The Project Life Cycle The project life cycle consists of four phases, initiation, planning, execution (including

monitoring and controlling) and evaluation. The MPMM Project Management Methodology is an excellent resource for this part of the Unit.

The Initiation phase begins by defining the scope, purpose, objectives, resources, deliverables, timescales and structure of the project. The next step is to develop a Business Case, including several possible solutions and a cost benefit analysis for each. ! Feasibility Study should then be carried out to ensure that the chosen solution is feasible and has an acceptable level of ris". The next step is to define the Ter s of !eference, follo#ed by the appointment of the project tea . The final step is to carry out Phase !evie" before see"ing approval to proceed. The first step of the Planning phase is the creation of a detailed Project Plan #hich the project manager #ill refer throughout the project to monitor and control time, cost and $uality. The project manager #ill then create the follo#ing plans% !esource Plan# to identify the staffing, e$uipment and materials needed Financial Plan# to $uantify the financial expenditure re$uired $uality Plan# to set $uality targets and specify &uality 'ontrol methods !is% Plan# to identify ris"s and plan actions needed to minimise them &cceptance Plan# to specify criteria for accepting deliverables

(inally, a Phase )evie# is carried out to assess the deliverables produced to date and approve the start of the Project *xecution phase. +uring the Project 'xecution phase the project team produces the deliverables #hile the project manager monitors and controls the project delivery by underta"ing% Ti e (anage ent# trac"ing and recording time spent on tas"s against the Project Plan Cost (anage ent# identifying and recording costs against the project budget $uality (anage ent# revie#ing the $uality of the deliverables and management processes Change (anage ent# revie#ing and implementing re$uests for changes to the project !is% (anage ent# assessing the level of project ris" and ta"ing action to minimi,e it Issue (anage ent# identifying and resolving project issues &cceptance (anage ent# identifying the completion of deliverables and gaining the customers acceptance

Co

unications (anage ent# "eeping sta"eholders informed of project progress, ris"s and issues

-nce the customer has accepted the deliverables and a Phase )evie# has been carried out to determine #hether the project objectives have been achieved, the project is ready for Closure. ! Project Closure !eport should list all of the actions re$uired. .hen this has been approved, the listed actions are completed to release project resources, hand over deliverables, and inform all sta"eholders that the project is no# closed. /hortly after the project has been closed, an'valuation (also "no#n as a Post)I ple entation !evie") should be carried out to determine the project0s overall success and find out #hether the benefits stated in the original 1usiness 'ase #ere actually realised. !ny lessons learned should be documented for future projects. 2ext% 3nitiation Initiation The Initiation Phase involves defining the purpose and scope of the project, the justification for underta"ing it and the solution to be implemented. 3t also involves recruiting the project team and carrying out a Phase !evie", before proceeding to the next stage. ! Business Case is developed, describing the business problem to be addressed by the project, the alternative solutions and the potential costs and benefits associated #ith each. The 1usiness 'ase is foundation for the project as it fully describes the project, the reasons for creating it and the "ey benefits to be produced. ! Feasibility Study is then completed to ascertain the li"elihood of the alternative solutions actually delivering the stated benefits in the 1usiness 'ase. This is used to identify the preferred solution, #hich must be approved before proceeding. The Ter s of !eference describe #hat the project intends to achieve and the boundaries #ithin #hich it must achieve it. This includes the project vision, objectives, scope, deliverables, project organisation and an 3mplementation Plan. -nce the project is defined, it is time to appoint the Project Tea . The Project (anager is recruited to ta"e on responsibility for the project and recruit the remaining members of the team. (inally, a Phase !evie" is carried out to ensure that all of the re$uired activities have been completed and to provide formal approval to proceed to the next phase of the project. 2ext% Planning Planning The Planning phase involves the creation of a set of planning documents #hich #ill guide the team throughout the project. The "ey stages are as follo#s% ! comprehensive Project Plan is critical to the success of the project. 3t identifies the *or% Brea%do"n Structure +*BS, of phases, activities and tas"s to be underta"en to complete the project. 3t also identifies the se$uencing, duration and dependencies of tas"s and the resources and financial expenditure re$uired to complete the project. The !esource Plan should give a detailed assessment of the resources re$uired to underta"e the project. 3t should list the re$uired labour, e$uipment and materials and $uantify the amount of each resource. 3t should

