Project Life Cycle Phases

Life Cycle Phases

The Project Life Cycle has been divided into five phases:

Define: This is the phase of the project where the project concept as a need solution is evaluated, selected, and defined.
Plan: This is the phase of the project where the concept is verified and developed into a workable plan for implementation.
Launch: This is the phase of the project where certain management activities are carried out to ensure that the project is established with clear reference terms and substantial management structure.
Manage: This is the phase of the project where the implementation plan is carried out.
Close: This is the phase of the project where the project process is completed and documented, and the finished product is tranferred to the care, custody, and control of the owner.

Clicking on any of the links above will give you an overview of the activities recommended for each phase. Each phase has activities associated with it. Each activity has an activity definition, guidelines, and may have a template. These components facilitate the activities performed by the Project Manager. The number of activities recommended depends upon the class into which the project is categorized. A class 1 project will involve only a few of these activities. A class 5 will involve all the activities in the framework. Also, the activities recommended for each class are the bare minimum, and it depends upon the discretion of the Project Manager to perform other activities (even if they are not recommended) if s/he feels that the activity is required for the project.

DEFINE PHASE

Activity	Purpose	Highlights	Outputs
Project Request Approval	The objective of this activity is to formalize and institutionalize the initiation of projects. By doing this, we ensure that only those projects that warrant investment are actually undertaken and executed. This will also help in managing the workload of individual departments.	Anyone can make a Project Request. The Project Request form needs to be signed by the Operating Unit Head. The Project Approver needs to evaluate the request on the basis of pre-set criteria.	Approved or denied Project Request form
Assign Project Manager
Project Overview Statement	The Project Overview Statement (POS) essentially is a short document that establishes the purpose of the project, and explains what business value it will provide to the organization. The objective of this activity is to secure management approval and to provide the Project Manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. The POS becomes a source of reference for the project team.	The problem is identified. The project goal and objectives are determined. The success criteria are identified. The required effort is estimated. Assumptions, risks and obstacles are identified.	Project Overview Statement
Business Case	The objective of this activity is to help Initiators in justifying a business need. This activity is needed so as to ensure that the costs and benefits for all projects are weighed before investment is made.	The Business Need is established. Dependencies are identified. A Cost-Benefit analysis is done. Funding requirements and risks are identified.	Business Case
Project Governance	The objective of this activity is to define the roles and responsibilities of the various team members and stakeholders, and to define the decision-making structure for the project.	Escalation procedures are defined. Rules and responsibilities are defined.	Project Governance document
Phase Gate - Gain approval to develop project plan	The objective of this activity is to ensure that management approves the transition of a project across its various phases. This will ensure that projects that are not likely to succeed are "killed" early.	Senior management analyzes status reports and the communication with the customer, and in conjunction with the Project Manager makes a decision if the project should move to the next phase.	Approved or rejected Phase Gate form
Assign Core Project Team

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PLAN PHASE:

Activity	Purpose	Highlights	Outputs
Planning Kick-off Meeting	The objective of this activity is to review the approved Project Overview statement, set expectations, and articulate any risks that are likely to occur and dispel any doubts that the team may have.	The Project Manager calls for this meeting. S/he sets the guidelines for project execution and articulates expectations from the project team. Project timelines, Project Approach, risks, assumptions, and constraints are discussed.	Minutes of the kick-off meeting
Project Approach	The objective of this activity is to establish a high-level approach of how to implement the project goals by developing an implementation approach, and project policies/standards. The purpose is also to define the solution for the project and the method of delivering that solution. This activity will also validate which planning activities will be needed for the project.	The Project life cycle and the various phases for the project are determined. Any reusable components from other projects are identified. The various methods in which the project objective can be achieved are evaluated and the best method is chosen. A rationale is provided for this decision.	Project Approach Document
Quality Strategy	The objective of this activity is to decide on the Quality Strategy that will be used for the project.	The Project Manager and team decide which Quality Assurance and which Quality control activities will be carried out for the project.	List of QA and QC activities
Work Plan - Work Breakdown Structure	The objective of this activity is to decompose the project into activities, sub-tasks, and work packages. This allows the Project Manager to estimate the duration of the project, determine the required resources and schedule the work.	The project work is decomposed into smaller components to give better management control.	Work Breakdown structure
Work Plan - Estimating Time and Cost	The objective of this activity is to estimate the time and cost for each task. This will be an input to the development of the Work Plan.	Time duration estimates are given for each task depending upon resource availability and capability.	Time and Cost estimates
Work Plan - Schedule Development	The objective of this activity is to document the various tasks that need to be executed during the project duration, to assign responsibility for each of the tasks, and to establish timelines for the tasks. It also establishes dependencies between various tasks. This will ensure that the project can be completed on time and that the business scope of the Overview statement is addressed.	Resources are assigned to tasks. Quality reviews and testing are planned for. Once the overall schedule is set, the Project Manager is responsible for closely monitoring progress.	Work Plan
Risk Management Strategy Plan	The objective of this activity is to define how risks will be identified, determine who owns the responsibility of identifying risks, decide at what frequency the risks need to be revisited, identify the risk monitoring tool, determine to whom risks will be escalated, define how to manage risks, and how to handle issues that are likely to become risks.	The process of identifying risks is defined. Roles and responsibilities for the risk management process are defined. Frequency of updating the matrix is determined.	Risk Management Strategy Plan
Communications Management Plan	The objective of this activity is make sure that team members, customers and stakeholders have the information they need to do their jobs.	Target groups for different types of communication are defined. The frequency, format, and results of the communication are defined.	Communication on Management Plan
Issue Management Plan	The objective of this activity is to ensure that issues are identified, evaluated, and assigned for resolution. This process brings visibility to issues, accountability as to how they are acted upon, and their timely resolution.	An issue management process is defined. Roles and responsibilities are assigned. An issue log is documented and tracked.	Issue Management Plan, Issues log
Quality Assurance Plan	The objective of this activity is to validate that the major deliverables are completed and that the processes are being implemented with an acceptable level of quality.	Acceptance criteria for deliverables, quality assurance activities, in-process control plans, and quality -related responsibilities are defined. Frequency of project plan reviews, frequency of receiving and sending status reports, and frequency of checking for process improvements are determined.	Quality Plan, checklists
Resource Plan	The objective of this activity is to document how many resources will be needed during the various phases of the project and how they will be acquired, to examine if any of the resources need training, and if so, to ensure that they receive the required training.	The type and amount of resources needed are determined. The estimated output, availability, and cost of the resources are determined. Training needs are identified and planned for.
Procurement Plan	The objective of this activity is to identify procurement strategies that will be used, outline the scope of products and/or services to be procured, and identify responsibilities for the full procurement lifecycle.	Items that will be procured are identified. Inability of currently used products to fulfill this need must be described. Evaluation criteria of vendors are set. Officials who must approve the purchase are identified.	Procurement Plan
Operational Transfer Plan	The objective of this activity is to lay down the pre-requisites of rolling out an application. This is to ensure the smooth transition from the "project" to the "going live" stage.	Roles and responsibilities for the installation process are identified. Dependencies that exist are identified.	Operational Transfer Plan
Integrated Project Plan	The objective of this activity is to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly coordinated.	Assumptions used are reviewed. This activity ensures the following: Roles and responsibilities are identified, a quality plan is written, reviews are planned for, and most importantly that all the plans have considered all relevant factors.	Integrated Project Plan
Team Assignment	The objective of this activity is to ensure that individuals with the required skills are assigned to a project, and to level resources in the Work Plan.	The Project Manager resolves conflict between resource availability and Work Plan. Work packages are defined, assigned and any questions regarding work packages are discussed.	Team Assignments Fine Tuned Work Plan
Phase Gate - Gain approval for plan	The objective of this activity is to ensure that management approves the transition of a project across its various phases. This will ensure that projects that are not likely to succeed are "killed" early.	Senior management analyzes status reports and the communication with the customer, and in conjunction with the Project Manager makes a decision on whether the project should move to the next phase.	Approval or rejection

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LAUNCH PHASE:

Activity	Purpose	Highlights	Outputs
Lauch Kick-off Meeting	The objective of this activity is to ensure that all the project team	The Project Manager should inform the team of the ground rules for the project, the working style, the communication plan and the escalation process for conflict resolution.	Minutes of the meeting
Initial Risk Identification	The objective of this activity is to ensure that the entire team identifies risks for the project. This ensures that all perspectives are taken into account while planning for risks.	Risks are identified and categorized. For each risk identified, assess the risk event in terms of likelihood of occurrence and its effect on project objectives if the risk event occurs.	Risk matrix
Team Readiness	The objective of this activity is to ensure that individuals assigned to a project are provided the requisite training in order to perform the job and that key goals and responsibilities are identified for the team members at the start of the project.	Training needs identified need to be met. Team members identify key goals at the start of the project.	Key goals for each team member

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MANAGE PHASE:

