Project Management Phases

The project management cycle or life cycle includes several phases, from initiation to completion. It provides a structured way to create, execute, and finish a project. The project management process includes five steps: initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing a project. This process outlines the stages a project goes through from start to finish. It offers a framework to organize and manage project tasks and functions, coordinating resources and timelines to meet specific goals within a set timeframe and budget.

Depending on an organization's project management approach, project management processes can be more structured or more adaptive.

The Waterfall model, for instance, is a stage-gate project management technique in which reviews are conducted before each stage. Organizations that follow this linear approachiverables are completed successfully. Each phase must be completed before proceeding to ensure that del to the next.

On the other hand, the Agile project management process is characterized by its iterative nature. It allows for ongoing adjustments based on continuous feedback, organizational needs, customer input, and evolving project requirements, fostering a more adaptive and flexible approach to project execution.

Initiation:

Description

The project management process begins with the initiation stage. It’s the phase when an idea becomes a meaningful business plan. This stage involves defining the project and its objectives.

ZMC Key Questions

Initiation Phase Key Questions:

What is the purpose of the project?
What are the project’s objectives?
What kind of resources will be required?
Are there any potential constraints down the road?
How much time would it take for the project to be finished?
Does it have a budget range?
Who are the stakeholders?

The purpose of this questionnaire is for ZMC to clearly outline the project's objectives and reasons through a set of formal documents.

Key Documents

Business case: a business case explains how a business will benefit from this project. It also justifies various aspects, such as potential obstacles and expenses.

Feasibility study: a feasibility study assesses whether the project can be completed within a specified timeframe, considering various factors contributing to its successful completion.

Project charter: a project charter focuses on all necessary information about the project. What value is it going to deliver, what needs to be done, what is the expected timeline, what is the budget for the project, who is the assigned project manager, identify key stakeholders, and develop a plan to keep the communicated and engaged.

Planning

Description

Once the project is defined, it enters the planning stage.

The primary goal of this stage involves creating a detailed project plan, which should include the following information:

setting project goals,
identifying the deliverables and creating a breakdown structure,
estimating the time and resources required to complete each task,
creating a project schedule.

During project planning, ZMC will also create a risk management plan to outline the strategy if any risks occur associated with the project.

ZMC Key Activities

Determining risks and constraints
Planning out communication
Making plans for quality control and assurance
Determining the project's goals and objectives
Building a work breakdown structure (WBS)
Setting timelines
Determining and planning resources
Estimating costs

Key Documents

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):

A detailed breakdown of all project tasks, identifying the work needed to achieve the project goals.
Project Schedule:

A timeline outlining project tasks, dependencies, and deadlines.
Communication Plan:

Defines how project stakeholders will communicate information, including frequency, methods, and responsible parties.
Risk Management Plan:

Identifies potential project risks, mitigation strategies, and contingency plans.
Quality Assurance Plan:

Defines quality standards and procedures to be followed throughout the project.
Stakeholder Register:

A list of all individuals or groups impacted by the project, including their roles and communication needs.
Project Management Plan:

A comprehensive document combining all project plans (scope, schedule, risk, communication, quality) into a single reference point.

Executing

Description

After the planning stage comes execution, which is the backbone of a project's lifecycle. In this phase, you carry out the tasks and activities identified during planning.

During the project execution, ZMC will manage resources, address and resolve any shortcomings, build efficient workflows, and carefully monitor progress. ZMC will continue to maintain open communication among project stakeholders ensuring that everyone stays informed, promoting smooth project execution and staying on track.

ZMC Key Activities

Task execution: Completing assigned tasks according to the project plan.
Resource management: Allocating and tracking project resources like personnel, materials, and equipment.
Risk management: Identifying, evaluating, and mitigating potential project risks.
Change management: Managing any changes to the project scope, schedule, or budget through change orders.
Communication management: Regularly updating stakeholders on project progress through reports and meetings.
Quality control: Ensuring project deliverables meet quality standards.
Milestone tracking: Monitoring key project milestones to gauge progress.
Issue management: Identifying and resolving any problems that arise during project execution.
Performance monitoring: Tracking project performance against established metrics to identify areas for improvement.
Stakeholder engagement: Maintaining open communication with all relevant stakeholders throughout the project.

