Let’s talk for a few minutes about the Project Lifecycle.
While the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide goes into extensive detail about each phase of a project, my goal here is to give a simplified overview.
The classic Project Lifecycle comprises five phases:
- Initiate
- Plan
- Execute
- Close
- Monitor and Control
(While the first four phases are by and large sequential, the Monitor and Control phase spans the entire project.)
We’re going to use a simple example – building a table – to illustrate the phases of a project.
Phase 1: Initiate
The Initiate phase includes activities that define the goals of the project. What are we trying to accomplish? What does this include? Also important: What does it exclude? (These two create the scope of the project.) What’s the cost? How long do we have to get this done? Who gets to decide all these things and all the details?
In our table example, we could start by saying “We are building a table. It will be made of wood, with a Formica laminate top. It should be on legs instead of a pedestal.” We could add an exclusion: “The table will not be expandable.” We can elaborate on the design: “The Formica used will be Part Number 4290/J in Bronze, and the table will be 70cm wide by 2m long by 30cm tall.” “The customer/decision maker is Mr. Ploni Almoni. The budget is $1000 for parts and labor. It needs to be done two months from now, in time for the Almoni’s Open House.”
We’re going to need to validate all the design parameters, costs, and timing with fabricators (maybe getting competitive bids) and then rationalizing all of this in a final version.
We could stop there – but all good Project Managers also look at risks. For example, there’s a risk that the Formica won’t be available. What do we do? We could consider alternative finishes or materials. What if the carpenter gets injured or takes ill (G-d forbid)? Do we line up an alternate? (More about risk management at this link.)
At the end of the Initiate phase, our scope, budget, and timeline are captured in the Project Charter – the sponsor (Mr. Almoni) needs to approve this. It is essentially a contract for what the project is to deliver.
Phase 2: Plan
Okay, now we have a pretty good idea of what we’re doing. Let’s break that down further. In the Plan phase, we take our requirements, and work with the people doing the work, to determine the actual steps that are involved.
We create a list of tasks.
We refine the timeline, look at the duration (how many days on the calendar will this take), effort (how many hours of work are involved), and dependencies among the tasks.
If we have to wait for raw materials, or for some process to complete outside of the project, we determine lags between tasks.
All of these combine to give us a look at the sequence of events that we expect for the project.
We should also have a very solid, highly refined set of requirements, which then get baked into the Charter (as a change or addendum); again, this needs Sponsor approval.
In our table example, the tasks might include:
- Create Design
- Order wood for top
- Order legs
- Order finish
- Assemble Top (which may have several subtasks)
- Attach legs
- Sand complete
- Stain (2 coats)
Again, each should have a duration and an effort assigned to them. The effort should be pretty straightforward to estimate (in consultation with our construction team – let’s call him Bob). But the duration may be trickier, because Bob is only available to us for three hours a day. Bob is a busy guy. If it’s going to take 16 hours of effort to assemble the top, for example, the duration is going to stretch out to over 5 days.
Another thing we need to figure out is the dependencies among tasks, and how that affects our timeline. For example, we can’t assemble the top until we have the materials. We can order the wood, but then there is likely to be a lag between the ordering and the assembly. And we can’t sand the whole thing until it’s assembled. And so on.
And if all of this pushes us past our deadline, then we need to look at ways to compress the timeline (maybe there are parallel tasks, or we can add labor – sorry, Bob – for some of the work).
Eventually, we can put together a clear timeline of the project, each of the tasks aligned in a beautiful cascade to reach the end of the project.
This approach is traditionally called waterfall, and you can clearly see why from this illustration:
(We can see the approximate timing of each task, and the dependencies between them. In this tool – ClickUp in this case – we can drill down into each task to learn more about it, get the exact dates, add assignments, etc.)
Now we have a plan. We do need to make sure to refine the budget and lock that in before we start spending money, but at this point we can get moving on the actual work.
There are other activities that can happen during the Plan phase, if applicable. Among them:
determining the structure of the team, specifying the communications plan with the Sponsor, creating the testing plan, and figuring out the escalation process if there are issues. And don’t forget about risks.
Phase 3: Execute
As the name implies, this phase is when we start going through the actual tasks in the project plan.
There should be a person or team assigned to each task, and that is who is accountable for getting the work done. (For more on roles and responsibilities, see my post called “The Team.”)
During this phase, money gets spent, stuff gets ordered, and actual work gets done.
If something is awry in the design, the customer wants a different color, the money is running out and we have to scale back – then the change has to go through the change control process, evaluating the impacts to the timeline, the budget, and the scope.
Phase 4: Close
Once we are coming to the end of the work that gets done in the Execute phase, we come to the Close phase. There are a few activities that typically happen during Close:
- Reconcile orders and invoices
- Evaluate budget vs. actual expenditures
- Get customer acceptance of the finished product
- Provide any documentation, training, and operational aspects of the finished product (in our example, the cleaning, maintenance, and precautions about the table, like using coasters, you barbarian).
- Conduct a Lessons Learned exercise – figure out what went right, what could have gone better – to improve performance on the next project.
Phase 5: Monitor and Control
We call this a phase, but it’s really more of a continual background activity.
Monitor and Control encompasses a bunch of things – all having to do with the conduct of the project. It’s the paperwork. Remember, you’ve gotta do your paperwork.
The Project Manager keeps tabs on the progress of the work. Meetings are typically a big part of this. These are held at regular intervals during the Execute phase, to make sure that tasks are being done, hours are being recorded appropriately, and expenditures are in line with the budget. As well, part of the meeting is to find out about roadblocks, issues, potential changes, and risks.
When it comes to financials, the PM creates a forecast to determine if there will be budget overruns or underruns. The budget is the budget; changing it is a big deal and requires careful consideration and process. But the forecast is the continual working tool that tells the team where they stand relative to the budget.
In conclusion…
That’s really about it – once the project is closed, it’s time for the next one.
You’ll notice how much more detail and thought go into the Initiate and Plan phases in the Project Lifecycle. This is by intent. It is far less costly and impactful if there are changes during the early phases – before actual execution has begun. So putting in the effort up front is one of the keys to project success!