Activity	Purpose	Highlights	Outputs
Project Plan Execution
Performance Tracking & Reporting	The objective of this process is to ensure that the team is making satisfactory progress toward the project goals. The purpose is to: 1) Track cost, time, scope and quality, 2) Track actual accomplishments and results, and 3) Provide visibility into progress.	Team meetings can be held so that information can be exchanged. The Project Manager monitors, at least weekly, progress to plan on key elements. The status of the project is reported to the relevant stakeholders.	Weekly Status Reports, Tracked Project Schedule
Schedule Control	The objective of this activity is to ensure that tasks are executed as per Work Plan so that the deadline for the project can be met. If the schedule cannot be met, the relevant stakeholders need to be informed.	The Project Manager is responsible for tracking the various tasks in a project. Tracking is done by exchanging task status information with team members and then incorporating the latest status information into your project Work Plan. If the any task, schedule or resource information has been changed, the Project Manager needs to communicate the revised Work Plan to the project team.	Tracked Work Plan
Change Control	The objective of this activity is to ensure that all changes to scope are documented and authorized by the relevant stakeholders.	Any change to scope has to be communicated to the Project Manager. The Project Manager ensures that the Change Request Form has been filled out. The Project Manager analyzes the change request. The Project Manager and established governance may approve or deny a change request.	Approved or denied Change Request Form
Cost Control	The objective of this activity is to manage project cost such that it is aligned with budgeted cost.	Costs are agreed upon with the sponsor at the start and upon completion of the project. The budget has to be constantly monitored by the Project Manager. The variance between Budgeted cost and Project cost needs to be communicated to and approved by the sponsor/customer. This should also be present in the status report.	Status reports
Quality Assurance & Control	The objective of this activity is to ensure that the project team meets the project requirements and that all requisite quality criteria are met.	This process comprises project reviews, product reviews, code reviews, testing, and any other process that the Project Manager might think necessary. Defects are identified, and categorized. Root causes are analyzed.	Review reports, Bug reports
Procurement Management	The objective of this activity is to ensure that appropriate resources are employed, that the process of selection is fair and that the quality of work is acceptable.	Any guidelines set by the University in this regard supersedes this process. A vendor is chosen on pre-set criteria. The contract needs to be signed by authorized signatories.	Signed Contract(s)/ Purchase Order(s)/ Statement(s) of Work
Risk Management	The objective of this activity is to identify risks, to reduce the probability of the identified risks, to identify mitigation strategies, to identify contingency plans for the bigger risks, and if realized, to reduce the impact of these risks.	Management monitors risks with a risk exposure over the threshold limit. Risk mitigation strategies are planned and contingency plans are developed. The Risk Matrix is revisited at and appropriate frequency.	Revised Risk Matrix
Information Distribution	The objective of this activity is to ensure that all appropriate parties are kept informed.	All relevant information needs to be communicated to the appropriate parties at the right time and in the appropriate format.	Status reports, Minutes of meetings
Time Tracking & Management	The objective of this activity is to ensure that all time spent on a project is logged in.	Time spent is tracked at a project level, and analyzed at an organizational level.	Time Sheets, Variance Reports
Phase Gate - Gain approval to move to production	The objective of this activity is to ensure that management approves the transition of a project across its various phases. This will ensure that projects that are not likely to succeed are "killed" early.	Senior management analyzes status reports and the communication with the customer, and in conjunction with the Project Manager makes a decision on whether the project should move to the next phase.	Approved or rejected Phase Gate form

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CLOSE PHASE:

Activity	Purpose	Highlights	Outputs
Transition to Production	The objective of this activity is to ensure that the Operational Transfer Plan is carried out after the required checks are done.	Its ensured that all planned testing is carried out, all customer requirements are met and that the product is fully operational. The Project Manager ensures that the customer accepts the product before Transition to Production.	Summary Report, Customer Sign-off
Wrap-up Meeting	The objective of this activity is to ensure that the Project team discusses the project after the project has been executed so that Lessons Learned are captured and issues are analyzed.	The Project Manager calls this meeting. The Project Manager, and the team members discuss the project experience including problems faced during project execution. Solutions to such problems are suggested and discussed. Lessons Learned are discussed.	Minutes
Lessons Learned	The objective of this activity is to ensure that the Lessons Learned during the project are documented and incorporated in the knowledge base for future use.	The Project Manager develops this "Lessons Learned" document with the help of the project team. This document is deposited in the knowledge base.	Lessons Learned Document
Administrative Closure	The objective of this activity is to ensure that the Project is approved, accepted and closed.	The Project Manager ensures that the project is approved and accepted by the relevant stakeholders. All documentation and records are reviewed, organized and archived. Backups are taken. Resources are released and the project is closed.
Celebrate!

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