Key Documents

Project Plan: A comprehensive document outlining how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled, including baselines and subsidiary management plans.
Project Schedule: Defines the timeline for project tasks, including resource allocation, dependencies, and critical path.
Issue Log: A record of problems, defects, or challenges encountered during execution, including their status and mitigation plans.
Status Reports: Regular updates on project progress, including key metrics, milestones achieved, and any potential roadblocks.
Deliverables List: A detailed breakdown of all the outputs or products expected from the project.
Resource Allocation Plan: Defines how team members and other resources will be assigned to project tasks.
Risk Log: A document tracking potential project risks, their likelihood, and mitigation strategies
Change Management Log: Records any changes made to the project scope, schedule, or budget, including the rationale for the change and approval process

Monitoring & Controlling

Description

The distinction between the project monitoring phase and the project execution stage is subtle, as they often overlap. During monitoring, ZMC will conduct regular reviews of the project's status, which are essential to promptly identify and address issues and ensure timely corrective actions are taken when needed.

ZMC will monitor the project’s progress against key performance indicators (KPIs) or OKRs (objectives and key results), which can help determine whether the project is moving in the right direction and is on track.

At this stage, ZMC will make all necessary adjustments to ensure the project's successful completion and track the timeline, budget, and quality requirements.

ZMC Key Activities

Performance measurement: Regularly collecting data on project activities like task completion, resource utilization, and deliverables to compare against the project plan.
Variance analysis: Identifying deviations from the planned schedule, budget, and scope and analyzing the causes of these variances.
Earned Value Management (EVM): Using a quantitative method to assess project performance by comparing the planned value of work with the actual work completed and cost incurred.
Risk management: Proactively identifying potential risks, monitoring their likelihood and impact, and developing contingency plans to mitigate them.
Quality control: Implementing procedures to ensure project deliverables meet quality standards through inspections and testing.
Change management: Evaluating proposed project scope, schedule, or budget changes and managing the implementation process to minimize disruption.
Stakeholder communication: Regularly updating stakeholders on project progress, addressing concerns, and managing expectations.
Reporting: Created and distributed reports to project stakeholders that summarized project performance, key metrics, and any issues that needed attention.
Corrective action planning: Developing and implementing actions to address identified issues and bring the project back on track.
Contingency planning: Identifying potential issues and developing backup plans to address them if necessary.

Key Documents

Earned Value Management (EVM) reports: Detailed analysis of the project's performance based on the value of work completed compared to planned costs and schedules.
Risk register: Tracks identified project risks, their potential impact, and mitigation strategies.
Change order log: Documents any project scope, schedule, or budget changes.
Progress reports: Regularly updated summaries of project activities and milestones achieved.
Gantt charts: Visual representation of project tasks and timelines, allowing for easy identification of potential delays.
Timesheets: Used to track individual team members' time spent on specific tasks, aiding in resource management.

Closing

Description

At this stage, ZMC will ensure the stakeholders are satisfied with the project's outcomes. As a final to-do, we will conduct a last project review to identify any lessons learned and document the project results.

ZMC Key Activities

The project closure phase marks the formal conclusion of the project and involves several key activities.

Comprehensive review of project deliverables against initial goals and objectives to ensure all requirements are met.
The closure phase involves releasing project resources, such as team members or equipment, and closing out financial accounts associated with the project.

Key Documents

ZMC will conduct a final project closure, including a review to identify lessons learned and create a final document summarizing key achievements and challenges and outlining the overall project performance.

Project overview: A recap of the project's goals, scope, and objectives.
Deliverables Summary: A list of all completed deliverables with client acceptance confirmation.
Budget and schedule status: A project performance breakdown against the initial budget and timeline.
Lessons learned: Key insights gained from the project that can be applied to future projects.
Recommendations for future projects: Suggestions based on lessons learned to improve future projects.
Sign-offs: Signatures from key stakeholders confirming project completion and acceptance