project life cycle business plan

Mastering the project life cycle: Your complete guide (+ examples)

09 Feb 2023 By Jo Johansson

In this article 📖

The project life cycle , just like a good story, has a beginning, a middle, and (hopefully) a happy end. The beginning involves the ever-so-important planning; then comes the middle, where teams complete various tasks to move the project closer to completion; and finally, an end to review what went well and what didn’t.

This, in a nutshell, is the project life cycle: the phases a project moves through from start to finish. It’s a useful way to think about projects, as it helps teams successfully navigate them from initiation to closure, no matter how big or small the project is.

Of course, there’s quite a bit more to it than this. And so, in this guide, we leave no stone unturned, exploring almost everything you need to know about the project life cycle, including:

What is a project life cycle?  

The project life cycle is a framework project managers use to help them plan and execute projects strategically and effectively to meet project goals.

Project life cycle definition 

The project life cycle consists of a series of steps, phases, or stages a project goes through from beginning to finish—sometimes linearly and sometimes not. There are usually five  phases of the project life cycle : initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure.

Characteristics of the project life cycle include:

• A start and finish with distinct phases
• Project objectives defined at the beginning 
• A plan for achieving the objectives
• Deliverables and tasks to be completed
• Systems for managing projects
• A list of stakeholders

Types of project life cycles

While the project life cycle stages are widely recognized, there are variations in how project teams use and follow them. Some follow them linearly, while others go for a more flexible approach. 

There are different types of project life cycles teams can make use of depending on the type of project they’re working on.

Here are five of the most common types of project life cycles:

1. Predictive (or waterfall) life cycle

Also known as the waterfall or fully-plan-driven project cycle, the predictive life cycle is the most traditional and easiest to understand. 

The plan is created upfront, with a defined schedule, scope, and costs. A single product or service usually gets delivered at the end.  

The project follows a linear progression through the five steps of the project cycle: initiate, plan, execute, control, and close. The team moves on to the next phase only once the previous stage is complete—and performs each phase once. 

This approach provides a solid project plan that’s easily replicated.

The linear and predictive waterfall model.

2. Iterative life cycle

The iterative life cycle also consists of the five project phases, but there’s no linear progression. Each stage in the cycle is performed as many times as needed. For instance, a project team may move between the execution and monitoring phases multiple times before moving on to closure. 

This life cycle is ideal when the project scope is unclear, but the customer still wants the best solution. Customer feedback is received at the end of each phase and informs the next stage, so planning continuously happens throughout the project’s life.

3. Incremental life cycle

During the incremental life cycle, the project is delivered in multiple increments or sets. Each set consists of progressing through the five project phases linearly until completion. And each phase must be completed before moving on to the next. 

At the end of each set, a deliverable is produced, with feedback informing the next set. This means that the cycle of moving through the five phases happens multiple times.  

As with the iterative life cycle, the incremental one is ideal for unpredictable scopes and where timely delivery is crucial. 

4. Agile (or adaptive) life cycle

Also known as the change-driven or adaptive approach, the agile life cycle combines iterative and incremental life cycles. This type of cycle is more open to change and adaptation and doesn’t follow a linear progression. The initial phase only happens once—with planning, execution, and control stages happening in iterations, usually multiple times. 

Each iteration delivered is followed by feedback that informs the next iteration or set. This life cycle is ideal for projects where feedback is essential, timely project delivery is crucial, and the scope is unclear.

The Agile model is more open to change and adaptation and doesn’t follow a linear progression.

5. Hybrid life cycle

The hybrid life cycle is a combination of project management approaches. An example is the agile life cycle, which combines iterative and incremental project management approaches. 

Hybrids are ideal for when any of the other approaches aren’t suitable.  

Okay, now that we’ve got the hang of different types of project life cycles, let’s dive a bit deeper into the phases and what happens in each.

The phases of a project life cycle

The diagram below shows the five stages of the project life cycle, which we will discuss in more detail next. Just keep in mind that not everyone uses five stages. Some choose to focus on a four-phase project life cycle while others may opt for something entirely different.

As we mentioned earlier, the choice mostly boils down to personal preference and the needs of the project. For instance, some PMs may prefer the 5-phase cycle because it’s more detailed, while others may pick four phases because it’s more straightforward.

If you’re dealing with a complex project, you might want to opt for the 5-phase cycle, whereas if you’re in a time crunch, you might want to opt for the 4-phase cycle.

An overview of the five phases of the project life cycle.

Phase 1: Initiation—kicking things off

Initiation is the project kick-off phase, to get the full download of information from key stakeholders. At a high level, this phase defines the problem, details what needs to be done, and is an opportunity to define all the stakeholders.

The initiation phase will vary depending on the size of the project. For a freelancer working with a client to write a few blog posts, the initiation phase may involve one brainstorming meeting to clarify the details. 

For a project team working on a large project with many deliverables over months, this phase will be more comprehensive—and will probably involve producing a business case and feasibility study. 

Regardless, these are the types of tasks you can expect to tackle during the project life cycle initiation phase :

• Create a project charter that details the scope and project objectives
• Identify the stakeholders , which includes the project team, project managers, project sponsors, and clients
• Conduct a feasibility study to determine if it’s possible to tackle the project
• Create a business case to see if the project is worth pursuing: analyze benefits, costs, and risks
• Build an estimate of the project costs to guide budgeting

You’ll usually capture all this information in a Project Initiation Document (PID).

Phase 2: Planning—the foundation of your entire project

Once you have the green light for the project, it’s time for planning. Planning lays the groundwork for the rest of the project and helps you move intelligently through it. 

You’ll detail all the work and how you plan on doing it. More specifically, the project life cycle planning phase involves :

• Creating a project plan that includes project objectives, deliverables, timelines, project constraints, a project schedule, and project dependencies
• Preparing a project budget by building a financial plan with cost estimates for labor, material, and equipment
• Specifying resource requirements like labor and materials to help with resource scheduling and allocation 
• Managing risk by identifying potential problems and creating contingency plans 
• Creating a communication plan that details the information you’ll need, who needs that information, how often you’ll communicate, and how you’ll communicate
• Setting quality targets and control measures via a quality plan
• Listing the criteria for what customers deem a completed project
• Detailing the processes, systems, and tools you’ll use to manage and track your projects . How will you manage and schedule your team? How will you track resource utilization to ensure you’re making the best use of those resources? Workload planning tools can help.

Workload planning tools for happier teams and smoother projects

The right workload planning tool like Resource Guru helps you identify, categorize, and better schedule resources by seeing who’s overloaded and underutilized. From there, you can:

• Identify bottlenecks where demand (for people) is higher than supply, so you can plan ahead and hire more people if needed
• Assign the right people to the right projects to prevent overload and burnout, while improving employee retention

It’s as simple as dragging and dropping to rebalance workloads. Et voila! Resource scheduling is done.

Resource Guru’s flexible drag-and-drop scheduling tool.

Phase 3: Execution (or implementation)—getting the work done 

The execution or implementation phase is where you put planning into motion. The aim is to complete deliverables to achieve the project objectives.

The project manager will typically carry out these tasks during the project execution phase:

• Allocating resources and budget
• Scheduling tasks
• Briefing the project team 
• Coordinating and managing the team and schedule
• Attending client reviews and regular team meetings to share progress 

Phase 4: Monitoring (or controlling)—tracking progress against the plan

The monitoring or controlling phase goes hand-in-hand with the execution phase. It’s about monitoring the project’s overall progress to see if you’re meeting project objectives and are on track. 

You’ll need to track performance metrics like budget, cost variance, resource utilization, and client satisfaction. Where there are deviations from the original plan, always first try to get the project back on course. If this isn’t possible and you need to modify the plan, take note of this, so you have a record to refer back to later.

Ways to track project progress , include:

• Regular team meetings to get feedback on how things are going.
• Client review meetings where you answer questions. This helps create a constant feedback loop that allows you to include client changes earlier, rather than later when it may be difficult to backtrack and can become costly. Make sure you compare these change requests against the initial project scope to control scope creep before it gets out of hand.
• Using tools like resource management software to track resource utilization to ensure you’re getting the most out of your team and preventing team burnout .

Phase 5: Closure—wrapping things up

During this phase, the project winds down and comes to a close. You’ll spend time wrapping things up by handing over project documentation, releasing final deliverables, terminating contracts, and informing everyone that the project is complete.

You can also conduct a project post-mortem to assess what worked and what didn’t. This could be a wrap-up meeting with all stakeholders or a project report you deliver to everyone. 

Regardless, use this information to learn from mistakes and build on the wins to ensure the success of future projects.

Advantages and disadvantages of project life cycle

Now that you have a thorough understanding of the phases of the project management life cycle, let’s look at the pros and cons.

Take note : The following is a high-level look at the pros and cons of the project life cycle and doesn’t involve a one-to-one comparison between the different types of project life cycle models.

Advantages of project life cycle

• A reliable structure for managing and delivering projects helps teams navigate and deliver projects on time and on budget
• The framework , which is usually visible to all, makes it easy to define roles , so everyone knows what to do
• You can easily track the project’s progress against the phases . Everyone can easily stay updated on the project’s status
• Clear steps, deliverables, and project goals foster better communication and collaboration
• Planning for risks is easy so that you can minimize their impact

Disadvantages of project life cycle

• The project life cycle consists of distinct phases, making it rather rigid . This rigidity is not suitable for all projects. It may be why there are different versions of the cycle to accommodate different project types
• A rigid project approach can stifle creativity , particularly moving through the project linearly
• Some teams overcomplicate the stages of the cycle , which leads to slow project delivery and unnecessary costs
• Moving through the life cycle can be overly time and resource intensive
• Teams can waste time, money, and resources if the need or problem isn’t properly defined

Critical success factors across the project life cycle

• Specific and measurable project objectives . For instance, the objective of “increase total organic traffic by 20% by the end of August 2023” is much better than “increase traffic.” It provides a precise number for the increase, so you know what to aim for and you aren’t choosing a number arbitrarily during the project. It’s also measurable; you can pull stats to see if you’ve reached your goal. Finally, there’s a deadline, so you’re not aimlessly tracking a metric indefinitely.
• Proper planning . Planning is the foundation of any project as it guides your actions. It includes your project plan, budget, communication plan, schedule, and systems for success.
• Scope control . Scope control helps keep a project on track and on budget. Without it, you risk the project going beyond what was agreed. A real possibility considering that nearly 50% of all projects experience scope creep . Scope creep causes project delays, resource allocation issues, and budgeting problems. Control scope creep by having a clear project schedule and a change management plan.
• Proper project tracking . Tracking progress against the plan helps you stay on track. Weekly status meetings can help steer the ship.
• The right project management tools . The right tools help simplify project management, keep you organized, and help you stay on track. Use them for task scheduling, resource allocation , budgeting, and compiling cost estimates.
• Proper communication . Regular communication between stakeholders ensures everyone stays aligned and is working together.
• Management support and buy-in . Without management agreement that the project is essential, you’ll struggle to progress. Create a business case to get buy-in.
• Resource allocation . Project success depends on allocating the right resources to the right areas and in the right amount. If you have too few resources, your team will be spread thin. Too many, and you may blow your project budget out of the water.
• Strong leadership . PMs must be competent and effective leaders who inspire and can get the most out of their teams.
• Risk management . No project is without hiccups. There need to be contingency plans.

Project life cycle examples

Below are two project management life cycle examples: one for a smaller project and another for a larger one.

Example 1: Website redesign

Initiation : A web designer (Joe) has a project kick-off meeting with a client to understand the problems with the existing site and the goal of the new one. One of the objectives is to modernize the site. 

Planning : Joe completes the creative brief, which includes the scope, milestones, and costs. The milestones allow for client feedback. Both parties agree on the number of changes allowed at each milestone and what the definition of a change is, so there’s no confusion.

Execution : Joe produces wireframes and mock-ups for delivery at different milestones. Feedback at each checkpoint informs the next phase. 

Monitoring : Joe uses the checkpoints to track project progress and control scope creep. For instance, at the first checkpoint, the client wants to change the placement of an icon. This change is minor, so scope creep is not a concern. For the remaining checkpoints, the project proceeds without a hitch.

Closure : Joe delivers the final prototype. The client is happy and signs off. 

H3: Example 2: Developing software

Initiation : A moving company wants to create an app to help price their moves because the team is making math mistakes that are costing the company thousands of dollars. A business case is created to detail the problem as well as the benefits and costs of the software. The project gets the green light, and a project manager (PM) is appointed.

Planning : The PM creates a project plan highlighting the costs, deliverables, timelines, scope, and resources. One new resource is a specialist app developer the team had not initially discussed. The PM flags this to the CEO, who approves the extra budget. They hire a developer to work in-house.

Execution : The PM works with the developer and implements checkpoints across design, development, and testing. After milestones one and two, the project is moving ahead as planned. 

Monitoring : The third milestone arrives, and the team needs to confirm if the app is ready for testing. But they need more development time and want to add an extra feature. 

The PM, again, flags this to the CEO, who approves and agrees to a budget increase of $40,000. The PM adjusts the project schedule to account for the changes—and pushes it out by two months.

Closure : The team deploys the app and starts using it. The developer helps train everyone, so they understand how to use it. The PM conducts a project post-mortem with the team where they recognize they were flexible and adaptable but could’ve better defined the requirements.

The bottom line on project life cycles

Sure, the inflexibility of the life cycle makes it an unsuitable framework for certain projects. But it’s still a valuable way to think about them because it provides structure to otherwise chaotic projects.

Now, you definitely don’t need to follow this structure blindly—it’s not the be-all, end-all for project success. Instead, use the underlying concepts, ideas, and information from this guide and adapt them to build your own. 

Maybe your projects will follow a more linear progression and closely resemble the traditional predictive cycle? Or perhaps you’ll lean toward a more hybrid model and embrace adaptability?

It’s your choice .

As a project manager, you know your project, resources, and team better than anyone else. So view these life cycles as an adaptable framework and apply them when needed—you know what’s best for your project.

Recommended Resource Guru reads:

• Workload planning: a complete guide
• Project collaboration: the key to successful project management (and happy teams)
• Team burnout: 9 ways project managers can prevent it (before it’s too late)

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Jo Johansson

👋 I'm Jo, Senior Content Marketing Manager at Resource Guru. I spend my days creating educational content that helps people be more productive at work, so they can enjoy their time off work. Got any ideas or requests? Drop me a line at [email protected].

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What Is the Project Life Cycle?

There are many different types of projects, but interestingly, they all have one thing in common. They all go through the same cycle, known as the project life cycle, or project management life cycle.

The 5 Project Life Cycle Phases

The project life cycle is made up of five project stages: project initiation, project planning, project execution, monitoring & control and project closing. Each of these phases is necessary for the effective delivery of the project .

Here’s a general description of the phases that make up the project life cycle and what can you do in each for successful project delivery. For example, you’ll need to produce important project documentation at each step in the process.

1. Project Initiation Phase

This is the start of the project for the project manager, who is responsible for defining the project at a high level. This usually begins with a business case , feasibility study, cost-benefit analysis and other types of research to determine whether the project is feasible and should or shouldn’t be undertaken. Stakeholders provide input. If the project is approved, then a project charter is created, which provides an overview of the project and sets up the stage for your project plan.

2. Project Planning Phase

This is where the project plan is created, and all involved in the project will follow it. This phase begins by setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) goals. The scope of the project is defined and a project management plan is created, identifying cost, quality, resources and a timetable. Some of the features of this phase include a scope statement, setting of milestones, communication, risk management plans and a work breakdown structure.

3. Project Executing Phase

Now begins the part of the project that most people think of as the project: executing the tasks, deliverables and milestones defined in the project scope . Some tasks that make up this phase include developing the team and assigning resources using key performance indicators, executing the project plan, procurement management and tracking and monitoring progress. If needed, you can set status meetings and revise the schedule and plan.

4. Project Monitoring and Controlling Phase

The project monitoring and controlling phase consists of setting up controls and key performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of the project execution. The monitoring and controlling project phase is very important to make sure the execution goes as planned in terms of schedule , scope and budget baselines.

5. Project Closing Phase

It’s not over until the project closure phase it’s over. Completing the deliverables to the satisfaction of your stakeholders is key, of course, but the project manager must now disassemble the apparatus created to fulfill the project. That means closing out work with contractors, making sure everyone has been paid and ensuring that all project documents are signed off on and archived to help with planning future projects.

