Understanding the Project Life Cycle

As we move through the process groups, there are different amounts of efforts involved. Even though the processes are shown as consecutive, there will be cases where these processes will overlap – it depends on the industry and the projects. There might be more effort at different phases for different types of projects.  

People in the Project Life Cycle 

There are fewer people involved when we initiate a project. After all, it might not get approved for implementation.  

Our project champion sponsor – maybe a Project Steering Committee or a project board – will give us approval to go to the next project phase. On long projects, we might have intermediate approvals.  Automotive projects, for example, tend to be two and a half or three years. We will have intermediate decision points and approval points every 3 months or so. 

Generally, there are more people involved as the project goes on. People will be joining the project at different phases, so we may also have different skill sets at different points in time.   

When the project is formally approved, many people are going to join the project. Typically, this would happen after the business case is approved, and the project is ready to move forward from the feasibility study stage at the end of the initiation phase. In fact, the project manager may not be assigned to the project until the project finishes this phase.

The project manager will then need to collect information about what has already been planned and agreed for this new project.

As project managers, we need to make sure that we are spending enough time to welcome the new people into the project team. This will help us gain some respect from them. This is more about being a project leader than a project manager: 

Think about the people in the project team – they will have more respect for you if you acknowledge their presence. 

New people joining the project will have questions: 

We need to know the answers to those questions. If we don’t know the answers, we should find out by speaking to the project champion and senior managers. If we can confidently answer all their questions, this will help build the respect from the people in our project team.  

Different Perspectives on the Project Life Cycle 

The project lifecycle will have a different terminology depending on the industry. Instead of Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing, some industries might use the terms such as: 

Project Milestones 

The project life cycle is broken-down into phases. The phases are separated by the major review points, called the project milestones or gateways. Some projects might be 2-3 months, and some might be 2-5 years. Here are some examples:  

So different phases of projects will have different lengths depending on the project type.   

Role of the Project Manager 

Sometimes the project manager isn’t involved in the first feasibility stages of the project. This is more common with new project managers working on their first projects. In this case, the senior managers will approve a project, and they will take it through the feasibility study. Then, they will appoint a project manager.

Therefore, it’s important to understand all the background to the project to gain the respect of the project team. The project manager then develops the plans, implements them, executes the project, monitors and controls, and finally closes it. That would mean handing it over to operations, which could be manufacturing, or a service operation. Sometimes, after the project is completed, the project manager walks away before the business actually sees the benefits from the project.  

A project delivers a capability. Sometimes a ‘benefits manager’ is required to ensure that the project capability is turned into value added benefits for the business. This is where the business gets the money back for the project in the service or operation phase. 

Why do people tend to like new projects? 

People tend to like a new projects because:  

People are usually euphoric at the start of a project. Then, they find out that some of the communication is poor, or the objectives aren’t clear. Enthusiasm soon turns into despondency. Then we get bogged down in the detail and lose direction. This is the point when another project is proposed and the people ‘jump ship’ as soon as they can.

People tend to like new projects, because it means that they can get off the old dog of a project that’s late, over budget, and mired in controversy. Therefore, this means that the senior management will be searching for the guilty, punishing the innocent, and then promoting the unworthy at the end.  

Key Terms 

Project Life Cycle. The series of phases that a project passes through from its start to its completion. 

Project Phase. A collection of logically related project activities that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverables. 

Deliverable. Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or project. 

Milestone. A significant point or event in a project, programme, or portfolio. 

Business Case. A documented economic feasibility study used to establish validity of the benefits of a selected component lacking sufficient definition and that is used as a basis for the authorization of further project management activities