Reynalaine V.

Bornasal
III-AMA

1. 5 stages of Project Management

2. Understanding 5 phases of Project Management

Project Initiation
The first of the project management stages is all about giving the project a relatively broad
definition and establishing whether or not it is feasible. The stakeholders responsible will
usually use two methods to decide whether or not the project gets the go-ahead:
• Business Case Document: This will set out the justification for the project in terms of what the
organization needs and how it will benefit them and produce potential financial profit.
• Feasibility Study: This document assesses the resources necessary for the project to be
completed and compares them to what the organization has available. In this way the project is
judged on its timeline and cost and whether it is the right option for the organization.
 If the project passes these two checks, then the next part of the initiation phase is drawing up a
project charter or project initiation document (PID) to give a summary of the project’s objectives,
the stakeholders involved and its business case.

Project Planning
In the project planning stage, a more in-depth outline of the project’s goals and requirements is
created. This is where a project manager really brings their skills to bear. Project planning
includes:
• Defining the scope of the project
• Identifying what exactly needs to be done
• Finalizing the timeline for deliverables
• Organizing a work flow schedule
• Assessing and arranging necessary resources
Just as it is vital for a PM to know what the five stages of project planning are, it is during the
project planning phase that your team will be given their roadmap of what’s required for project
success.

Project Execution
This is the beginning of the creative stage, where the carefully laid project plans are turned into
tangible deliverables. There will usually be a kick-off meeting to give everyone an overview of
what their objectives are and after which, each team member will be aware of what is expected
of them.
For you and your team, project execution includes:
• Creation of individual task strands
• Procuring required resources
• Assigning tasks to team members
• Executing assignments
• Providing deliverables within deadlines
• Updating project progress

Project Monitoring
In the project management process, the third and fourth phases are not sequential in nature. This
phase runs simultaneously with project execution, thereby ensures that objectives and project
deliverables are met. 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). During the monitoring phase of project management, the manager is also responsible for
quantitatively tracking the effort and cost during the process. This tracking not only ensures that
the project remains within the budget but also is important for future projects.

Project Closure
This is the last of the project management stages, when the final deliverables are handed over
or go live. This stage provides you, your team and stakeholders with an opportunity to evaluate
how successful the project was and what lessons were learned during the process. It is also
wise to create an ongoing process to capture this knowledge and formally and feed it back into
your project management system. Tools that give you an audit trail and a way of recording
what’s taken place are useful for leveraging past projects and team efforts. Flexible systems
that can easily incorporate change are especially powerful as they can be optimized quickly and
immediately take advantage of new knowledge.
Following project closure, the resources of the project can be reassigned, and team
assessments drawn up. Many project managers hold an official closing meeting or even a more
informal closing party to congratulate the team.

3. Developing a Project Management

1. Collect requirements from key stakeholders.

Once you’ve created a project charter and identified key project stakeholders, it’s essential to
gather requirements. “You need input to generate output.” “The planning process starts with
collecting requirements from stakeholders. Once you have this information, you will be able to
define the scope of the project and determine exactly what you need to deliver to your
stakeholders.

Strong communication skills are critical at this stage in the planning process. Without effective
communication, it’s possible to miss important details that could be detrimental to the project’s
overall success.

2. Define the scope of the project.

Ask yourself: “What is it the team needs to produce or deliver?” and “What problems are the
stakeholders trying to solve?” Then, work with your stakeholders to develop a comprehensive
description of the project and the product deliverables in the form of a project scope
statement. You must have a clear understanding of the boundaries of the project.

For example, if you are building a software app for a customer, you must know what will be
included in the app and what won’t. Who will use the application? What is it intended to do?
What are the critical functions and features it needs to have?

3. Create a work breakdown structure.

Break down the project’s scope into smaller, more manageable deliverables and groups of
related tasks, also known as “work packages.” This will allow you to assign resources to
different parts of the project based on the skills needed. The work breakdown structure
facilitates planning and coordination, which are two important functions of project management.