Once this has been done, the project manager often has a post-mortem with the project team to highlight what worked and what didn’t work, so that successes can be repeated and mistakes avoided.

Understanding the Project Management Life Cycle

Jennifer Bridges, PMP, is our resident project management expert. She hosts hundreds of our training videos, including this one explaining the project management life cycle.

ProjectManager Helps Manage the Project Life Cycle

ProjectManager is a robust project management software that offers multiple project views and features for each step of the project management life cycle. Here are some of its key project management tools.

Plan, Schedule and Track with Gantt Charts

Our online Gantt chart helps you plan the project, collecting your task list into a timeline. The duration for each task can then be set and each task assigned to a team member. Collaboration happens at the task level on the Gantt chart, where team members can comment and add relevant documents and images. They can even tag those not assigned to the task and they’ll be notified by email.

Multiple Project Management Tools

The Gantt chart is just one of ProjectManager’s project management views. You can also use the kanban view , dashboards, workload charts, timesheets and other tools. Use kanban boards to visualize the workflow, where cards represent the tasks, keeping team members focused on what they’re working on and project managers get a bird’s eye view. Resources can be reallocated and important dates, such as holidays and vacation days, are marked to know who can work when.

Create Project Reports in Minutes

One-click reporting gives project managers the data to present to stakeholders on various aspects of the project. These reports can be filtered to show the information you want and allow for deeper dives as necessary. The real-time dashboard shows project metrics in colorful and easy-to-read graphs and charts, giving you the most accurate picture of your project’s progress.

More Project Management Templates Can Help Manage the Project Life Cycle

We have created dozens of project management templates to help project managers manage each phase of the project life cycle. Here are some of them.

Project Charter Template

The project charter is the main outcome of the project initiation phase. Our free project charter template is a great place to start building your project and get it approved by stakeholders.

Project Plan Template

A project plan is a thorough project management document that guides the project execution. Our free project plan template is fully customizable, so you can include what matters most to your project.

Project Budget Template

Our free project budget template is a great starting point to gather your project tasks, estimate their costs and create a basic project budget. However, if you truly want to use advanced project management features and have full control over your project portfolio, you should try ProjectManager.

Related Content

• Project Management: The Ultimate Guide
• Project Execution Strategies
• Project Initiation: How to Start Your Project Off Right
• 5 Steps to Project Closure (Checklist Included)

ProjectManager is an award-winning project management solution that assists you in all aspects of project management. Online planning tools and web-based task management features let you collaborate on the go and make adjustments. Then, create comprehensive reports from the data with only a few clicks. Try it for yourself by taking this free 30-day trial today.

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Project management

5 phases of the project life cycle: An end-to-end guide

If you've ever been responsible for planning and delivering a project, you know how many moving parts fall into a project management life cycle. 

First, you need to decide why this project is taking place and what it will accomplish.

Then comes planning, assigning, and setting deadlines. Of course, you should track your project milestones every step of the way. Finally, you must deliver the entire project to your client on time and within budget.

That’s a lot to plan and manage.

Breaking down the project life cycle and carefully planning tasks makes the process much easier. It helps you stay on top of your deadlines, progress, and goals so you deliver a successful product.  

Today, we’ll explore the five phases of a project life cycle and how to tackle them like a pro!

Bye-bye burnout and hello efficiency

See who has capacity to take on more work, quickly assign tasks to the right people, and ensure no one is overburdened. Get a holistic view into your team's workload with Teamwork.com.

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5 phases of the project life cycle

• What is a project life cycle?

A project lifecycle is a series of phases that define the process of taking a project from its inception to completion. It provides structure — or, rather, a roadmap — to help you organize, manage, and track progress.

Each phase has its own objectives and deliverables that build on the next and eventually lead to the successful completion of a project. This allows the project manager to break down every task and request into smaller, manageable chunks so it's easier to carefully plan and deliver everything.

Learning a project life cycle (and why it is so useful) gives leaders a framework to plan, execute, and deliver every project like a smooth operator.

• What are the 5 phases of the project life cycle?

Much like you would break down the life cycle of a customer or a product, there are phases to the process to help you stay on track. Knowing each phase's key milestones and deliverables will help you plan and manage your projects effectively. Here, we'll explore the five stages of the project life cycle phase and how to execute each one effectively.

• 1. Project initiation phase

Every project life cycle starts with the same question: Why are we doing this project in the first place?

This phase of the project management life cycle is called project initiation. It helps determine the vision, goals, and scope of the project. This is where you set up the roadmap for success and decide whether it’s feasible. Here, teams discuss the problem that the project will solve and how they plan to achieve their goals (whether internally or for a stakeholder). 

Suppose your client is having problems turning landing page visitors into leads with their latest marketing campaign. In that case, the initiation phase will analyze the problem and brainstorm how to overcome the roadblocks. 

To do this, your team will need to: 

Break down the problem in detail so you can figure out whether or not your plan will actually fix or solve the project.

Calculate how long the project will last, how many resources you'll need, and whether or not your agency has the capacity to take it on.

Identify the individual deliverables for the project (i.e., landing page audit to track conversions, new strategy implementation).

Write a detailed description (project charter) of what the project work will look like (including a project timeline and costs) for the client, so they can see if it fits with their budget and time constraints.

Don't spend a ton of time and resources on the project initiation phase. It’s likely that you (and your client) are still deciding whether or not the project is a good fit. Try to think of it as a contract rather than a scope of work. 

Once a project charter is delivered outlining your plan, you’re all set! Now, you just need to wait for their answer. 

Project objectives during the initiation phase

Feasibility study: What problem must the client solve, and can you fix it?

Identify project scope: Outline the project's goals, milestones, and budget.

Establish the success criteria: Does your agency have the bandwidth to take on the project?

Identify the project stakeholders: Who will be involved in the project? How does the project affect them? What are their needs and expectations?

Prepare and deliver a project charter: Outline the project timeline, budget, and deliverables to your client for review.

Gain stakeholder approval: Get the client's sign-off to move forward.

Once the project has been given the green light, move on to Phase 2 of the project life cycle — planning. 

• 2. Project planning phase

The planning phase is where your team goes from "How do we solve this problem?" to "Here's how we're going to solve this problem."

This is where ideas, deadlines, milestones, and expectations are put onto paper. It's also where the project schedule is put into place.

Before sitting your team down to start brainstorming about the project timeline, the project manager has some specifics to work out. For example: 

Who will be working on the project?

Which team members will be responsible for delivering each task?

What are the key project milestones and goals, and when do they need to be delivered? 

Will the project's timeline rely on dependencies? (i.e., what task must be finished before this other one can start?) 

Where should your team communicate and collaborate once the project kicks off?

Which metrics will you use to measure project success once work begins?  

As you can see, there are a lot of project pieces to organize before you can even meet with your team with a solid plan. The next part of the planning phase is to build an in-depth project plan that acts like your team's "north star."

This is where task lists, milestones, deadlines, and expectations are written in black and white to keep everyone aligned. You'll also need to consider the project's budget and timeline to ensure the client gets what they want within their specified time frame and budget.

However, building a project plan can be a time-consuming process. If you don't already have one, you can easily make your own , save it, and use it to plan future projects. Or simply download our free project plan template to help your team manage projects more efficiently to complete them on time and stay within budget.

Automate your processes with templates

Use project and task list templates to ensure your team never misses a step at each phase of your product development process, and use triggers to automatically add due dates or reassign tasks for smoother, more efficient team handovers as you move through the project’s life cycle.

Get started with Teamwork.com

Once you've got a project plan in place, the next step is to call a team meeting to get feedback from the people working on it. This meeting will hash out some finer details, like whether the project deliverables and timelines are realistic. 

Project objectives during the planning phase

Complete a detailed project plan: Clearly outline deliverables, dependencies, milestones, and deadlines. Devise a work breakdown structure to break tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Allocate tasks: Assign tasks to team members based on each person’s skills and availability. Ensure everyone understands their roles, responsibilities, and expectations and they have access to the resources they need.

Create a financial plan: Map out the project’s budget and add in any contingencies for unexpected expenses — detail allocations for every cost associated with the project.

Establish timelines & expectations: Outline the project timeline, communication protocols, and rules of engagement. Set your quality targets, review points, and success criteria.

Devise a risk mitigation plan: Identify potential risks and create mitigation plans. Detail how to handle scope creep, unexpected delays, and other disruptions.

Now that your team is up to speed and your plan is in place, it's time to begin the project work.

• 3. Project execution phase

The execution phase is where the rubber meets the road. This is where your team puts in the work to bring ideas and plans to fruition. 

You've already decided who is responsible for what tasks and when they need to be done, so it's time to get rolling. This is where the project manager keeps a close eye on progress, reviews team members' work, and ensures everyone stays on track.

Your responsibilities in this phase of the project include: 

Task management and conducting regular meetings with your team to make sure everything is on track.

Ensure the team hits milestones and allocated resources aren’t stretched beyond capacity.

Talk to your team regularly to set expectations, provide updates on project progress, and give the next steps to keep the project moving smoothly.

Even with the smallest projects, keeping tabs on both individual and project-wide progress can be tough. Fortunately, you can automate most of this process with the right tools. 

Project reporting solutions like Teamwork.com can be used to track milestones and flag them when they are at risk of being missed. Each project milestone is tracked automatically and kept inside a Planned vs. Actual Milestone Report you can access from anywhere.

This report breaks down the percentage of tasks completed within each milestone (and when they’re due) so project managers can easily see whether they’ll be finished in time. 

Using the time period dropdown in the top right, you can switch between week, month, and quarter views.

If deadlines are at risk of being missed, the report will alert you so that additional resources can be allocated to get your timeline back on track.

Project objectives during the execution phase

Monitor progress: How is your team progressing against the project plan? Has your team completed all of their tasks on time and hit the planned milestones?

Provide feedback & support: Give consistent updates, recognize a job well done, and provide timely feedback. Encourage, support, and motivate your team to keep them engaged.

Manage risks & bottlenecks: Review the project plan, task list, and timeline regularly to spot any risks or bottlenecks. Is anything holding up progress? Are there any tasks that need to be reassigned or scheduled differently? Refer to your risk mitigation plan to address any issues quickly.

Communicate progress: Hold regular meetings with your team and other stakeholders. Give updates on project progress, answer questions, and address any potential issues.

With everything running smoothly, it's time to take a closer look at the project numbers and make sure budgets and productivity are on pace. This is phase four of the project life cycle — control. 

• 4. Project control phase

Progress is fantastic, but not without the budget, deliverables, and client expectations aligning every step of the way. In other words, you need to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks and that you stay on track with your original targets. To ensure this happens, it’s time to dig into some critical metrics.

For project managers, this means: 

Tracking resource utilization and task competition rates to ensure everyone is working at the predicted productivity rate

Measuring spent vs. remaining budget while also calculating if you need to cut costs to meet the forecasted project spend

Keeping in regular contact with the client and updating them on progress, as well as getting feedback about any issues they have throughout the project

Once again, doing all of this is hard without the right project management software . Manually keeping tabs on which tasks are getting done or how much money is being spent can easily take up most of your day. 

Teamwork.com’s health report solves this by giving project managers a real-time snapshot of the most critical parts of a project. 

Automatically track everything from task progress to milestones and budgets as Teamwork.com combines all this data into a dashboard. Project managers can quickly see which deliverables may be at risk if they don't take action. 

This phase is also where you need to be strict about where your project team spends their time. 

Let's say that your team is conducting a six-week website audit for a client. After two weeks, it's clear that there is a lot of work to do on their site — more work than in the original project outline. 

It's up to the project manager to talk to the client and outline that if they want the extra problems tackled, the project charter needs to be updated to reflect the extra work (and extra costs). Communicating with the client before your team does any extra work is the only way to ensure the project doesn’t fall victim to scope creep. 

Project objectives during the control phase

Review progress: Track project progress, resource utilization, and task completion rates. Is your team’s productivity meeting what you originally forecasted? Did any tasks slip through the cracks? 

Analyze budget: Review your budget and ensure the project spend aligns with your initial predictions. Is the project staying on budget? Are there areas where you can cut costs?

Client communication and change management: Keep your client informed about possible problems with the project charter (i.e., extra work your team has come across that needs to be completed before the project can move forward). Address any issues they have and get their feedback.

Risk management: Are you monitoring possible risks to your project’s health and dealing with them so the work will still get delivered on time? This is critical to preventing costly delays and maintaining client relationships.

When all the work for the project has been completed, it is time to deliver it to the client and wrap everything up.

• 5. Project closure phase

Don’t be fooled by the name.

The final stage of a project life cycle — the project closure phase — is more than just delivering files to your client and waiting for your check. 

First, you need to conduct a smooth handover with your client and make sure they're happy with your team's work as per the initial statement of work. Ask for their feedback and if they've got any suggestions on improving it if you work together again. 

Then the team needs to complete a project retrospective to see what went right, what went wrong, and what needs to be improved. This should include: 

A meeting with team feedback on what worked best or how it could improve

Analyzing report analytics to see how the project budget, resource utilization, and timeframes matched up to what was originally planned

Planning to fix any problems in the next project

Post-mortems don’t just help your team work better on the next project — they also show your clients that you're serious about doing your best work for them. This (hopefully) gets them jazzed about using your agency again. 

Project objectives during the closure phase

Project performance analysis: An overview of the project management process, including how the project was managed, whether it met the cost and benefits, and any unforeseen issues that arose during the execution. How did the team perform? Did everyone meet their expectations, and was the communication plan effective?

Document project closure: Assess and outline all the tasks you need to do before the official project delivery. Sign off contracts, close open supplier agreements, and allocate unused budget for future projects.

Post-implementation review: Every project is a learning process. Document successes, failures, and suggestions for future projects. 

• Mastering the project life cycle makes your pipeline more efficient

The multi-step process of a project life cycle can be overwhelming if you don't have a project management plan in place. You'll need to plan everything from writing project charters to tracking progress and preventing scope creep to ensure a successful project.

When you understand each phase of a project's life cycle, this becomes a lot less daunting. Breaking each phase down into manageable pieces will help you navigate your project pipeline successfully and deliver every project on budget and on time. 

With Teamwork.com, it’s easy to track every phase of your project from start to finish. Try it free for 30 days!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Willow is a Brand and Communications Specialist at Teamwork.com. She has a deep understanding of agencies, and works to develop content and campaigns that speak their language and support their unique needs.

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Product project management: How to ensure your agency delivers for early-stage founders

Standardizing your product management workflow for superior project outcomes

How product leads leverage the sprint cycle to meet client deadlines

What is professional services automation? Here’s what to know

Project management for financial services: A comprehensive guide

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The Project Life Cycle Explained: 5 Phases of Project Management

There are many ways to run a project. But to run a project successfully, you have to consider all aspects of the project—from scope and budget to the tasks and conversations that take place after the project is launched and executed.

Traditionally, project management involves 5 key phases, and these stages form what is known as a project life cycle. 

In this article, we’ll define the project life cycle and cover each phase of the project management process. We’ll also share resources and templates you can use at every step. 

What is the project life cycle?

The project life cycle is a framework that represents the 5 key phases of project management: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure. 

The project life cycle is important because it provides firm footing for effective project management. It gives project managers a clear structure for guiding projects successfully from concept to delivery, maturity, and finally completion.

5 phases of the project management life cycle

As I mentioned, the project management life cycle is made up of 5 essential steps:

• Project initiation & conception
• Project planning
• Project execution
• Project monitoring & control
• Project closure

In some ways, these stages show what goes on behind the scenes before a project might even come to a project manager’s attention.

If this process feels too rigid for you, that’s okay! Pick up the fundamentals, understand how the steps are formalized, and adapt the process to fit your project, team, or organization.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each step of the project life cycle in more detail.

1. Project initiation phase

Project initiation is arguably the most critical phase of the project life cycle. That's because what happens here will set the tone and goals for what’s to come. 

A project usually arises from a business need or goal aimed at solving a problem or exploring new ways to do business. For instance, if a company is looking to cut down the number of customer service calls they receive, they’ll investigate what’s driving the number of calls. That research will then inform what can be done to reduce the number of calls.

