next stage of a project lifecycle is
execution. In this step, all the resources are utilized to work on the planned
project based upon the schedule and guidelines.

Another responsibility of the project manager during this phase is to consistently

maintain effective collaboration between project stakeholders. This ensures that
everyone stays on the same page and the project runs smoothly without any issues

The step is performed following the planning phase, and each step is linked to
the planned schedule to ensure that risks and costs are minimized and the
project is done as planned and expected.

4. Project Monitoring
The next phase of a project life cycle is monitoring. The phase continues
throughout the project so that the project is outclassed in terms of quality,
reduced cost, and minimal risk.

As a project manager, you can make sure that no one deviates from the original
plan by establishing Critical Success Factors (CSF) and Key Performance
Indicators (KPI).

The phase compares planning and execution stages to analyze what needs to be
improved, which step requires more employees’ efforts, and how time can be
balanced between tasks for expected results.

5. Project Completion

The last phase of the project life cycle is complete. In this phase, the project is
announced completed, and a report has been issued to identify how the overall
project went and how successful the project life cycle was.

This is the final phase of the project management process.

The project closure stage indicates the end of the project after the final delivery.
There are times when external talent is hired specifically for the project on
contract. Terminating these contracts and completing the necessary paperwork is
also the responsibility of the project manager

The stage highlights the difference between budgeted cost and actual cost and
the difference between the dates for completion and the completion date.

Importance of the Project Life Cycle

The project life cycle has significant importance in assuring the delivery of a
quality project on time with budgeted cost and minimal risk.

The project life cycle helps better manage a project, which is crucial in assuring
successful results for a given task. The importance of project life cycle includes:

· Structure a Project

Better structuring of a project helps in better monitoring and better results. With
a project life cycle, one can divide the project into several stages, making the
structure easier to understand and monitor.
The employees know which task to perform, and the management knows when
to expect completion of a sub-task of the project, which enhances the project’s
overall efficiency.

· Better Communication

With the better structuring and planning of a project, the project life cycle helps
in better communication between employees and management. The employees
know in advance which tasks to perform on which date and when to complete
them.

Similarly, the management knows when and what to expect from each
employee and when to motivate them to uplift their work, which helps in better
communication and better results between employees and management.

· Helps in Tracking Progress

Project lifecycle has the most importance in progress tracking. With the task’s
divisions and prior finalization of schedule and cost, the project life cycle helps
evaluate how competitive project work has been going with planning and where
the pace is required, or cost-cutting is essential.

Tracking helps complete a project as planned, which helps finish the project
with the required resources and cost. Before the project life cycle, projects
exceeded their budgeted cost, and risks related to a project were not identified.
After the project life cycle, the projects are not only completed in a
predetermined time but they are completed in allocated cost and resources,
which helped in savings for the authority of the project.

Helps in Better Project Management

Prioritizing
Prioritizing the important over the urgent
The project life cycle has great importance in terms of managing a project. It
helps in managing the project time, cost, resources, and efforts of employees.
With the use of the project life cycle, each aspect of a project is identified and
planned initially, which helps strategize each sub-task at a low cost.
Project management has improved as employees predetermined their tasks, and
when they complete the task on a pre-decided deadline, the cost and resources
are indirectly appropriately managed.

· Helps in Cost Controlling

With the completion of tasks as planned and allocated resources, the project life
cycle helps in cost controlling a project. When projects get delayed, their cost
and resource usage increase. The project life cycle holds great importance as it
makes sure that the project is completed as strategized by the management that
helps in cost controlling as the project is completed within the decided
resources.

Conclusion/ Final Thoughts

The project life cycle is of great importance for project management and better
project results. The life cycle has been used widely for project planning and
completing a project because of its colossal significance. To improve the project
life cycle, many software has been designed to help track the project’s
performance and maximize the project life cycle application. All you have to do
is to consider the following things before buying one.