4. Define project activities.

Break down work packages into a list of project activities. Consider this an action plan. It can
help to ask yourself: “What are the activities that must be performed to create the deliverables of
the project?”
5. Sequence project activities.

“Almost everything happens in a sequence, but the trick is to do as many things in parallel as
possible—if you have the resources to do so,. “One of the key reasons for adopting
formal project management methodologies is to reduce time-to-market. In dynamic and hyper-
competitive industries, the ability to reduce cycle time is a competitive advantage.”

6. Estimate activity duration, costs, and resources.

The cost, duration, and resources required to complete the project activities depend on the
scope of the project. Proper estimating is important for any project, as it helps determine if the
plan is viable, set expectations, and keep costs under control.

7. Assign resources to work packages and activities according to skills and interests.

Resources include not only labor but also materials, equipment, space, and technology. After
identifying which resources you’ll need, identify the skill level needed for each activity.

“The scope and level of complexity of the project will help you determine in what areas you need
to bring in high, mid-level, or entry-level skills,”. This step allows you to determine the sequence
of events that need to take place. To establish a realistic timeline, you’ll need to know how long
each activity will take, how much each will cost, what resources (team members) you’ll need,
and also when those resources are available (e.g., check into vacation schedules to avoid
unexpected delays).

8. Build in contingencies.

A plan without contingency is a bad plan. “Projects rarely go as planned, so you need to build in
backup plans. The contingencies can be determined by looking at historical data to identify risks
that occurred on similar projects in the past.”

For example, if a vendor you’re relying on to deliver a key component of your project has had
performance issues in the past, this could impact your schedule. If so, a contingency plan—
such as identifying alternative vendors and estimating the costs if this risk should occur—is
necessary. The key here is to consider both internal and external factors that may impact your
project’s objectives. There are many factors outside of the organization that could add risk to the
project, including the consumer price index, the economy, government issues (e.g., emerging
regulations), and competitors’ actions.

Also, consider organizational culture when formulating your contingencies. The culture of the
organization can impact certain elements of a project plan. For example, in some organizations,
it’s common to pad estimates, while in others, there is an expectation that a project will have
exact numbers.
 9. Create a performance measurement baseline.

Develop an integrated scope-schedule-cost baseline for the project work, which will serve as a
control tool for your project. Then, compare the execution of the project to your baseline to
measure and manage performance. These baselines can be established through status reports
within project management software applications.

“Performance should be measured throughout the project lifecycle.” “This way, you can identify
issues and take corrective action before it’s too late. It’s equally important to measure
performance upon completion of the project. This allows you to compare actual results to their
baselines to evaluate overall and individual performance.”

10. Develop all subsidiary plans.

“Developing a comprehensive and realistic project plan requires time and effort. However,
planning can make your life easier during the execution phase of the project by preventing nasty
surprises and misunderstandings.”

Most project plans need to incorporate the following subsidiary plans:

• Scope management plan

• Schedule management plan

• Cost management plan

• Quality management plan

• Resource management plan

• Communications management plan

• Risk management plan

• Procurement management plan

• Stakeholder engagement plan

• Requirements management plan

• Change management plan

• Configuration management plan

11. Document everything.

Document a project plan that outlines the scope, schedule, and cost of the project. Typically,
plans should cover cost management, quality management, resource management,
communication management, risk management, procurement processes, as well as ongoing
stakeholder engagement (i.e., how to continually engage stakeholders through the lifecycle of
the project.)

12. Build a knowledge base.

Some organizations have a learning culture where project managers are expected to document
and share their plans. This can be a valuable way to learn from the mistakes and successes of
others. In other companies where this historical knowledge isn’t documented, this could be more
challenging, and it may be necessary to reach out directly to other project managers to gain
insights.

References:
https://www.clarizen.com/what-are-the-five-stages-of-project-management/?cn-reloaded=1
https://kissflow.com/project/five-phases-of-project-management/
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/developing-project-management-plan/