The best way to understand the challenges and objectives is through a project brief or charter that outlines the business case and provides a high-level overview of project details, such as goals, constraints, risks, and deliverables. This kind of background is invaluable to a team when kicking off a project. It’s also a great way to get all involved parties and stakeholders aligned on what’s to come.

While you can proceed without every detail documented, it’s a good idea to get buy-in on project objectives and intended outcomes during the initiation phase of the life cycle.

Key steps in the initiation stage of the project life cycle

• Identify the why behind the project—usually the business case and goals
• Conduct a feasibility study and/or SWOT analysis
• Create a stakeholder register to identify key project players
• Develop a project charter or brief
• Hold a project kickoff meeting

2. Project planning phase

The project planning stage is where you’ll lay out the details of your entire project from beginning to end. The plan you create here will lead your team through the execution, performance, and closure phases of the project life cycle.

As part of your project management plan, you’ll want to consider these factors:

• Project timeline : This should include deadlines for key project milestones (like deliverable reviews and meetings). Be sure to build in plenty of time for approval processes.
• Project scope: Projects tend to go off the rails without some level of constraint or control. Clearly document how much time has been allotted for the project and what the deliverables include. You can always adjust the guardrails later if needed.
• Project communication : Set expectations for how and when you’ll communicate as a team. Communication plans are particularly valuable for projects with cross-functional teams or external stakeholders.
• Potential risks : It’s the project manager’s job to look out for risks and report them to the team. The best way to do this is to conduct a risk assessment that identifies foreseeable risks and how to avoid them.
• Project estimates : Good estimation sets the stage for better project management because it’s easier to tell when things go off track. Consider using a work breakdown structure (WBS) to itemize tasks and estimate effort. 
• General workflow and process : This should include internal workflows for project teams, as well as how you’ll work with stakeholders, to ensure you get it all done on time and under budget.
• Team roles and responsibilities : A responsibility assignment matrix can help you outline clear roles for everyone involved in the project.

Once you estimate the project’s time and effort , you can create a project plan that lays out phases, tasks, resources, responsibilities, milestones, and deadlines. Using a gantt chart tool like TeamGantt can truly help you to build a well-defined plan that’s easy to understand and update.

Explore our library of free project management templates , and save time on every aspect of your project plan.

Key steps in the planning stage of the project life cycle

• Set SMART goals for the project
• Define and document the project scope and requirements
• Create a project roadmap with a detailed timeline of tasks and milestones
• Estimate project time and costs
• Assess resource availability and assign task roles and responsibilities
• Catalog potential project risks and establish a contingency plan
• Document expectations for project communication
• Create a stakeholder engagement plan
• Develop a procurement plan for third-party suppliers and tools
• Outline a financial plan that fits the project budget

3. Project execution phase

In this phase of the project life cycle, the team is off and running! The project execution stage is typically the longest in the project management process because it’s when the actual work is done. You’ll find teams collaborating, reviewing work, presenting to stakeholders, and revising.

In the previous phase, a project manager does a lot of heavy-lifting. During project execution, a project manager guides the team—and stakeholders—through a series of tasks and milestones.

In this life cycle step, a project manager typically oversees the project budget, timeline, resources, and risk. That’s a lot to be responsible for! So how do project managers handle all of it? They stick to the plan. 

All of the documentation you create during the planning stage comes together to form a holistic project management plan. Use those documents as your source of truth to guide decisions and create efficient workflows during project execution.

Don’t forget to stay tuned-in to what’s happening with the team. This can be done through regular team check-ins, status updates, timeline review, and budget tracking.

Having a single platform to track your budget, timeline, resourcing, and communications certainly makes managing a project easier. Lucky for you, TeamGantt does it all .

Key steps in the execution stage of the project life cycle

• Provide easy channels for team collaboration
• Establish streamlined workflows for your team
• Schedule and lead regular project meetings
• Send project status reports to stakeholders
• Facilitate reviews and approvals of project deliverables
• Clear blockers that get in the way of progress

4. Project monitoring & control phase

The monitoring and control phase is all about making sure the project runs smoothly and things go according to plan. This step of the process typically happens alongside project execution. 

As part of the project monitoring stage, you should keep an eye on:

• Budget and timeline : Keep a close eye on milestone completion and whether time spent on tasks aligns with your estimates. That way you can spot delays and overages early and adjust your plan before things get too far off track. TeamGantt makes it easy to track and monitor progress with simple visualizations built into your gantt chart.
• Project goals : Use those goals to help make decisions about design, functionality, and any new requests. Sometimes it’s okay to stray a bit. Just be sure to keep the lines of communication open with the stakeholders, and bring new ideas to the table with enough time to rework them as needed. (Yup, it happens!)
• Quality control : Be the person who not only manages the process, but also cares about the work. Consult with leadership on quality standards, and review all deliverables before they’re sent out or presented for review. Your team and stakeholders will love you for it. 😍
• Risk management : Risk is a conversation you want to keep going throughout the project. Report on project risks in weekly status updates to keep them top-of-mind and allow the team to provide input.
• Team performance : As a project manager, your role is to look out for the project. But the success of a project depends on the team working on it. If you see someone slacking or unintentionally dropping the ball, address it. Just be empathetic, and find the right avenues to handle performance issues with team members.

TeamGantt’s Project Health Report makes it easy to monitor team performance and stay on top of deadlines by showing you which tasks are falling behind before your project goes off the rails.

Key steps in the monitoring stage of the project life cycle

• Review timesheets to ensure hours logged stay within budget
• Track task and milestone completion
• Compare actual progress against the plan to spot potential delays
• Track baselines and report on project health
• Monitor and manage scope creep and other risks
• Manage change requests and adjust the plan as needed

5. Project closure phase

When your project is complete and everyone is happy with what’s been delivered, tested, and released, it’s time to wrap up. In the project closure stage, the team will complete the steps needed to close tasks, hand off the project to stakeholders, finalize any reporting, and celebrate the project.

Many organizations move from one project to the next and don’t take time to properly close down a project. It’s a smart move to take a few hours to properly close, reflect, and even celebrate a project.

Here are a few steps to consider in this final stage of the project management life cycle.

• Conduct a project retrospective: Schedule a project debrief, and discuss what went well and what didn’t as a team. Record the outcomes, and share the notes to improve teamwork and performance on future projects.
• Create a project closure report: Write a 1-page report that recaps project goals and results. This document should outline the date of initiation, original deadline and budget, and actual date of delivery and budget used. You might also want to include team members and stakeholders involved, project issues and pain points, and project wins in your project closure report.
• Celebrate the project: ‍Organize a small party over lunch or after work to get the team and stakeholders together to acknowledge the hard work done and the great product produced. 🎉 If there’s no budget, that’s fine. A high-five or thoughtful email works really well when it comes to team morale.

As the project manager, the more you can be a cheerleader for your team, the better experience you’ll have working with them.

Key steps in the closing stage of the project life cycle

• Secure final approval and hand the end product off to the project sponsor or client
• Hold a post-mortem meeting to review project wins and hiccups
• Store all the final project documentation in a centralized archive
• Send final payments to contractors and suppliers

Put the project management life cycle to work for you

Processes and frameworks are great to have in your back pocket. But remember, every organization runs differently. 

You have to consider the people, organizational history, challenges, and existing practices before you roll something out. 

Motivations and empathy are everything in project management. So carry on, attack those projects, and do what’s right for everyone involved.

Simplify your project management process

Want to take the pain out of project management without sacrificing your hard-earned gains? TeamGantt makes every project step a whole lot easier. (Heck, we’d even call it fun!) 

Spend less time in spreadsheets and more time giving your team high-fives for all the awesome work you’re doing together. TeamGantt provides clear visibility into the details with easy collaboration for the whole team every step of the way. 

Give TeamGantt a free try today!

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• The Workstream
• Project management
• Project management phases

Understanding the project management phases

There’s more to it than “to-do” and “done”

Browse topics

The project life cycle is broken down into five project management phases: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, closure. These phases are your road map as you and your team conquer complicated projects.

Meet Sofia. She leads the HR team at her company, and they’re about to tackle the colossal project of overhauling their employee onboarding process.

Most of us (Sofia included) think of projects in two phases: you start them, and then you finish them.

There’s a lot more to it than that. Think of it like baking a cake. You can’t go straight from a pile of random ingredients to a delicious, frosted masterpiece. There’s a whole lot of shopping, preparing, mixing, and taste-testing that happens along the way. 

Project management phases represent the different steps you take to go from beginning to completion. Understanding them will help you create more accurate project plans, estimate more realistic timelines, and conquer projects in a strategic and organized way.

Using Sofia and her team as our example, let’s take a look at the typical project life cycle and the phases that make it up. 

What is the project life cycle?

The term “life cycle” sounds like something straight out of your high school biology class, but the concept is actually pretty straightforward. The project life cycle is the set of stages a project moves through from beginning to end. You move sequentially through the phases to take a project from an idea to a completed deliverable.

Rather than tackling a project haphazardly and knocking out the low-hanging fruit first, understanding the project management life cycle enables teams to:

• Move projects from start to finish in an organized and strategic way
• Monitor project progress and status
• Complete projects faster, because they’re more accurately planed with less unforeseen obstacles

Add all of those benefits together, and you get the biggest benefit of all: teams can deliver more successful projects more quickly.

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), for every $1 billion invested, $122 million is wasted due to poor project performance.

Using the project life cycle to your advantage means you won’t throw money at projects that don’t meet their original goals.

Alright, you get it. The project life cycle has a lot of pluses. Now, what stages do you need to push projects through?

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) breaks the project management life cycle into five distinct stages:

Now that you have the bird’s-eye view, it’s time to dig in.

The 5 steps of the project management life cycle

Five stages might seem like a heavy lift (especially if you’re used to thinking of projects only in terms of “beginning” and “end”). Each phase serves a distinct purpose in pushing your project toward best results.

Much like the alphabet, these phases are sequential. In order to reap the benefits of the project management life cycle, you need to move through these phases in order.

Phase #1: Project initiation

Sofia and her team are eager to give their employee onboarding process a much-needed reboot. Think the first step is mapping out a plan and a timeline? Not so fast.

Planning isn’t the first step of the project life cycle —it’s initiation. 

During this stage, the project isn’t actually approved and in motion. Sofia’s team is staying broad and defining it from a high level, with the goal of determining if the project is even worth pursuing in the first case. To do so, they’ll figure out:

• The business case for the project
• The benefit of completing it (i.e. what broader business goal does it support?)
• The major deliverables
• What success looks like

After thinking through these elements, Sofia and her team members have determined:

• Business case : Sofia’s company has been struggling with employee turnover. The majority of employees leaving within their first 12 months of employment.
• Benefit : The revised onboarding process will boost clarity, communication, and engagement during an employee’s first few months with the company, and hopefully keep them around for the long haul.
• Deliverables : The HR team needs a documented procedure to refer to and manage, as well as an online dashboard for employees to work through during their first weeks of employment.
• Success Metrics : A 15% increase in employee retention by the end of Q4, and positive feedback scores from at least 85% of new employees.

All of these elements can be pulled into a project poster , which Sofia’s team can reference whenever they need to zoom out and understand the project at a higher level. 

Once the team has worked through all of these factors, they should ask: Is the project feasible and worth pursuing?

If the answer is yes, they’ll get approval on the project (if necessary) and move to the next phase. If not? No need to panic. The team will head back to the drawing board and see if there’s a different way to solve the problem they’re facing, like using a project poster template .   

Phase #2: Project planning

Now that Sofia has defined the project at a broad level, it’s time for her to get into the minutiae. In this phase, she and her team will hash out a plan for actually getting the project completed.

Even if you’re eager to get to the actual work, it’s important not to cut corners in the planning stage. Effective planning can prevent a lot of the main causes for project failure , including inadequate vision and goals, poor communication, and inaccurate time estimates.

Planning is also going to require some time and elbow grease,  so make sure you set aside plenty of time for it at the start of your project.

Questions Sofia and her team will answer in this phase include:

• What is the goal of this project?
• What are the key performance indicators (KPIs)?
• What is the scope?
• What is the budget?
• What are the risks?
• What team members are involved?
• What tasks are involved?
• What milestones need to be met? 

It’s best to start by defining an objective for the project using the SMART goal framework . That stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Following that acronym, Sofia and her team define the following goal for their employee onboarding project:

Create a new employee onboarding process that educates and engages new hires and boosts employee retention by 15%. This new program should be launched by January 25, 2021.

Now Sofia and her team know what they have their sights set on. But, they aren’t going to reach that goal by wishing and hoping. The team needs to figure out what work actually needs to be accomplished.

Creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) can help. This splits the entire project into tasks that are displayed in a graphic format, so everyone involved can easily see the project’s action items. In the case of Sofia and her team, they identify the following tasks: 

• Survey existing employees for feedback on the current onboarding process
• Interview managers about what they want included in the process
• Create general flow of new onboarding process/ 90-day plan
• Record video tutorials to be included in the employee dashboard for extra clarification
• Build a digital employee dashboard
• Launch a portal where new employees can ask for help
• Draft procedures and checklists for onboarding process
• Upload videos and documentation to the dashboard

Once the team knows what the project requires, it’s a lot simpler for them to figure out how much time it will take, what supplies they need, and what they should do first. 

They’re also able to identify who the key project players are (in this case, the HR team, web development team, graphic designer, and content team), as well as any task and resource dependencies. These dependencies are aspects of the project that are tied to another.

For example, here’s a task dependency: materials can’t be uploaded to the employee dashboard before the dashboard actually exists. One task needs to be completed before the next. Or maybe the web development team can’t help with this project until they wrap up the company’s website redesign. A required resource isn’t readily available, because it’s dependent on something else.

Now, Sofia’s team can keep those dependencies in mind, put the project tasks in a reasonable order, and assign deadlines to each and every step on individual to-do lists .

Once they’ve done that, they’ve just crafted their project plan. It should be documented and stored somewhere that the whole team has access to ( Confluence is the perfect place for this). 

Phase #3: Project execution

This phase is where a lot of the hard work actually happens.

This is when Sofia’s team goes heads down and completes those project tasks they identified. They’re drafting the procedures, recording videos, conducting interviews, and more. 

As they keep trucking through those project to-do’s, they’ll also be engaged with the following phase…

Phase #4: Project monitoring

Let’s go back to our baking a cake example. Do you only glance at the recipe once and then watch in amazement as the world’s greatest cake comes to fruition? Probably not. 

You refer back to that recipe as you crack eggs and stir the batter to make sure you’re doing things right. You peek into the oven every five minutes to make sure the top isn’t burning. You keep a close eye on that precious cake of yours.

Projects work the exact same way, and that’s what the monitoring phase is all about. It happens at the same time as the “executing” phase, and Sofia will evaluate the project at regular intervals to make sure the team is:

• Meeting task deadlines
• Avoiding scope creep
• Sticking with the budget
• Staying committed to the goal (the broader vision can get lost when you’re executing — it’s the old “missing the forest for the trees” trap)

Monitoring is much easier when using project management software. It increases visibility into the entire project and centralizes project-related conversations and information. 

Additionally, regular status meetings help the entire team stay on top of progress. This weekly meeting notes template makes it easier to record discussion topics, decisions, and action items from those conversations.

If Sofia notices that things aren’t working as planned, she can either course correct right away or make adjustments to the original project plan to account for this new direction. 

Phase #5: Project closure

The team did it! They rolled out a new and improved employee onboarding process. They’re ready to celebrate with a victory team lunch and wash their hands of that project once and for all.

But before they chalk this project up as a win, they need to move through this closure phase to wrap up any loose ends. This includes:

• Conducting a postmortem or retrospective to discuss what went well and what they would’ve like to go better
• Preparing a final project report and presenting it to stakeholders if necessary
• Storing all project documentation somewhere safe so it can be easily accessed and referenced at a later date (again, Confluence can keep all of that in one organized spot!) 

After all of that hard work, your projects deserve to end on a high note. Even though the actual project tasks are behind you, closure is important for ending this project right and setting future projects up for success. 

How project management software can help

Think project management software is one of those “nice to have” things? Think again. If you want to boost success and reduce stress, project management software is a must. In fact, 77% of high-performing projects use project management software.

