Project Life cycle

Dr Charu Bisaria
Phase 1: Project Initiation

• The first phase of the project management life cycle is project initiation.
This is where the project’s value and feasibility are measured. Project
managers typically use two evaluation tools to decide whether or not to
pursue a project:
• Business Case Document – This document justifies the need for the
project, and it includes an estimate of potential financial benefits.
• Feasibility Study – This is an evaluation of the project’s goals, timeline and
costs to determine if the project should be executed. It balances the
requirements of the project with available resources to see if pursuing the
project makes sense.
• Teams abandon proposed projects that are labeled unprofitable and/or
unfeasible. However, projects that pass these two tests can be assigned to
a project team or designated project office.
Phase 2: Project Planning

• Once the project receives the green light, project managers need a
solid project plan to guide their team, execute the project on time
and stay within the budget. A well-written project plan gives guidance
for obtaining resources, acquiring financing and procuring required
materials. The project plan gives the team direction for producing
quality outputs, handling risk, creating acceptance, communicating
benefits to stakeholders and managing suppliers.
• The project plan also prepares teams for the obstacles they might
encounter over the course of the project and helps them understand
the cost, scope and timeframe of the project.
Phase 3: Project Execution

• This is the phase that is most commonly associated with project

management. Execution is all about building deliverables that satisfy
the customer. Team leaders make this happen by allocating resources
and keeping team members focused on their assigned tasks.
• Execution relies heavily on the planning phase. The work and efforts
of the team during the execution phase are derived from the project
plan.
Phase 4: Project Monitoring and Control

• Monitoring and control are sometimes combined with execution

because they often occur at the same time. As teams execute their
project plan, they must constantly monitor their own progress.
• To guarantee delivery of what was promised, teams must monitor
tasks to prevent scope creep, calculate key performance indicators
and track variations from allotted cost and time. This constant
vigilance helps keep the project moving ahead smoothly.
Phase 5: Project Closure

• Teams close a project when they deliver the finished project to the
customer, communicating completion to stakeholders and releasing
resources to other projects. This vital step in the project management
life cycle allows the team to evaluate and document the project and
move on to the next one, using previous project mistakes and
successes to build stronger processes and more successful teams.
• Although project management may seem overwhelming at times,
breaking it down into these five distinct project phases can help your
team manage even the most complex projects by using time and
resources more wisely
 Factors Affecting Project Management

• Deadline:
Deadline is one of the key aspects that determine how a project is managed. Missing a deadline creates a
bad impression for your team. However, completing a project on deadline does not mean that you
compromise on quality. You have to be both alert about time and have a keen eye on quality. If the project
has narrow deadlines with strict clients or stakeholders, project manager should be alert to all possible
hindrances from before and take appropriate precautions, so that on-time delivery of quality products or
services can be ensured. Not only should the manager be on their toes but they should instill the same kind
of attitude among the team members. Team members should flag issues, problems and hindrances the
moment being faced so that solutions can be looked out for immediately.

• Budget:
Budget is another critical factor that determines a project’s progress and management. In case the budget is
high, then the number of days for completion of the project is also more and so is the number of resources
allocated to it. Do not rush in such situations; rather focus completely on delivering products or services that
are of best quality, with maximum utilization of resources. However, if the budget is less you have to adjust
with limitations such as unavailability of resources, lack of time, and money. However, you cannot
compromise on quality which means the stress level of you and your team increases. You may have to
motivate your irritated overworked team members by encouraging them for their good performance and
recognizing their efforts through rewards.
3. Stakeholders:
Techniques of managing projects will vary depending upon the kind of stakeholders for the projects. In
case a project has multiple stakeholders from different backgrounds, there is a possibility of
disagreement between them. In such cases, project management becomes extremely challenging as
you cannot afford to have unhappy stakeholders and clients. Great convincing and negotiation skills are
required in such cases to reach a consensus. It can be time consuming and hence the actual time
dedicated to resources will reduce. The project manager needs to adopt tactful approaches in such
cases and get the work done.

4. Project Members:
Project management techniques are also determined by the challenges faced by a project manager
which, in turn, depends on the kind of team he or she is handling. If the team consists of members with
diverse backgrounds and skills, a gap in terms of team spirit may exist. This obviously impacts work.
Therefore, a project manager should apply techniques to bring the team close. He should ensure that
regular team meets happen which can be both formal and informal. In team meetings and outings
people from various backgrounds are bound to interact. This creates a bond between members and they
are ready to be there for each other.
5. Demand:
Demand is another key factor that influences project management techniques. Demand itself depends on a few factors
such as type of products or services, usability, etc. If the product is a perishable item such as grains or vegetables, the
nature of demand will be different from that of garments that can be stocked and used for months. In case of services,
such as creation of instruction manuals for electronic products, the demand depends on the number of users in the
market. Depending on the kind of demand and the nature of the product or services offered, a project manager needs
to apply appropriate management techniques ensuring on time delivery of goods and services.
For example, an app development company is creating a product for a new mobile offering from XYZ which will be
released in the market after 6 months. Therefore, the app needs to be ready by at least a month before the release.
The project manager will have the details in mind, while forming the team and allocating resources. Some of the
techniques may involve daily morning stand-ups, regular testing sessions, survey within his or her organization, pilot
testing among selected technology geeks. On the other hand, if an organization conducts training sessions on project
management certifications, the project manager’s technique may involve researching the market, offering services at
lower than market rate, looking for potential candidates who can take up the certifications, offering discounts if a person
takes more than one course, having an online marketing team to promote the services that are offered at attractive
prices etc.
6. Supply:
In order to meet the demand within a stipulated date and time (which we came across as deadline), supply of resources
is necessary. A project manager needs to ensure that supply is adequate, so that deadline is not compromised for want
of resources. For example, the company has scheduled a training session with 15 students on a given date. Students
have paid fees and they have been given the date, time and venue of the session. However, more people started
registering for the session and the total number reached 25. The current venue has a capacity of 20 people. Now, the
training provider should be in a position to arrange another venue immediately for the training session. If the session
gets cancelled due to lack of space, it will be a big loss for the company both in terms of money and reputation.
7. Price:
Price is an important aspect of project management. Price is determined by high level managers in consultation with project sponsors after
studying market trends. Price is an important determinant of the sale and profit and should be determined after careful calculation. The type
of product or service is an important factor to be considered when talking about price determination. For convenience, we will categorize
products into three 3 types: perishable products, non-perishable products, and specialized products. There are two factors that need to be
considered here: the quantity that needs to be sold and the price that the buyer is willing to pay for it. In case of non-perishable items like
cooking oil, grains and pulses, coal, demand is never a limitation. Additionally, being non-perishable, the products can be stored and
marketed throughout the year. The storage and demand factors balance out the price. These kinds of products are usually not exorbitantly
high priced.
However, it is different for perishable products and seasonal items. These are in the market for a short duration and are in high demand for
that period. Owning to the high demand and limited supply, price is usually high. For example, an organization focused on export of fruits
and vegetables, will have enough supply of the items during winter.

Project management is a complex concept. There is no one rule for managing projects as there is no single type of project. Services and products are the two
key categories of offerings in the market and the management method differs significantly for both. Within each category, there are multiple varieties and
again project management will vary depending on the type of product or service in question. The factors mentioned above are just to have a clear idea
regarding the key determinants of project management methods and techniques.