What makes it so great for managing the project management life cycle? This software:

• Improves transparency and visibility, since the entire team can track the life cycle
• Clarifies roles and responsibilities, so everybody knows what’s expected of them
• Makes the project plan more actionable by creating assignable tasks, owners, and more
• Reduces inaccuracies, because everybody knows how to find the right information
• Provides real-time updates, so nobody is operating with outdated information

Don’t try to manage your project life cycle with endless email threads, random documents, and messy spreadsheets. Project management software like Jira will help your team take projects from lightbulb to launch day with strategy and organization.

Score more project wins

Projects don’t just jump from point A to point Z. Project management will guide you through the different stages of your project and help you tackle it strategically. 

Move through the phases in order and, much like Sofia and her team, you’ll be ready to pat yourselves on the back for yet another project win. We recommend celebrating-- with cake, of course.

The planning phase of project management is where a lot of the thought and hard work happens. Simplify it with our project planning templates .

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Project poster template.

A collaborative one-pager that keeps your project team and stakeholders aligned.

Project Plan Template

Define, scope, and plan milestones for your next project.

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The 4 phases of the project management life cycle

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The 4 Phases of the Project Management Life Cycle

Whether you’re working on a small project with modest business goals or a large, multi-departmental initiative with sweeping corporate implications, an understanding of the project management life cycle is essential. 

Learn the four phases of the project management life cycle to keep your project organized and on track from initation to close.

Project management life cycle overview

The project management life cycle describes high-level processes for delivering a successful project.

Wasted money and resources can be prevented with effective project management, as more than half of unsuccessful projects fail due to communication breakdown. In the phases of the project management life cycle, you come up with the idea for a project, define its goals, plan for its execution, and guide it to completion.

4 phases of the project management life cycle

The project management life cycle is usually broken down into four phases: initiation, planning, execution, and closure. These phases make up the path that takes your project from the beginning to the end.

Note: Some methodologies also include a fifth phase—controlling or monitoring—but for our purposes, this phase is covered under the execution and closure phases.

1. Initiation

First, you need to identify a business need, problem, or opportunity and brainstorm ways that your team can meet this need, solve this problem, or seize this opportunity. During this step, you figure out an objective for your project, determine whether the project is feasible, and identify the major deliverables for the project.

Project management steps for the initiation phase

Steps for the project initiation phase may include the following:

• Identifying scope : Define the depth and breadth of the project
• Identifying deliverables: Define the product or service to provide
• Identifying project stakeholders : Figure out whom the project affects and what their needs may be
• Developing a business case: Use the above criteria to compare the potential costs and benefits for the project to determine if it moves forward
• Developing a statement of work : Document the project’s objectives, scope, and deliverables that you have identified previously as a working agreement between the project owner and those working on the project

Dive deeper into tools that can help you accurately scope your next project.

2. Planning

Once the project is approved to move forward based on your business case, statement of work, or project initiation document, you move into the planning phase.

During this phase of the project management life cycle, you break down the larger project into smaller tasks, build your team, and prepare a schedule for the completion of assignments. Create smaller goals within the larger project, making sure each is achievable within the time frame. Smaller goals should have a high potential for success.

Project management steps for the planning phase

Steps for the project planning phase may include the following:

• Creating a project plan : Identify the project timeline, including the phases of the project, the tasks to be performed, and possible constraints
• Creating workflow diagrams: Visualize your processes using swimlanes to make sure team members clearly understand their role in a project
• Estimating budget and creating a financial plan: Use cost estimates to determine how much to spend on the project to get the maximum return on investment
• Gathering resources: Build your functional team from internal and external talent pools while making sure everyone has the necessary tools (software, hardware, etc.) to complete their tasks
• Anticipating risks and potential quality roadblocks: Identify issues that may cause your project to stall while planning to mitigate those risks and maintain the project’s quality and timeline
• Holding a  project kickoff meeting : Bring your team on board and outline the project so they can quickly get to work

Get started by mapping out all process steps and responsibilities in this workflow diagram template.

3. Execution

You’ve received business approval, developed a plan, and built your team. Now it’s time to get to work. The execution phase turns your plan into action. The project manager’s job in this phase of the project management life cycle is to keep work on track, organize team members, manage timelines, and make sure the work is done according to the original plan.

Project management steps for the execution phase

Steps for the project execution phase may include the following:

• Creating tasks and organizing workflows: Assign granular aspects of the projects to the appropriate team members, making sure team members are not overworked
• Briefing team members on tasks: Explain tasks to team members, providing necessary guidance on how they should be completed, and organizing process-related training if necessary
• Communicating with team members, clients, and upper management: Provide updates to project stakeholders at all levels
• Monitoring quality of work: Ensure that team members are meeting their time and quality goals for tasks
• Managing budget: Monitor spending and keeping the project on track in terms of assets and resources

If you have a properly documented process already in place, executing the project will be much easier.

Depending on the project management methodology you follow, there are many visual tools that you can apply to see which deliverables have been completed ensure that your project remains on track. Use our project tracking templates to help organize your project management. Click the Kanban board and Gantt chart templates below to learn more.

Once your team has completed work on a project, you enter the closure phase. In the closure phase, you provide final deliverables, release project resources, and determine the success of the project. Just because the major project work is over, that doesn’t mean the project manager’s job is done—there are still important things to do, including evaluating what did and did not work with the project.

Project management steps for the closure phase

Steps for the project closure phase may include the following:

• Analyzing project performance: Determine whether the project's goals were met (tasks completed, on time and on budget) and the initial problem solved using a prepared checklist.
• Analyzing team performance: Evaluate how team members performed, including whether they met their goals along with timeliness and quality of work
• Documenting project closure: Make sure that all aspects of the project are completed with no loose ends remaining and providing reports to key stakeholders
• Conducting post-implementation reviews: Conduct a final analysis of the project, taking into account lessons learned for similar projects in the future
• Accounting for used and unused budget: Allocate remaining resources for future projects

By remaining on task even though the project’s work is completed, you will be prepared to take everything you’ve learned and implement it for your next project.

Make sure you don't miss a step when completing your project.See the full process to project closure.

About Lucidchart

Lucidchart, a cloud-based intelligent diagramming application, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This intuitive, cloud-based solution empowers teams to collaborate in real-time to build flowcharts, mockups, UML diagrams, customer journey maps, and more. Lucidchart propels teams forward to build the future faster. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidchart.com.

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Project Management Life Cycle

Project Management Guide

• 1.  Project Management Basics
• 2.  Project Management Methodologies

The initiation phase

The planning phase, the execution phase, the controlling and monitoring phase, project closure.

• 4.  Best Project Management Software
• 5.  Team Collaboration Tips
• 6.  Agile Methodology Basics
• 7.  Agile Project Management Tools & Techniques
• 8.  Project Management Frameworks
• 9.  Resources
• 10.  Glossary
• 11.  FAQ

The phases of a project management life cycle

Regardless of what kind of project you’re planning, they all go through the same stages. Although each project will require its own set of unique tasks, they all follow a similar framework. There’s always a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is called the project management life cycle.

Effective project management requires a thorough understanding of this life cycle. Each stage has individual challenges, deliverables, and stakeholders, and the project manager must be adept at navigating each one to ensure success. 

In this article, we will explore the project life cycle in detail, discussing each stage’s purpose, key activities, and best practices.

If you want to kick-start your project management with powerful software, Wrike has the solution for you. Use our platform to manage each phase of the project life cycle.

The initiation phase is the first phase of the entire project management life cycle. The goal of this phase is to define the project, develop a business case for it, and get it approved. During this time, the project manager may do any of the following:

• Perform a feasibility study
• Create a project charter
• Identify key stakeholders
• Select project management tools

By the end of this phase, the project manager should have a high-level understanding of the project’s purpose, goals, requirements, and risks.

The planning phase is critical to creating a project roadmap the entire team can follow. This is where all of the details and goals are outlined in order to meet the requirements laid out by the organization.

During this phase, project managers will typically:

• Create a project plan
• Develop a resource plan
• Define goals and performance measures
• Communicate roles and responsibilities to team members
• Build out workflows
• Anticipate risks and create contingency plans

The next phase (execution) typically begins with a project kickoff meeting where the project manager outlines the project objectives to all stakeholders involved. Before that meeting happens, it is crucial for the project manager to do the following:

• Establish goals and deliverables
• Identify your team members and assign tasks
• Develop a draft project plan
• Define which metrics will be used to measure project success
• Identify and prepare for potential roadblocks
• Establish logistics and schedules for team communication
• Choose your preferred project management methodology
• Ensure your team has access and knowledge of the relevant tools
• Schedule the meeting
• Set the agenda and prepare the slides

Craft the details of your project plan with Wrike

This stage is where the bulk of the project happens. Deliverables are built to make sure the project is meeting requirements. This is where most of the time, money, and people are pulled into the project.

As previously mentioned, a kickoff meeting is held to mark the official start of the execution phase. A kickoff meeting agenda might look something like this:

• Introductions: Who’s who?
• Project background: Why are you doing this project? What are the goals?
• Project scope: What kind of work is involved?
• Project plan: What does the roadmap look like?
• Roles: Who will be responsible for which elements of the project?
• Communication: What kind of communication channels will be used? What kind of meetings or status reports should your team expect?
• Tools: Which tools will be used to complete the project, and how will they be used?
• Next steps: What are the immediate action items that need to be completed?
• Q&A: Open the floor for any questions

This phase happens in tandem with the execution phase. As the project moves forward, the project manager must make sure all moving parts are seamlessly headed in the right direction. If adjustments to the project plan need to be made due to unforeseen circumstances or a change in direction, they may happen here.

During the controlling and monitoring phase, project managers may have to do any of the following:

• Manage resources
• Monitor project performance
• Risk management
• Perform status meetings and reports
• Update project schedule
• Modify project plans

At the end of this phase, all the agreed project deliverables should be completed and accepted by the customer.

The closing phase is a critical step in the project management life cycle. It signals the official end of the project and provides a period for reflection, wrap-up, and organization of materials.

Project managers can:

• Take inventory of all deliverables
• Tie up any loose ends
• Hand the project off to the client or the team that will be managing the project’s day-to-day operations
• Perform a post-mortem to discuss and document any learnings from the project
• Organize all project documents in a centralized location
• Communicate the success of the project to stakeholders and executives
• Celebrate project completion and acknowledge team members

Now that you understand each stage in the project management life cycle, choosing the right project management tool for you and your team is critical to project success. Read on for best practices when choosing a tool that fits your needs, and a guide to the features you should consider when assessing project management software.

Take full control of your project life cycle with Wrike

Understanding the project life cycle is essential for successful project management. By following the best practices and strategies outlined in this guide, project managers can approach each project stage with confidence, ensure on-time and on-budget delivery, and exceed stakeholder expectations. Streamline the project life cycle with Wrike — you can use it to automate tasks, track progress, and facilitate collaboration. With an intuitive interface and powerful features, Wrike can help you stay organized and focused, resulting in a well-managed life cycle for your project.

Further Reading:

What Is Resource Management and Why Is It Important?

How to Improve the Change Management Process for 7 Key Personality Types

Stop Projects From Derailing With Wrike’s New Report Templates

Resource Management Guide

Basic Project Management

• Project Charter
• Project Management Stakeholders
• What is a Project?
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Project Objectives
• Project Baseline
• Project Management Scheduling
• Project Management Work Packages
• Project Management Scope
• Scope Creep

Advanced Project Management

• What is PERT?
• Network Diagram
• Risk Management
• Cost Estimation
• Feasibility Study
• Monte Carlo Analysis
• Project Integration
• Cost Management
• PMI Project Management
• What To Do With Certification
• Certification
• Become Certified
• PMP Certification
• Best Certification

Software Features

• Critical Success Factors
• Capacity Planning
• User Role Access Permissions
• Time Tracking
• Budget Tracking
• Request Forms
• Work Assignments
• Version Control
• Dependency Managements
• Project management Milestones
• Project Management Software
• Project Management Tools
• Project Management System
• Gantt Charts

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5 project management phases to improve your team’s workflow

There are five key project management phases that can help streamline your next project and enable your team with an organized plan. These phases include initiation, planning, execution, performance, and closure.

Project management is often misunderstood. While many professionals view it as managing project timelines, there is so much more to the job. Thankfully, we’ve put together an easy guide to understanding the five project management phases. 

5 phases of the project management life cycle

This five-phase model was defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the project life cycle PMBOK® Guide, otherwise known as the Project Management Body of Knowledge. The PMBOK® Guide is a great reference point for all professionals looking to grow their project management knowledge and skillset. 

Let’s start with a quick introduction to the many phases of project management. Or, skip ahead to the project management triangle .

1. Project initiation

In the initiation phase of the project management model, the project is defined on a broad level. This is the time to identify project sponsors and stakeholders and begin the initial research phase. It’s also a good idea to document the project in writing so you can easily distribute the communication plan to the rest of the team. Many teams begin a project with an initial project kickoff meeting or feasibility study . How you decide to kick it off should depend on your team’s preferred communication style . 

In addition to presenting the initial idea of the project, you should also outline the benefits, cost, and risk factors associated with project deliverables . You may even want to outline additional metrics depending on how your organization measures success. 

Once you’ve assessed the project, you’ll then create a business case or—for smaller projects—a project charter . These tools can help you outline and pitch your project in-depth, incorporating details such as the project’s goals, budget, and timeline. Whether you create a business case or a project charter, these tools are particularly helpful for referencing later and quickly pinpointing the project’s objectives down the road.  

Here’s an example of what should be included in a business case or project charter. 

Company Name: Apollo Enterprises

Project Name: The OKR Playbook

Project Manager: Kabir Madan

Objective: The objective of this report is to increase lead generation by offering world-class resources to our customer base. 

Stakeholders: Daniela Vargas, Kat Mooney, Ray Brooks. 

Timeline: June 1 to July 20, 2021. 

Benefits: The benefits of this report include adapting a new competitive advantage, creating a new lead funnel, and ultimately resulting in a high ROI given the low project budget. 

Risks: While we see more benefits than risks, we could be pulling in unqualified leads that won’t convert. 

2. Project planning

In the project planning stage of project management, you’ll create clear goals using a project roadmap . While there are multiple ways to execute goal planning, SMART goals, CLEAR goals, and objectives and key results (OKRs) are three project planning strategies that can help you get started.  

SMART goals

SMART goals is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Many teams use this method because of its ability to improve team communication, define a clear roadmap, and result in trackable metrics.

CLEAR goals

CLEAR goals is an acronym that stands for Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, and Refinable. Many teams opt for this method because it’s a little more realistic to put into practice and focuses on collaboration. 

OKRs differ more significantly from the other two methods. This method can open goals up to the entire company, creating visibility throughout an organization. Instead of starting with a project and then defining the objective, OKRs start with the objective and then create projects around that g  

SMART goals vs. CLEAR goals vs. OKRs 

While the three strategies take different approaches, they all drive similar results. It’s up to you to choose the method that most closely matches your business objective. 

Additional resources you may use in the project planning phase of project management include milestone charts, Gantt charts , and project risk management analyses —all of which can help clarify details for stakeholders. While these areas may have been discovered during the initial scope of the project , the planning phase is the perfect time to expand on the objectives, goals, and risks. 

Here’s an example we put together of a goal breakdown using the SMART project management methodology.

Initial goal: Increase lead generation

Improved SMART goal:

Specific: Increase lead generation by distributing a resource guide

Measurable: Increase monthly lead generation by 15%. 

Achievable: Based on a recent study, we know our customers are interested in a resource guide.

Realistic: Collect customer contact information in exchange for our resource guide.

Time-Bound: Produce an annual resource guide every January to maintain our lead traffic. 

3. Project execution

In the execution phase, your team will focus on achieving the objectives that were set. They will use the information gathered in the first two steps to create and launch the project within the specified timeframe using teamwork and collaboration. 

Start by assigning tasks to team members. If you already use a project management tool, you can add these tasks to your project workflow so your team can quickly access resources and communicate in one place. Timeline software and other project mapping tools can help your team visualize each step of the project . 

Next, you should prepare your tracking and success methodology so that everyone clearly understands how success will be measured. These could be specific performance indicators you plan to track or post-campaign goals you’re looking to meet. 

Since deadlines and workloads change daily, make sure to update the project schedule as needed and close out dependencies once met. If you have a drop-dead deadline, make sure you organize your team’s schedule based on priority. It’s a good idea to check in with team members regularly to make sure the project is on pace and that deliverables are being met. 

Although schedules fluctuate, it’s important to stay as close to the original timeline as possible so you don’t run into scope creep. In other words, don’t go too far past the original scope of the project.

Take a look at this example timeline plan to better understand how to organize a work breakdown structure . 

Project Timeline: June 1 to July 20, 2021

Project Team: Kabir Madan, Daniela Vargas, Kat Mooney, Ray Brooks

June 1: Kabir to set up project tasks and assign to team members. 

June 14: Daniela to gather resource data.

June 18: Daniela to organize data and submit to Ray for design. 

June 28: Ray to submit design draft 1 to Kabir for review. 

July 1: Kabir to provide design feedback.

July 6: Ray to submit the final design to Kat for implementation.

July 12: Kat to submit staging site to Kabir for review. 

July 15: Kabir to provide staging feedback.

July 19: Kat to submit the final staging to the team for testing. 

July 20: Resource guide to go live.

4. Project performance

Measuring the effectiveness of a project is important for several reasons. Being able to improve the project is a big one, but it’s also important because team members can learn from both success and failure. There are many different key performance indicators (KPIs) you can use to set and achieve strategic goals using goal setting software . The KPIs you use will depend on your line of work and the type of project you’re working on.  

One of the first performance metrics you should consider is the initial objective. Did the project address the problem you were trying to solve? It’s easy to get disconnected from the initial objective but it’s important to keep it in mind when measuring performance. 

Your next step should be to examine other KPIs to determine if the project was a success. Some universal KPIs include return on investment (ROI), cost performance index (CPI), planned value (PV), actual cost (AC), and earned value (EV)—though there are many more than just those. 

Communicate to stakeholders on the success of the project, including what went right and what went wrong. Being honest and open to feedback is the best way for team members to learn from their mistakes.

Take a look at our example KPIs below. 

Project Objective: Grow lead acquisition by 15% MoM

Actual Cost: $6,487 in billable hours. 

Earned Value: $47,300 in MoM acquisition growth

Return on Investment: $40,813

Schedule Performance Index (earned value divided by planned value): .88

Customer Acquisition Cost (cost divided by number of leads): $.61 per lead

MoM Lead Acquisition: 18% improvement

MoM Site Traffic: 4% improvement

Net Profit Margin: 8% improvement

5. Project closure

This phase varies the most between different companies and teams. While some like to acknowledge hard work, others like to immediately get started on the next big thing. There is no right or wrong way to close a project, and it’s up to you to figure out what works best for you and your team. 

When closing a project, you may want to meet with project stakeholders for a more in-depth look at success. This type of meeting is often referred to as a “ post mortem .” If you decide to host a meeting, you may want to send out an anonymous survey beforehand to ensure all critical issues are covered during the meeting. It’s a good idea to go over the KPIs you measured in the performance phase so all parties involved have a clear understanding of what did and didn’t go well. This prevents any repeat mistakes in future projects. 

It’s also a good idea to organize and store project materials in a shared folder for teammates to access before closing a project. Materials such as project briefs , templates, copy assets, design files, development work, and so forth are important to keep handy when the time comes to evaluate performance.  

An important opportunity that is often missed in the project closure phase is continuing to monitor performance. Does your team get in the habit of setting and forgetting old projects? It’s important to constantly test and reinvent new ways to execute projects to continue growing as a business. 

Here is an example of a post mortem meeting agenda to help bring your next project to a close.  

Project Name: The OKR Playbook 

Date: August 20, 2021

Time: 10:00 to 11:00 am CST

Agenda Details:

Quick recap of the project (10:00am): Kabir will go over the initial goals and objectives of the project and recap deliverables. 

Recap of the outcome (10:15am): Kabir will review the project performance, focusing on our initial lead generation goal and additional key KPIs.

Stakeholder input (10:30am): Kabir, Daniela, Kat, and Ray to share their input on what went well and what could have gone better.

Action items: Kabir to send out meeting notes by EOD 8/20 and schedule optimizations to be completed by 9/3. 

Please come to the post mortem prepared with input on ways we can improve performance going forward. 

Benefits of project management with the five phases

Managing a project can often feel like navigating through uncharted territory, where unexpected challenges and shifting priorities can lead to project derailment. The adoption of the five project management phases—initiation, planning, execution, performance, and closure—provides a structured solution to this problem, ensuring that every aspect of the project is methodically addressed.

By adhering to these five phases, project managers can ensure more systematic and organized project execution, which leads to more successful projects. Here's what you can expect.

Improved team collaboration and stakeholder engagement

In the initiation phase, defining the project's scope and identifying key stakeholders sets a clear direction. For example, initiating a new product development project involves determining the product's concept and engaging stakeholders, which ensures that everyone is on the same page from the start.

Strategic resource allocation and management planning

The planning phase involves creating a detailed management plan and deciding how to allocate resources effectively. In a software development project, this might include allocating team members to different tasks, planning the development timeline, and ensuring efficient use of resources.

Effective execution and adaptability

The project execution phase is where the actual work happens. Using Agile methodologies here allows teams to adapt to changes in real time, improving responsiveness and project progress. For instance, in a construction project, this phase would involve the actual building process, with adjustments made as needed based on ongoing assessment.

Ongoing monitoring of project progress

The monitoring and controlling phase involves project monitoring to track progress and ensure that the project is on schedule and within budget. In a marketing campaign, this might mean regularly reviewing campaign metrics to ensure that the project is on track to meet its goals.

Structured closing and comprehensive documentation

Finally, the closing phase includes project closing activities such as finalizing work, obtaining necessary approvals, and conducting a post-project evaluation. In event management, this might include post-event analysis and storing all documentation for future reference, marking the end of the current phase of the project management life cycle and preparing for the next phase. 

Proper project documentation during this phase helps capture lessons learned and provides valuable insights for future projects.

Tips to apply project management phases effectively

With the average knowledge worker switching between 10 apps up to 25 times per day and the majority of teams still working remotely, teamwork has never been more distributed. This makes project management such an important part of any successful organization. Whether you’re a team of five or 500, keeping tasks and communication organized and in one place can be a challenge. Using these five project management steps can help your team stay on track and ensure productivity is at its highest.

In addition to understanding the project management life cycle, there are also additional benefits of project management. Not only can the right project management tools keep work and goals organized in one place, but they can also eliminate confusion, improve team effectiveness , increase efficiency, and align communication. That leaves more time to focus on the important stuff—like growing a successful business. 

A good place to start improving your current methods is by continuously learning about new tools and resources. While project management methods like kanban boards and Scrum sprints have been around for some time, there are new software capabilities that can help your team reach a new level of productivity and success. The key to project management is to never stop trying new methods.  

Managing the unmanageable

With so many elements to explore, where do you even start? That’s easy: start by looking to your team. At the end of the day, your job is to enable team members to do their best work. 

The project management process and tools you implement should improve communication, increase productivity with the help of productivity software , and help ease deadline pressure. When in doubt, just ask your team. You’d be amazed at what a group of individuals can accomplish when they put their heads together. 

Need help finding work management tools for a specific team? Check out solutions for every team dynamic —from marketing to event planners—to find innovative opportunities for your organization. 

Related resources

3 visual project management layouts (and how to use them)

Grant management: A nonprofit’s guide

Everything you need to know about waterfall project management

Smooth product launches are simpler than you think

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Project Management

Project lifecycle: 5 key steps in the project lifecycle process.

April 16, 2024

When does a project start, and when does it end? Asking this isn’t a project’s profound existential pontification—just good practice.

Whether you’re organizing your child’s school trip or building a new software application, understanding its lifecycle helps ensure nothing slips through your fingers. Let’s see how.

Why does a project manager need to understand the project lifecycle?

How to use the project lifecycle, project initiation, planning phase, execution phase, monitoring and control, project closure, initiate the project thoroughly, plan your projects completely, execute projects collaboratively, monitor processes and outcomes, end on a high.

What is the Project Management Lifecycle?

A project management life cycle is the various stages of a process from beginning to end. It is a series of processes involved in completing any project successfully, achieving objectives, and delivering outcomes. 

Typically, the project life cycle involves five phases: Initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure. A project manager is responsible for the completion of tasks in each of the project management phases and a seamless transition to the next.

There are several benefits to understanding what the project lifecycle entails. Some of the top ones are as follows.

Better planning : As a project manager, when you know what the lifecycle entails end-to-end, you can ensure that every part of it is comprehensively planned.

Quality control : You can set up quality standards and metrics for every part of the project and ensure they work well together.

Agility : To be agile, you must clearly understand the larger picture. For instance, if you know the destination, you can take diversions and optimize velocity without affecting outcomes.

Risk mitigation : Understanding the project lifecycle end-to-end enables you to make projections, identify risks, and plan for them. 

Communication : Project lifecycle management helps managers visualize the future. When you know what’s expected, you can stay agile and inform project stakeholders of deviations beforehand.

The project lifecycle is a high-level journey framework that outlines how any project is likely to travel. It gives the project manager all the details about the destination, milestones, pitstops, filling stations, and more. 

A project manager can use it to:

• Visualize the big picture of the project
• Foresee common challenges and issues that might arise
• Ramp up/down efforts and budgets to match the needs of the phase
• Make adjustments, in case of any deviations
• Optimize project performance

In short, mapping the project lifecycle is critical for project success. So, let’s learn the lifecycle stages and how they work together.

What are the 5 Project Lifecycle Phases?

The five phases of the project management lifecycle are:

• Planning 
• Execution 

Once the sales team has closed the deal, signed the contracts, and got approvals for kick-off, it’s time for the project team to initiate the project. The critical activities in this phase are as follows.

Collecting input : In the project planning phase, collect all the information about the project, including requirements, goals, timelines, scope, budget, and measures of success.

Onboarding : Get the access, approvals, and contextual understanding needed to begin the project.

Assessment : Conduct a thorough audit of the input, environment, assets, etc., to identify gaps and risks.

Relationship-building : The project team gets to know sponsors and other stakeholders, building mutually trusting relationships necessary for success.

Project charter : Create a formal document that outlines the shared understanding of goals and requirements in detail before scoping and budgeting.

Once that’s set, it’s time to make detailed plans.

During the project planning phase, teams develop the plan, which describes in detail the project scope, quantifiable goals, deliverables, reasonable timelines, milestones, resources needed, etc. 

As a project manager, you will do the following in this phase.

Task management : Break down the project into tasks, sub-tasks, and checklists for simpler project management.

Project setup : Scheduling the tasks into a timeline with the help of a project management calendar for each stage of the project.

Prioritization : Prioritizing tasks based on various factors, identifying dependencies and risks, and developing mitigation strategies.

Goal setting : Setting goals, objectives, and targets for the project team to work towards. A good goal tracking app can help make this visible and interactive, too.

Budgeting : Creating a budget that fuels the project’s needs, while being efficient.

Now that you have a plan, what’s stopping you from getting started? Get to project execution . 

This phase turns your ideas and plans into action, bringing together people, processes and technology to solve problems. This is typically a project’s longest phase in the project lifecycle and consumes the most resources.

As a project manager, in this phase, you will:

• Allocate resources to the project
• Assigning tasks to team members
• Ensure the project activities align with the project management plan
• Support project teams with onboarding and getting started
• Enable quality control processes
• Communicate with stakeholders
• Make project status presentations
• Prevent scope creep, while adapting to changes in an agile manner
• Adjust schedules and plans based on project progress

Though it is considered the fourth phase in the lifecycle, it starts simultaneously with execution. Agile teams monitor work, collect feedback, and improve outcomes continuously. 

In this phase, project managers will:

Monitor performance : Measure project performance using key performance indicators (KPIs) , acceptance criteria, and other metrics.

Track variables : Any project might have several variables, such as team members going on leave, estimates going wrong, etc. Track these against goals/expectations regularly and identify considerable variances.

Manage constraints : During the course of the project, constraints of time, budgets, and resources are bound to occur. You must manage these constraints by reallocating budgets/resources, requesting additional support, etc.

For instance, if someone on the team goes away on a long sick leave, you’ll need to request help from other projects or an extension from the project sponsor.

Control quality : A project manager must ensure that all the acceptance criteria are met. A faulty screw makes a faulty car—so you need to do this at every step of execution so the quality issues don’t accumulate. 

Documentation : No one likes documentation, but it needs to get done. Project managers work closely with the project teams to create documentation to facilitate seamless hand-offs.

Work isn’t done until the project sponsor says so. To get approvals, you need to make sure that the project is truly complete at your end. So, in this phase, you deploy the project, perform a final round of checks, and close the following.

• Contracts : Resolve all outstanding items or disputes with clients, suppliers, or contractors
• Finance : Close accounts, consolidate expenses, raise invoices, and collect payments
• Documentation : Release project resources, hand over documentation, and archive project documents for future reference
• Retrospective : Conduct post-project evaluation with all stakeholders and collect feedback
• Project acceptance : Obtain a final sign-off from the project sponsor/client to consider it closed

And then, do a happy dance. Because, why not?

How to Implement the Project Management Lifecycle?

Now that you know what the project management lifecycle is, it is time to use it in your project. While the lifecycle is a high-level concept with best practices at each stage, you can ensure it’s implemented effectively with a project management tool like ClickUp . Here’s how.

A project management tool is not just an execution tool but a great way to manage the entire lifecycle. Use it in the project initiation phase in the following ways.

• Document the project charter on ClickUp Docs and share it with all stakeholders, and get their buy-in
• Summarize long documents and give everyone a simple view with ClickUp AI
• Use ClickUp Forms to collect all the necessary information
• Set up a new folder/list for assessment and track granularly
• Build transparent relationships with project sponsor/client teams by giving them access to your ClickUp project

A project management tool is excellent for the project planning phase. With ClickUp, you can:

Set goals : Use ClickUp goals to set targets for your project. Track progress consistently and make sure the team can see it.

Plan sprints : Use ClickUp tasks and milestones to break the project into manageable tasks. Add all user story-related information to the description. Set up acceptance criteria as checklists.

Set schedules and timelines : Use the ClickUp calendar view to schedule tasks over time. Drag and drop tasks across days/weeks to optimize schedules.

Prioritize : Set up dependencies and priorities.

You need robust project management software to bring the entire project team on the same page. It helps the project execution phase in numerous ways.

Set up context : ClickUp’s project management software allows you to offer every stakeholder a view of the project. You can also give a limited view to project sponsors or clients.

Document progress : Use ClickUp Docs for standup meetings—there’s even a ClickUp Daily Standup Meeting template for that.

Allocate resources : Use the ClickUp Workload view to see who’s busy and who’s available. Allocate them to projects accordingly.

Communicate clearly : Use ClickUp tasks and comments features to collaborate contextually. Discuss questions and concerns. Assign action items from comments directly. View all your messages in one place, the ClickUp Chat view .

Automate intelligently : Many of the AI project management tools today can help in creating content, summarizing text, automating workflows, etc. dramatically improving efficiencies.

Balancing the project or triple time, cost, and scope constraints is a perennial challenge. Overcoming this challenge requires project monitoring with steady processes and tools.

Use the project management software to track every aspect of your project. ClickUp Dashboards allows you to see everything you need. Some of the most popular reports are:

• Burn up/burn down charts
• Project status by stage
• Real-time progress tracking on all tasks
• Project goals and achievements so far
• Time tracked by each team member on various tasks

Use ClickUp to bring your project to a successful closure. 

• Hand-off : Write your documentation on ClickUp Docs and share it with a simple URL
• Retrospectives : Write down notes from your retrospectives and use them as action items for the next project
• Archive : Mark all tasks as complete and archive the project. You can also set up this project as a template for future work

As for the victory dance, well, you’re on your own!

Manage the Entire Project Lifecycle in One Place on ClickUp

Project management is no joke. Especially if you’re managing multiple projects, it can flow over each other obfuscating where it began and where it ends. This can cause a number of inefficiencies across project management phases. 

You might have missed collecting all the information. Billing can be delayed. Resources may be under/overutilized. Quality issues might occur. Stakeholders’ collaboration might suffer. All these can put the entire project in jeopardy.

As a project manager, you must understand and implement the project management lifecycle. From initiation to complete closure, you need the right tools to plan, execute, track, and document the project.

This is exactly what ClickUp is designed to do. With thoughtful features, usable AI, and dozens of project management templates , ClickUp is the tool for the entire project lifecycle. 

Try ClickUp for free today !

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Blog Data Visualization

What is The Project Life Cycle & its 5 Main Phases?

By Midori Nediger , Oct 31, 2023

To an outsider, it might seem like the project management process is easy…just talking to clients, scheduling meetings, assigning tasks and reminding team members of deadlines.

But anyone who has managed a project will tell you it’s much more than that, which is why the project life cycle is so useful.

What is a project life cycle?

The project life cycle is a 5-step framework designed to help project managers guide their projects successfully from start to finish. The purpose of the project life cycle is to create an easy-to-follow framework to guide projects.

What are the 5 main stages of the project life cycle?

• The project initiation stage : Define project goals, evaluate feasibility and establish the project’s purpose and stakeholders.
• The project planning stage : Create a comprehensive project blueprint outlining tasks, timelines and resource allocation .
• The project execution stage : Put the project plan into action, ensuring effective communication and coordination among team members.
• The project monitoring & controlling stage : Track project progress, identify any deviations and make necessary adjustments to keep the project on course.
• The project closure stage : Complete all project tasks, obtain client approval and conduct a thorough review to capture valuable insights for future projects.

Understanding and planning for the 5 stages of the project life cycle can help you manage, organize and plan so your project will go off without a hitch.

A project management life cycle will help:

• Ease communication between project teams and stakeholders with the help of agile project management tools
• Ensure goals are achievable with the available resources
• Help mitigate risk and keep projects on track

But what does each stage of the cycle look like?

1. Project initiation stage: Define project goals, evaluate feasibility and establish the project’s purpose and stakeholders.

The initiation stage of the project management life cycle is when you meet with clients and stakeholders to understand their goals, motivations and hopes for the project.

During this stage the aim is to hash out the high-level goals that must be met for you to consider the project a success. There’s lots of research, discovery and discussion, but very little detailed planning in this phase.

The key project management steps for the initiation stage include:

• Identifying project objectives and deliverables
• Outlining project risks , dependencies, constraints and priorities
• Establishing project scope based on deadlines and available resources
• Submitting a project proposal for approval (our proposal maker can help you with that)

We’ve got a more detailed guide to writing a project management plan if you want more information. This covers project management basics along with all the elements that need to be included. You can also get PMP Certification to get specific training on how to do this.

I’ll go through the basics here.

Let’s take a look at what’s involved for each of these tasks.

Kick off the project management process by identifying project objectives and deliverables

Start by talking with your stakeholders or clients to get to know their needs. Try to tease out what’s important to them, what projects they’ve tried in the past and what they hope to see in the future.

From there, you can move on to building out the concrete objectives and deliverables that your team will be responsible for, given the scope of the project and the available resources.

Be sure to document the takeaways from these initial meetings…you’ll want to have a record of the agreed-upon deliverables when it comes to the project closure stage.

Pro-tip: Set S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals. For example: “In 3 months, increase blog conversion rates by 5%”.

Outline project risks, dependencies, constraints and priorities

Once you’ve mapped out the high-level project goals, it’s time to explore all of the variables that might impact the progress of the project, including:

• Risks: Factors that can negatively impact the cost, goals, timeline, or results of a project
• Dependencies: Relationships between activities or tasks
• Constraints: Limiting factors like technology, resources, time and cost

By identifying all of these variables early on you can nip a lot of potential problems in the bud, before they throw off your whole project timeline . 

A risk breakdown structure , like the one below, can aid in identifying and assessing all of the risks in your project. A risk breakdown structure is a hierarchical representation of risks, starting with the high-level risks and then breaking it down into more granular risks.  It can be an essential tool for project risk management . 

Establish project scope based on deadlines and available resources

With a handle on all of the variables at play, you can start breaking the project down into more actionable steps. Set boundaries on project scope based on your deadlines and the resources at your disposal and think about what skill set your future team will need .

Mind maps and flowcharts can be helpful for organizing all of the moving parts to map out what’s reasonable based on project constraints.

Summarize the takeaways of the project initiation stage in a project proposal

All of the details that you establish during the initiation stage should be outlined in a project proposal, the only major deliverable for this initiation stage.

A project proposal is a report that details all of the goals, scope, requirements, budget, participants and deadlines of a project.

Not to be confused with a project plan , which includes a much more in-depth description of how the project will be executed, a project proposal should be no longer than a few pages.

Depending on the complexity of a project, an action plan one-pager, like the one below, might suffice.

Check out our  job proposal templates ,  business proposal templates  and consulting proposal templates for more options.

Either way, when you’re a few months into the project, trying to prioritize the work of your team and make decisions that impact the direction of the project, you’ll thank yourself for creating clear documentation of these high-level project goals.

Create a professional looking project life cycle visualization

Make sure your project life cycle visualization sits within your company branding for a truly professional looking design. Venngage Business users can use the My Brand Kit  and see their company colors, logos and fonts automatically applied to Venngage templates.

Business users can also invite feedback directly to their design with the Venngage comment feature. Learn more about My Brand Kit, Comment Mode and more features of the Venngage Business account:

2. Project planning stage: Create a comprehensive project blueprint outlining tasks, timelines and resource allocation.

Once your project proposal has been approved, it’s time to move on to the project planning stage of the project life cycle.

The project planning stage is when you create a comprehensive project plan , which involves:

• Translating your proposal into a series of actionable tasks and scheduling them in a project roadmap
• Documenting processes or workflows that your team will use (you could try using a process infographic for this)
• Creating measurable short-term goals from high-level project goals
• Addressing potential issues that could derail your roadmap

This project plan will be the source of truth for your team when any questions, conflicts, or issues arise throughout the project.

Let’s dig into the most important major deliverable of the project planning stage: the project roadmap.

Create a project roadmap with project tasks and milestones

Creating a project roadmap is one of the more important project management life cycle steps, crucial for organizing your team and keeping work on track. A project roadmap outlines all of the start and end dates of every major project task (plus any big milestones you’re working towards). 

Pro Tip: Use our roadmap maker to create professional, engaging roadmaps.

Gantt charts (like the one below) are a great tool for project roadmapping, because they can show the duration and timing of a number of dependent tasks. They’re perfect for planning and scheduling and eventually monitoring progress throughout the execution stage of the project life cycle.

The best thing about using a Gantt chart for your project roadmap?

You can show a number of concurrent timelines on a single chart , which makes it easy to account for task dependencies.

For example, this Gantt chart template shows project tasks for multiple teams over the course of a few months:

The visual format of a Gantt chart makes visualizing and adjusting for dependencies much easier than a spreadsheet. And because it’s visual, it’s easy for you team to see, understand and give feedback on their upcoming tasks.

Once your roadmap is in place, the last step of the planning stage is to assemble your team and hold a project kickoff, launching you into the next stage of the project life cycle: the execution stage.  

Check out this blog post for more Gantt chart templates .

3. Project execution stage: Put the project plan into action, ensuring effective communication and coordination among team members.

The project execution stage is the true start of the project, when you carry out all of the tasks and activities you mapped out in the planning stage.

This is where the majority of the project work takes place and it requires constant monitoring. Expect to adjust your goals and roadmap as you get deeper into the project.

As a project manager, your main responsibilities of the project execution stage are to:

• Monitor and control the execution process, reviewing the quality of the team’s output
• Adjust and update tasks, goals and deadlines to meet changing conditions
• Communicate between your team and the project stakeholders

Create status reports to communicate execution progress throughout the project management process

Although most of your time during the execution stage of the project management process will be spent monitoring and adjusting to keep the project on track, you’ll also need to keep stakeholders up to date with any changes to the project status.

Using a project status report template , like the one below, will help make sure you don’t leave out any pertinent details when you’re communicating with stakeholders.

For example, this status report includes an overview of project performance so far, plus up-to-date project milestones:

While this status report template is shorter, focused around an executive summary, but includes space for notes from every team representative:

KPIs and budget updates should also be included, if you have any.

4. Project monitoring & controlling stage: track project progress, identify any deviations and make necessary adjustments

The monitoring and controlling stage of a project is a critical phase that ensures project activities align with the predetermined objectives and milestones.

During this phase, project managers and stakeholders closely oversee project progress, assess performance and make necessary adjustments to keep the project on track.

Effective monitoring and controlling practices are essential for mitigating risks, identifying potential issues and ensuring the project’s timely completion within the allocated budget.

During the monitoring and controlling stage of a project, the key project management steps include:

• Measure and assess the project’s progress against the project plan and key performance indicators.
• Identify and manage potential risks that could impact project objectives, and implement strategies to mitigate these risks.
• Monitor and evaluate the quality of project deliverables to ensure they meet predefined standards and client expectations.
• Assess and handle any changes to project scope, schedule or resources effectively, while considering their potential impact on the project.
• Maintain open lines of communication with stakeholders, keeping them informed about the project’s progress and addressing any concerns or issues promptly.
• Identify and address any project issues or conflicts that may arise, aiming to resolve them efficiently to prevent delays or disruptions.

Create a quality control checklist to maintain consistent quality standards throughout the project lifecycle

To systematically evaluate each deliverable against established quality benchmarks can take a lot of time. A great tip for project managers is to use a quality control checklist to quickly identify any deviations or discrepancies and take corrective actions to maintain the overall quality of the project.

Quality control checklists help in maintaining consistent quality standards throughout the project. By defining specific quality criteria, project managers can ensure that all deliverables meet the same level of quality, thereby enhancing the overall project integrity and customer satisfaction.

These checklists enable the early identification of any deficiencies or discrepancies in the project deliverables. By detecting quality issues early in the project lifecycle, quality control checklists help in minimizing the need for rework and additional corrections.

Here’s a quality control checklist template you can use in the monitoring and controlling stage of your project:

5. Project closure stage: analyze results, summarize key learnings and plan next steps

Once you’ve achieved your project goals and the results have been signed off on by your stakeholders, it’s time for the project closure stage.

In the project closure stage of the project management process, you:

• Hand off deliverables
• Release team members and project resources
• Analyze project performance in a project retrospective

A project retrospective is as much about reviewing the success of the project as it is about extracting learnings that can apply to future projects. Projects will never go without obstacles and there will always be things to learn that will ease the progress of other projects.

There are many ways to run a project retrospective meeting , but you should try to identify your biggest wins and losses and come up with solutions. If you’re an external consultant, you might even ask your client for feedback .

Keep track of your notes somewhere that will be accessible by your whole team, like a shared spreadsheet (or send out an email after the meeting):

Another duty of a project manager in the project closure phase can be to analyze the performance of the team, based on the quality of their work and how well they were able to meet deadlines.

These performance reviews can be delivered to team members (or higher-ups) in the form of an easy to read visual summary, like the one below:

But remember…your project isn’t complete until all of your documents have been handed over and approved by your client or stakeholder.

Use Venngage to communicate your progress throughout the project life cycle

Any project manager worth their salt knows that clear communication is the backbone of any successful project. Venngage helps you make your communication visual , so that you can wow clients and keep your team aligned.

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5 Phases of Project Management Life Cycle | Complete Guide

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If you’re just diving into the world of project management for the first time, you might feel intimidated by starting a new project. Fortunately, you can utilize the project life cycle, which is a set of stages that takes a project from start to completion. Read on to learn about each phase of the project lifecycle, its role in the success of the project, and how you can properly manage each phase for optimum results.

What are Project Phases?

Project phases are smaller portions of a project that represent distinct goals or milestones in the larger project lifecycle. Within the project lifecycle, there are 5 project phases, as defined by the Project Management Institute: 

• Project Initiation
• Project Planning
• Project Execution
• Project Monitoring and Control
• Project Closure

Each phase comes with specific requirements of the project team, as well as key deliverables and action items that keep the project moving forward successfully. Mastering project phases is essential for keeping the project on track while completing essential tasks and checkpoints throughout the process. 

Read more: 14 Important Questions Project Managers Should Ask the Team

What are the 5 phases of project management, project initiation phase.

A team’s performance during the Project Initiation Phase can result in either authorization, delay, or discontinuation of a new project.

The main goal of the Initiation Phase is to ensure that the project meets business needs and that stakeholders and project teams are aligned on the project success criteria throughout the project life cycle.

To achieve the project goal, it’s best to involve internal and external stakeholders from the Initiation Phase . This way, you can effectively align expectations and increase the likelihood of completing all the deliverables throughout the project management life cycle.

During the Initiation Phase, the entire project team defines the project idea, and the project sponsor evaluates it and authorizes the project to proceed. The project manager starts the documentation process, which includes the justification, deliverables, risks, estimated cost, and resource requirements.

The Project Charter is a key deliverable of the Project Initiation Phase and contains all this information. It is the first formal definition of the project. It authorizes the project to exist, establishes the authority of the project manager, and documents high-level requirements, project milestones, and success criteria.

Another important document in the Initiation Phase is the Stakeholder Register. This document includes information about all the stakeholders of the project. It identifies the people, groups, and organizations that have an interest in the task, project, and its results.

Approval of the Project Charter signals the advance of the project to the next phase, the Project Planning Phase.

Read more: What is a Project Charter? Complete Guide & Examples 2023

Project Planning Phase

Once the expectations and success criteria are clear, the next project management life cycle phase focuses on planning each task the team needs to perform to cover the scope, achieve the deliverables, and meet the overall goal.

In the Project Planning Phase, the project team members dive into specific requirements, tasks, timelines, and actions. The project manager works with the entire team to create the design, enumerate the task list, and estimate the budget.

The project team builds the resource plan, the communications plan, and the initial project schedule. The project manager also establishes the roles and responsibilities of the team and stakeholders. The project scope is finalized depending on approved available resources and client priorities.

During the Planning Phase , the project team finalizes the Work Breakdown Structure, Project Plan, Requirements List, Communications Management Plan, and other relevant documents to iron out the workflow and coordination with involved parties.

The Project Plan is a key deliverable and contains a detailed work breakdown structure (WBS) or task list with start and end dates, and estimated effort and duration. It identifies milestones, resources, and the schedule. It also includes task dependencies that will allow the project team to use the critical path method if it chooses.

Other important deliverables are the Communications Management Plan, which helps facilitate effective communication with stakeholders, and the Resource Allocation Plan which identifies the schedule of project team resources as to their availability during the whole project life cycle.

Something PMs should keep in mind: As you discover more information, you may have to adjust your previous Project Plan and related procedures. More complex projects will require more back-and-forth approvals for every task created.

Project planning is an iterative process so the project manager should review, revise, and revisit all the plans at least once a month until the completion of the project. It is crucial for the project team to involve relevant stakeholders in this stage of the project life cycle as well.

Read more: Project Management Communication Plan

Project Execution Phase

The Project Execution Phase is where the project team executes and follows through on tasks based on the Project Plan. At this stage, the team spends most of its time coordinating with people, helping to ensure quality work, keeping track of resources, and updating stakeholders.

Sometimes called the Implementation Phase, this is the phase when the project manager tries to manage every task and aspect of project delivery to keep the project on track for the remaining duration of the project life cycle.

The project team focuses on achieving all the objectives set in the earlier phases. At this phase, the project leader likely uses project management software to assign every task to team members. Tools that centralize task information, along with resource availability and team communication can simplify and optimize the needed project management processes.

Quality Assurance documentation, meeting minutes, and Work Orders are some of the documents created during the Execution Phase of the project management life cycle.

It’s also likely that you’ll discover new information that will require a revisit and update of the initial project management plans. Be vigilant with change requests, and make sure that the necessary adjustments are managed.

Read more: Understanding Different Types of Stakeholders and Their Roles

Project Monitoring & Control Phase

The best way to ensure progress and improvement is by tracking and reviewing project performance.

Simultaneously during execution, the project team carefully tracks the progress of the project based on the Project Plan established earlier. Tracking the performance of the project through various metrics is crucial to ensure the project stays on schedule, within budget, and within scope.

The project team keeps track of change management documents, spending records, QA checklists, and team time tracking. They are able to measure where efforts and resources go throughout the project life cycle, crosschecking it with the Project Plan.

Both the Execution Phase and Monitoring & Control Phase are critical times that can determine project success. Aside from monitoring the progress of tasks, the project manager also tries to identify issues or risks, creates a mitigation plan with the team, and reports the project status regularly to stakeholders.

Being diligent in recording and measuring project progress puts the project team in a strategic position. They can identify bottlenecks and initiate essential discussions or project management process improvements.

Having a proactive approach will allow the project team to respond rapidly to any change in the plan. Consistent and appropriate status reporting will update interested stakeholders and provide them the opportunity to intervene in or redirect the project as needed.

If additional planning, time, or resources are needed, you’ll need to communicate them to relevant project stakeholders before it’s too late. You’ll also have the data and results to back up your requests, so you have a better chance of justifying your requests and maintaining their trust despite circumstances.

Read more: 10 Best Project Management Software Buyers’ Guide

Project Closure Phase

In the last project management life cycle phase, all the activities related to its completion are concluded. These may involve the submission of a final deliverable, fulfilling contractual obligations, terminating relevant agreements, and releasing project resources.

The causes of a project closure can be completion, cancellation, termination, or transfer to a new organization. The documentation required to complete Project Closure will differ depending on the situation.

In this phase, the project manager communicates the final project disposition and status to all stakeholders. This phase also ensures to inform participants and stakeholders of any follow-on activities or continuing product life cycle so they can communicate and coordinate with the people in charge.

Regardless of the outcome of the project life cycle, however, it would be good for the team to conduct a project retrospective. During this post-mortem activity, the project team can process new lessons and ensure the improvement of current project management processes for a future project.

During the project closeout, documents to turn over can include various project documentation, final meeting minutes, and other closure reports. These documents can identify and capture lessons learned and best practices for future reference and reuse.

It is a good idea to organize and store project materials in a shared team folder. These materials can provide reference during performance evaluation. The opportunity to continuously test, improve, or reinvent ways to manage the whole project life cycle can help grow the organization and its business.

Read more: How to Host a Good Project Post-Mortem Meeting

VIDEO: Recap of 5 Project Management Phases

Why Are Project Phases Important?

All projects go through each of the five phases regardless of their size.

The decision to officially divide a project into phases is an excellent way to manage the team’s focus, allocate resources, and align the entire project life cycle with clients and stakeholders.

By thinking in terms of phases, the project team ensures that deliverables produced at the end of each phase meet the project’s goals. Managing a project by phase also makes sure that the team is properly prepared for the next phase.

Project life cycle phases provide additional benefits. The approach provides a structured approach for project delivery. Defined activities, outputs, and responsibilities create a clear and common roadmap for the project team to follow.

Defined phases and defined roles show a visible framework easily understood by all team members and stakeholders. Assignment of responsibilities by phase clarifies what the team should only be doing in each phase and helps streamline communication.

Working on projects phase by phase helps track and link progress directly to each phase. Completion of each phase is easily recognizable by all involved.

Another benefit of project management by phase is the progressive evolution of the project. This helps identify areas that need greater attention for a particular phase. It also marks clearly the points and opportunities for structured reviews to support project governance.

While PMBOK recommends assigning project phases according to a project’s life cycle, project teams can follow their own system depending on their industry, organizational policies, and other relevant factors. For example, teams and organizations focused on monitoring the usage of resources can use the critical chain project management methodology.

Read next: Key Project Management Terms and Concepts

Throughout the project lifecycle, there are a variety of tools that can be used to limit stress, automate workflows, and keep the project moving successfully. 

Gantt Charts

Gantt charts are a powerful planning tool that can help teams visualize individual deadlines against task dependencies and overall project progress. This type of chart can be especially useful early on in the project lifecycle, particularly the planning stage. 

Project Management Software

Project management software solutions are likely the most well-known tools in project management—and for good reason. Within one application, users can set task deadlines, view project overviews, extract data about project progress, automate workflows, and more. 

Collaboration Tools

Whether it’s a remote team, in-office, or a hybrid blend, collaboration is one of the most important elements of running a successful project. While some project management software solutions offer built-in collaboration tools, utilizing the power of other tools that are directly centered around team communication, such as Slack, can ensure the team has a central space to communicate updates. 

Throughout the project lifecycle, the project manager takes ownership of the project and relays updates to team members. As each phase of the project progresses, the project manager will facilitate discussions, track progress, and address any roadblocks.

The project initiation phase is arguably the most important phase of the project lifecycle, as this is when the project is conceived and approved so that work can begin. During this phase, it’s common for a team to present a proposal in order to gain approval for the project.

Read more: Project Proposal with Template

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Project phases: An overview with real examples

• by Adrian Neumeyer

Project management phases: the simple view

• Preparation phase
• Execution phase
• Closing phase
• A building is finalized and the customer makes his final inspection.
• Employees are trained for a new process to be used in a company.
• A product is packaged and shipped to the customer. That sort of stuff.

A closer look at the project phases

The 5 project management phases:.

• Project Concept & Initiation
• Project Definition and Planning
• Project Launch or Execution
• Project Performance & Control
• Project Close

Phase 1: Project Concept & Initiation

Phase 2: project planning.

95% of your project’s success depends on how well you plan things

• Define roles and responsibilities  – What kind of skills or people do you need in the project? And what do you expect from each of those members?
• Create a scope statement  – The scope statement is a document which clearly states what the project is expected to deliver. It also defines the boundaries, i.e. what is not expected from the project.
• Create a project plan (Gantt chart)  – Create a project Gantt chart to visualize the flow of the project. This will give everyone on the team clarity on what has to be done by when. Need a good template? Get my project plan template for Excel .
• Define key milestones  – Milestones are goals which have to be accomplished during the project. A milestone could be specification completed or product prototype completed .
• Set up a communication plan  – A simple table which shows how the team and stakeholders will communicate throught the project. Communication can happen in the form of meetings or by email.
• Perform a risk analysis  – It is always better to be prepared for issues than to be surprised. Do a risk analysis to identify the most critical risks and have a “plan B” ready in your pocket.

Phase 3: Project Launch or Execution

Phase 4: project performance & control.

• Are the project targets being met?  – Projects are launched with a specific purpose in mind. As project manager, you should constantly monitor whether the project is on track to meet those targets.
• Are we still within budget?  – Tracking effort and cost is one of the necessary (but most disliked) tasks of a PM. Set aside a few hours for it every month, and get my project budget template to make your life easy.
• Are we deviating from scope?  – Every now and then, a project will face unforeseen changes. The customer may say: ‘I’ve changed my mind. I want the building to be painted blue, not orange.’   Such change request have to be evaluated by the project team. Maybe the changes require extra budget or require special skills to be implemented.

Phase 5: Project Close

Don’t let the project phases restrict you, do you have any questions, got a question need some help.

Have a question about this article? Need some assistance with this topic (or anything else)?  Send it in and I’ll get back to you personally. 

Hi! I'm Adrian, former Senior IT Project Manager and founder of Tactical Project Manager. I created the site to help you become an excellent project leader and manage intense projects with success!

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Project Life Cycle: A Guide to What it is and the 5 Life Cycle Stages

Complex projects that are far-reaching in scope, resource-heavy, and are high in strategic importance will require higher levels of project management knowledge.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) created the project management life cycle to help. It’s a framework to help project managers run their projects smoothly and effectively.

For project managers, the life cycle can bring more cohesion to the project and ensure that all the team members, especially if there are multiple departments involved, are all on the same page and can work together with relative ease.

Let’s go through how it works.

In this project life cycle guide you will discover,

What is the project life cycle?

What are the five stages of the project management life cycle, initiating phase, planning phase, executing phase, monitoring and controlling phase, closing phase.

• Frequently asked questions

The project life cycle includes the steps required for project managers to successfully manage a project from start to finish.

There are five phases to the project life cycle. Each of these project phases represents a group of interrelated processes that must take place for a successful project.

The initiating phase of the project life cycle consists of two separate processes: the project charter and stakeholder register. This phase is to determine the vision for your project, document what you hope to accomplish through a business case, and secure approvals from a sanctioning stakeholder. The key components of the project charter include:

• Business case
• Project scope
• Deliverables
• Resources needed
• Milestone plan and timeline
• Cost estimate
• Risks and issues
• Dependencies

Taking the time to get your goals and objectives clearly defined will mean that the project will be easier to work on.

Everyone involved will be able to discuss their own suggestions or concerns and the budget and costs can be agreed and signed off upfront. Having this initiating phase is important not only for the project, but for all the teams involved to have their say on what is needed for the project.

During the planning phase , it is important that the first thing to do is outline and define the reason for the project. By answering the following questions, you can clearly see what the project needs to achieve.

• What exactly are we going to do?
• How are we going to do it?
• When are we going to do it?
• How will we know when we’re done?

As part of the planning phase , you will need to work with the team to put the full infrastructure in place and delegate certain tasks. This plan should include:

• Project management plan
• Work breakdown structure
• Resource plan
• Budget estimation

Getting the plan in place, with the whole team’s involvement can be tricky to work out. But giving every department a chance to be involved in the plan will mean that there are fewer issues further down the line.

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The executing phase should involve the following vital parts:

• Team development
• Stakeholder engagement
• Quality assurance
• Communications
• Client management

This phase is where the magic happens — where most of the budget is allocated and most of the project deliverables are produced. You take your project plan and put it into action, whether that takes weeks, months, or even years.

Villanova University defines the goal of this phase as, “managing teams effectively while orchestrating timeline expectations and reaching benchmark goals.”

During this time, communication is important, there will be times where the client or stakeholders will want to updates and progress reports.

Having a reliable project management system in place will save a lot of headaches for you and your team. It will be easier for tasks to be crossed off, see where deadlines and deliverables are up to and give you and the team insight into what still needs to be done.

With Adobe Workfront, you can keep the whole project team updated and make reporting to clients and stakeholders easier.

When in the monitoring and controlling phase you will need to make sure that you can keep an eye on the overall progress of the project as well as individual aspects.

You will always need to stay vigilant and keep up to speed with tracking and reporting with the team, so you are aware of any potential problems before they get out of hand.

It is also worth having another member of the project team (or one from each department) to act as another quality controller or reporter, they can help you keep track of everything in their team and have regular meetings to update on all aspects, so everyone is kept on track.

Blog: Helping Your Team Manage & Track Time Blog: 4 Simple Ways to Keep Creative Projects On-Track

The final phase of the project life cycle is the closing phase . It is more than simply checking off the project as done and closing the project down. It’s essential to formally close the project and secure a sign-off or approval from the customer, stakeholders, and/or project sponsor.

This process might include:

• Delivering the project
• Hosting a post-mortem meeting
• Archiving project records
• Celebrating or acknowledging the achievement
• Officially disbanding or releasing the team

The importance of this final step of the project life cycle can’t be overstated, especially as more organizations are adopting the Hollywood model of work, where temporary teams come together around a specific project, and then disband and regroup for another project. This is important for project management teams, especially those that involve freelancers or consultants.

The complete project life cycle.

Below is a chart of the complete project life cycle, including the five process groups of project management in order and the steps required in each phase across all knowledge areas.

Being able to effectively project manage using this life cycle is great but having Adobe Workfront behind you to take off the pressure of knowing where everything is up to and what still needs to be done, will be the ultimate tool in your belt.

Frequently asked questions about project life cycles.

What are the five stages of the project life cycle?

The five stages of the project life cycle are:

• Monitoring/controlling

By working through each of these phases in turn, project managers can successfully progress their project from start to finish.

What is the importance of the project life cycle?

The project life cycle was developed by the Project Managers Institute (PMI) and is seen as the most effective strategy of delivering a successful project. The five phases can be challenging, but by working through the phases as a team, the project will be able to be completed effectively.

What is project initiating process?

In the project life cycle, the initiating phase gives you the opportunity to get everything down on paper before going to the stakeholder/sponsor/client with the information. It involves the project charter and the stakeholder register.

What you should know about project management life cycle

In today’s fast-moving business environment, most business initiatives or changes are project-based. Even if you don’t have the “Project Manager” title, you likely still manage projects. Everyone should have a basic understanding of baseline project management theories to help establish best practices for structure, planning, and monitoring.  

Arguably the most foundational of such theories is the project life cycle, a start-to-finish blueprint for the average project management process. Here are six things you’ll need to know to start implementing in your day-to-day.  

1. How many variations of the project life cycle are there? 

There are several prominent frameworks to choose from, with each offering a different set of guidelines and use cases. The most commonly accepted, however, is that of the  Project Management Institute  (PMI), which offers both a generic project life cycle and  more specific models  that stretch across a variety of project styles.  

The generic project life cycle is based on four encompassing phases that cover the entirety of the average project’s existence: 

• The project start
• Preparing and planning
• Doing the work
• The project’s end

From there, PMI evolves its generic model into more specific implementation styles. Each of those styles has a fundamentally different approach to the importance and interaction of the generic life cycle’s individual components:  

• The  predictive life cycle approach, which is rigid and sequential ( waterfall projects ) 
• Iterative : Projects are broken down into smaller, progressively iterated phases 
• Incremental : Similar to iterative, but phases are more sequential and timebound 
• Adaptive : Agile-style projects, where 2-4 week “sprints” advance and guide the work 
• Hybrid : Mixing together predictive and adaptive approaches to fit a project’s needs 

A key semantics point to consider is the term “project life cycle” versus a project’s phases. The overarching project life cycle model is designed to cover the start-to-finish blueprint that every kind of project must progress through. That life cycle is made up of phases, which will vary in length and intensity based on an individual project’s needs.  

2. What are the different  phases  of the overarching project life cycle? 

Again, we’ll turn to the most widely-accepted model — the five-phase framework laid out in PMI’s  Project Management Body of Knowledge , all designed to operate within its various life cycle blueprints: 

• Initiation:  Reaching an alignment on the project’s purpose and feasibility, based on its business case, stakeholders, and needs 
• Planning:  Developing the project plan and scope, including the chosen project management process, roadmap, schedule, and end objectives 
• Execution:  Performance of tasks include resource allocation, regular status meetings, and actual product development by key teams 
• Monitoring and controlling:  Oversight of work performed — through documents like a burndown chart — and measurement against key objectives 
• Closure:  Evaluating the performance of the project and its teams, with the intent of compiling key learnings to optimize future projects 

Like PMI’s overarching generic project life cycle model, these phases are designed to apply to almost every kind of project in some way — it’s uncommon to find a project that doesn’t have to progress through each of these unique but interlacing periods. What does vary, however, is how they manifest across the project management process spectrum.  

3. Are the five project phases different for an agile versus a waterfall project management process? 

Broadly, they are roughly the same — the difference is in how much they overlap, the time spent per phase, and the intent of each phase. In waterfall methodology, for example, a project’s schedule and intent are highly rigid, placing greater importance on the thoroughness and accuracy of its Planning phase. In agile projects , the Execution phase is far more fluid, adapting in response to learnings and decisions compiled in each sprint.

4. Are these project phases completely sequential? 

Rarely, and that’s by design — by nature, the Monitoring and controlling phase must overlap with the Execution phase.  

But on a broader level, larger projects are almost guaranteed to need a certain degree of overlap amongst their phases. Even the Initiation and Closure phases can bleed into their neighboring segments — a certain degree of planning may be needed to flesh out a project’s feasibility, for example, or some part of a project may require managed closure before others.  

In other words, moderately blurred lines are not necessarily a flaw in your process — indeed, they are often needed.  

5. Are both the project life cycles and their phases applicable to all industries? 

To a certain degree, yes — but there are areas where some are more applicable than others. 

A predictive life cycle, on one hand, is best suited for projects that must run in a rigid sequence. Road lanes can’t be painted, for example, until the road is paved. Adaptive life cycles, on the other hand, are designed for projects that demand a high degree of flexibility or lack key data at their inception. Such models have become highly popular in fast-moving fields like software or creative development. 

As for the five phases, certain elements will be highlighted based on the product being developed. Companies that must continually mass-produce the same or similar objects may have reduced Planning needs, though such variations are more project-specific than industry-specific.  

6. What events signify my project is moving from one project life cycle stage to the next?  

These are largely up to the project manager and their key project stakeholders. While many projects share key triggers — an approved project charter usually means the Initiation phase has ended, for example — each project should have unique and thought-out objectives for each phase. Once those objectives have been met, it’s time for the next phase to begin. 

Use good judgement

The project life cycle and its component phases are certainly foundational to an effective project management process. But they are also just broad-based guides, meant to provide a general architecture for approaching a new project — not one-size-fits-all requirements.  

Use good judgment when applying such theorems to your day-to-day project management. With the right life cycle approach and proper planning, you’ll be starting your project off on the right foot.  

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The Easy Guide to Understanding the Phases of Project Management Lifecycle

Updated on: 5 January 2023

Keeping your project on track from beginning to end while preventing the misuse of resources, time and money depends on how well you manage the project lifecycle phases. 

Now, based on the type of project and its requirements, the number of phases of project management lifecycle may change; but in this post we will discuss all five of them and the steps you should follow during each.

What is Project Life Cycle?

The project life cycle is a process that project managers follow through when completing a project. It includes a sequence of phases that a project goes through from its initiation to closure. 

What are the Five Stages of the Project Life Cycle?

Breaking down projects into several stages actually makes it easier to manage and control it, and work on improving its quality.

Project Initiation

The first phase of initiation will lay the foundation for the next few stages of project management. This is where you will define the project at a broad level. 

Here you will,

• Evaluate the value and the feasibility of the project in order to decide whether to move forward with it. During the feasibility study you will look into whether you can meet the project requirements with the available resources and develop a business case . 
• Identify the stakeholders of the project. Here you will conduct a stakeholder analysis to identify them and their needs and prioritize them based on their influence. 
• Identify the deliverables of the project. You can use milestones to break complex deliverables into smaller parts, so it’s easier to track. 
• Define the purpose and requirements (such as the resources, budget and time needed) of the project. Create a project charter or project initiation document including this information. It should also list down the business needs, objectives, stakeholders and project risks.  

Useful Resources 

The Easy Guide to Stakeholder Management

9 Visual Tools to Gather Requirements for Your Software

Project Planning

In the planning phase of the project management life cycle, you will work out a strategy for performing the project steps or in other words determine what exactly needs to be done to achieve the goals you have defined earlier. 

Here you will, 

• Start with clearly defining the goals of the project and the project scope. You can use the SMART criteria which guides you to set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. 
• Layout what needs to be done and create a work breakdown structure that will help you break down the project into manageable tasks based on project deliverables.
• Creating milestone charts or Gantt charts where you can display the key milestones and product roadmaps outlining the project timeline and the project milestones for the team

Project schedule template

Product roadmap template

• Estimate and allocate the necessary resources and put together a competent team and clarify their roles and responsibilities.

• Create a risk management plan by identifying the potential risks that could hinder the progress of the project and outlining the steps you need to take to mitigate them. 
• Create a communications plan specifying your communications strategy for stakeholders.

• Do a cost analysis to make sure that everything fits within your budget. And establish performance measures based on project scope, cost and schedule to assess progress and ensure that the project will stay on track.

Useful Resources;

The Visual Guide to Planning a Project

The Ultimate List of Visual Risk Management Techniques

The Easy Guide to Creating an Effective Communications Plan

Using Gantt Charts and Flowcharts in Project Planning

Project Execution

In the execution phases you implement what you have planned. The job of the project manager here is to keep an eye out for errors and supervise the team while making sure that everyone sticks to the original plan. 

• Create workflow diagrams or process maps that outline the steps the team/ individual needs to take to complete each milestone and procuring the resources that are required.

• Hold a project kickoff meeting where you can run through the workflow diagrams, milestone charts, work breakdown structures etc. that you have created with your team. Help them understand what exactly is expected of them. 
• Communicate project updates to stakeholders and hold status meetings as necessary 
• Track progress and update project schedules and make changes to project plans as required

The Easy Guide to Workflows | With Editable Workflow Templates

Project Monitoring

This phase requires the project manager to monitor the project performance and communicating the status to stakeholders. 

You can use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as sticking to the timeline, keeping the budget under control, successfully delivering project outcomes etc. to measure the progress. 

As needed, come up with ways to optimize the performance and make changes to the project management plan to make sure it brings out the best performance.  

Project Closure

This phase marks the closure of the project when the final outcome is delivered. You can leverage the lesson learnt to optimize the project processes and team efforts during future projects. 

 Here you will, 

• Release the resources that were used for the project and allocate them including what is remaining of the budget for future projects.  
• Assess the success of the project and share the reports with the stakeholders. Identify what worked and what didn’t and properly document the information for future reference. 
• Evaluate how the team has performed and brief them on where they need to improve and recognize them for their success.  
• Formally terminate any contractors who were hired for the project. 
• Together with the team create a plan to finish the tasks that were not completed during the project

The end of the project life cycle can be marked with a closing meeting or a party to celebrate the success and congratulate the team. 

What’s Your Project Management Strategy? 

Every project, big or small, simple or complex goes through these few phases. It’s the job of the project manager to have a solid project lifecycle management strategy in place to keep everything on track. 

What’s your strategy? Do share your experience with us in the comment section below.

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5 Phases of the Project Management Life Cycle (2024 Process Guide)

Understanding the project management life cycle is crucial for project managers and business owners. Managing a project can be demanding and challenging especially when scope creep (adding new features, deliverables, and tasks to a project after initiation) arises.

Whether your project needs are small or large, or you are working with small goals or multi-departmental and large goals, there are a lot of factors that can hinder the successful completion of your projects.

However, when you divide your projects into smaller manageable phases, you can easily track, manage, and control them.

In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about the four phases of the project management life cycle that are essential for the success of your projects.

Let’s dive in.

What is the Project Management Life Cycle?

The project management life cycle describes the entire processes a project goes through from initiation to closure. This cycle talks about the life of a project, how the project starts and ends, and the different phases the project passes through to completion. The project management life cycle is divided into phases and they ought to be followed accordingly.

Managing a project is not an easy task, regardless of the size and scope. It needs to go through a series of stages before actualization. Knowing and understanding the phases relieves you, as the project manager, of being overwhelmed by the scale of a project.

The project management life cycle goes beyond the project itself. This cycle focuses on how the project is being executed, says so much about the success of a project, and gives you a glimpse of how successful a project should be at the end of execution.

5 Phases of the Project Management Life Cycle

Every project's life cycle includes five phases and these phases are as important as the project itself. Dividing a project, irrespective of its scope, into phases makes it easier to accomplish. Every phase has its goal and once it is met, you can successfully move to the next.

1. Project Initiation

The initiation stage is the first phase of the life cycle of project management where people convert abstract thoughts and ideas into a meaningful actionable plan. At the initiation phase, you are identifying a business need, looking for the best solutions to them, and bringing it alive.

This stage involves you trying to visualize a plan, bring it to book, and arrange a team to execute the plan. Depending on the nature of the project, the approval comes from the recipient such as sponsors, stakeholders, and clients.

In this stage, you are defining the project on a broad level. Before you can do this, you first have to determine the why of the project and then proceed to create a project charter.

A project charter refers to a document that contains essential details about the project such as project constraints, project goals, budgets, timeline, and more. Technical details are not included in a project charter.

Tips on Initiating a Project

• Craft a Project Charter – In the document, you should write down the vision, mission, objectives, and goals of the project.
• Do a Brief Study – Identify what needs the project is addressing and the best possible solutions for it.
• Know the Key Project Stakeholders – Identify every person that is attached to the project from the project managers to the team members, clients, and sponsors.

2. Project Planning

After getting approval from the right persons to move on from initiation, the team can begin project planning. Project planning is one of, if not the most vital aspect of a project management life cycle. Getting things from this phase can jeopardize the whole plan.

If your team has a budgeted time to go through the five phases, the planning stage arguably takes the bulk of the project’s timespan except you are using a modern project management methodology (agile project management) for your project.

This phase involves identifying the technical requirements, creating a detailed project schedule, setting up a communication plan, and drawing out goals or deliverables for the project.

Define Your Project Scope and Work Breakdown Structure

At this phase, you define the project scope. If you are to change the scope of the project demands, you need the approval of the project managers. Developing a work breakdown structure (WBS) by the project manager is also essential at this phase for better visualization of the entire project.

Project Timeline

Another crucial element of the project planning phase is creating a detailed project timeline for every goal or deliverable. Project managers can use the project timelines created to develop a communication plan with the key project stakeholders.

Risk Mitigation

A key aspect to consider at this stage is risk mitigation. The project manager is responsible for identifying potential risks to the project and plotting strategies to prevent them from hindering the project.

Change Management Plan

Having an effective change management plan is essential at this stage. One of the hallmarks of an effective project manager is the ability to incorporate changes to the project without causing any project.

Without a functional change management plan, the scope creep situation arises which can cause project delays and other problems at the latter phases of the project.

3 P’s Goal Lens

The goals you wrote down during the initiation phase will be expanded in the planning stage . A lot of evaluation will be done from time to time. The best criteria to continually evaluate your goals are passion, pervasiveness, and possibility. They are known as the 3 P's goal lens. What does the 3 P's mean?

• Passion – Projects can be tough to handle and manage regardless of the scope. A team with lazy members might jeopardize the plan. For successful execution, you will need a team that is passionate and emotionally attached to the project enough to give it their best. Before you question your team's passion, ask yourself if your project is worth being passionate about. Ask yourself if the project is worthwhile enough to gather a team to collaborate with you. Teamwork is easier when the project is worth all of the effort.
• Pervasiveness – This criterion focuses on the potentials of the project itself. Does the project have the potential to record a ground-breaking success? Is it a project that provides a wholesome solution to the need you discovered before the initiation phase? Compare the longevity of the after-effect of the project to the effort the team puts in during the phases of execution. Finding answers to these questions determines the pervasiveness of the project.
• Possibility – The last ‘P' is more concerned about the reality of the goals. Is it an achievable one? Does the solution match the budget in your books? Do you have a capable team to take on the project? You have to be realistic with your plans, ideas, solutions, and objectives. Setting unrealistic goals is just you setting yourself up for failure. Over-ambition can also breed unrealistic goals. Aiming for something beyond your capacity financially and materially can lead you to set unachievable goals. You have to be true to yourself and your team.

Your plan should outline costs, activities, mini-milestones, tasks, time-frames, deadlines, and rewards. Additionally, your goals should be S.M.A.R.T that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. Once your goal has an element of these attributes, you are good to go.

Tips on Planning a Project

• Create a Project Plan – Map out the activities, tasks, schedules, and charts that will keep the project moving.
• Create a Resource Plan – The resource plan focuses on the project team, the resources, and materials to execute the project.
• Create a Quality Plan – Set realistic targets and measures. You do not have to set unrealistic targets because you want to rush the execution. A careful and steady execution process can get you the desired results.
• Create a Financial Plan – The financial plan focuses on the cost estimates for each milestone. Provide the minimum and maximum cost estimate for each target and ensure to work within the range.
• Create a Risk Plan – The risk plan identifies possible risks, assumptions, uncertainties, and issues that may arise during the project management life cycle.
• Create a Communication Plan – Build an effective communication channel between the team members and with the stakeholders.

After making the plan, you now have the foundation that other phases can build on.

3. Project Execution

This is the stage of a project life cycle where you start implementing everything you have laid down in the project plan. The execution phase is all about bringing your plan alive, that is making the project happen. Here, you assemble your resources, gather the team, brief them, give the rules, and introduce each one to his teammate.

Once the protocol is done, every member begins their task immediately. As the project supervisor, your focus now will be to give the green light for members to proceed to project execution. The execution phase will involve lots of meetings, seminars, briefings, and reviews to ensure steady progress.

Depending on the project scope, some teams will have sub-heads who would report to the project manager periodically on the current status of the project execution. This phase begins the actionable stage where the team works to get the desired results.

Under normal circumstances, the execution phase should be the longest of all phases because this is where all resources will be used in the anticipation of getting good results. The team will experience unforeseen events in this phase and the preparation from the previous phase will be useful here.

Tips on Executing a Project

• Assign Roles – The vision and mission are already in the books so you need to assign leadership roles to qualified people to keep the project running.
• Create Tasks – Minor tasks should be issued to team members because it clearly shows what needs to be done urgently and what not.
• Tasks Briefing – Intermittent briefings should be done to engage the team and make instructions clear. Remind them of deadlines and targets so everyone knows where they stand.
• Client Management – Engage the clients during this phase to ensure that they contribute their quota to the project execution.
• Effective Communication – Ensure effective communication with the right people at the right time using the right communication channels.

4. Project Monitoring

This phase of the project management life cycle is one of the toughest phases that the project manager has to pass through. It is a phase that runs alongside the project execution phase. The project manager monitors the project's progress and reports performances to the right persons when due via project status reports .

The monitoring stage is when the project manager controls the operations and ensures everything is going as planned. If they are not going as planned, then the manager quickly finds solutions to get back on track. In a way, monitoring and controlling is a task done throughout the five phases.

This phase is separated as a different phase because it is an inevitable task that has to be done by someone once project execution is underway. The project manager uses every data gotten from the charts and sheets to compare the progress with the already laid-down plan.

The comparison tells the team how fast or slow they are moving with project execution. If operations are not going as planned (in rare cases), the team has to find a quick means to pivot the present situation into what will get them back on track.

Breaking the project into milestones can help the team with efficient execution. Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and Critical Success Factors (CSF) to keep your team moving towards the original goal throughout the project.

Tips on Monitoring a Project

• Risk Management – The team should monitor the project and check for possible risky situations. When it surfaces, the supervisor should be able to control, manage, and discern the health risks from the unhealthy risks.
• Cost Management – You should periodically check the timesheets for the income and expenses records, compare them with the budget you wrote down during the project planning stage.
• Quality Management – Inspect the resources and deliverables to ensure the quality of work being put out by each team member.
• Time Management – You should be careful of the target deadlines. It helps you know which aspect needs more urgency. Timely checks also help the team members sit tight while executing the project.

These four phases involve working on the project and if they all go as planned, it is time to move on to the final phase of the project management life cycle.

5. Project Closing

The closure phase is the final step of the project management life cycle. In this phase, the project is gradually coming to a close and it is the job of the project manager to close it. You need to note that the project is not outrightly over until after the project closure phase.

At this point, t he project manager will be hosting a series of post-execution meetings and reviews to go over the whole process from the initiation phase. The manager and the team discuss the team's strengths and weaknesses during execution. This will help them improve for subsequent projects.

The closure is one of the rewarding phases of a project life cycle. It is an opportunity for every member to recognize the value they added to the team's success. This phase is when members acknowledge the efforts of each other and pop bottles to celebrate the achievements.

Ideally, this phase is for the team members to celebrate successes and make corrections to the shortcomings experienced during the journey. The corrections could be written in documents so that project managers can highlight every issue, mistake, and a lesson in black and white.

Tips on Closing a Project

• Performance Analysis – The project manager should go through the overview of the project to see how well it was managed. The accuracy of the cost estimates and budget should be checked also. Check if there were unforeseen events and how well it was dealt with.
• Team Analysis – This analysis is for every team member to know if they did their work efficiently. Did they meet the stipulated deadlines and targets? Were they slacking at some point? Were they exhausted at some point due to overwork? Questions like these put everyone on a check.
• Project Closure – The person in charge should officially document every task that is needed to bring the project to an end. This includes the necessary signings of documents, final cost analysis of every expense and income.

Simplify Your Project Management Process with the Right Tools

The five phases of the project management life cycle walk you through how a project can be efficiently initiated, planned, executed, monitored, and closed. Mishandling a phase can affect the whole plan while proper management can make the whole process look easy.

Project management tools can help you simplify your project management process.

• If you are looking for a web-based project management software with a highly interactive and easy-to-use dashboard, you should try Monday.com .
• If you are searching for a simple project management software that is beginner-friendly , ClickUp is the go-to choice.
• For medium to large organizations looking for an agile project management software with powerful AI tools, Wrike is the ideal pick as it allows for unlimited users.
• If you are looking for low-cost project management software , you should try Teamwork .

If you are searching for a Mac-friendly project management tool for remote work with an advanced reporting and alerting system, Scoro is the best pick.

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Anastasia belyh.

Anastasia has been a professional blogger and researcher since 2014. She loves to perform in-depth software reviews to help software buyers make informed decisions when choosing project management software, CRM tools, website builders, and everything around growing a startup business.

Anastasia worked in management consulting and tech startups, so she has lots of experience in helping professionals choosing the right business software.