also give a resource usage schedule to give the Project Manager #ith a complete vie# of the total amount of resources needed at each stage. The Financial Plan describes the financial resources re$uired during each stage of the project. The total cost of each item of labor, e$uipment and materials is calculated, as #ell as the total cost of underta"ing each activity. The $uality Plan lists the $uality targets that need to be achieved to ensure that the project deliverables meet customer re$uirements. &uality !ssurance and &uality 'ontrol activities are scheduled to ma"e sure that the re$uired level of $uality is achieved throughout the project. The !is% Plan identifies all foreseeable project ris"s and rates them in terms of their li"elihood of occurrence and potential impact on the project. The ris"s are prioritised and actions identified to reduce the li"elihood of each ris" and minimi,e its impact on the project. !n &cceptance Plan is created to ensure that customer acceptance is sought for each deliverable produced by the project. The !cceptance Plan provides a schedule of !cceptance )evie#s. The Co unications Plan describes the information to be provided to project sta"eholders to "eep them informed of the progress of the project. ! schedule of communication events and activities is dra#n up to ma"e sure that the right information is communicated to the right people at the right time. (inally, a Phase !evie" is carried out to ensure that all of the re$uired Planning activities have been completed and to provide formal approval to proceed to the next phase. 'xecution +uring the 'xecution phase the deliverables are physically built and presented to the customer for acceptance. .hile each deliverable is being constructed, a group of for closure. The first and most important step is to build the deliverables specified in the Terms of )eference. +uring this activity, a detailed design of each deliverable is created and the deliverables are physically constructed, tested and revie#ed to determine #hether they meet the $uality criteria and the acceptance criteria. .hen all the criteria have been met the deliverables are signed off on by the customer and handed over. !t this stage, the project is ready for closure. +uring the construction of the deliverables the project manager performs several management processes to onitor and control the time, cost and $uality of each deliverable as follo#s% Ti e (anage ent involves monitoring and controlling the time spent by staff on the project. Timesheets are used to trac" and record time spent, so that the project manager can ascertain the overall progress of the project. Cost (anage ent involves identifying project costs and recording the rate of consumption of the project budget. $uality (anage ent involves underta"ing the &uality !ssurance and 'ontrol activities specified in the &uality Plan, to manage a project0s level of $uality and ensure that the project deliverables meet customer re$uirements. anage ent processes are carried out to monitor and control activities. -nce all the deliverables have been produced and accepted by the customer, the project is ready

!is% (anage ent involves monitoring and controlling project ris"s by ta"ing the steps necessary to prevent ris"s and minimise the impact on the project should those ris"s occur. Issue (anage ent involves resolving any unforeseen issues that may arise before they affect the ability of the project to meet its stated objectives. &cceptance (anage ent involves carrying out !cceptance )evie#s to gain the customer0s approval of each deliverable. 3f the customer does not accept that the deliverables meet their re$uirements the success of the project #ill be compromised.

Co

unications (anage ent involves completing the activities specified in the 'ommunications Plan

to ensure that every sta"eholder receives the right information, at the right time. (inally, a Phase !evie" is underta"en to ensure that all of the re$uired activities in the *xecution phase have been completed and the project is ready to proceed to the next phase. Closure and 'valuation The Project Closure phase involves releasing the final deliverables to the customer, handing over project documentation, terminating supplier contracts, releasing project resources and communicating project closure to all sta"eholders. The final step is to underta"e an 'valuation to determine the extent to #hich the project #as successful and note any lessons learned for future projects. The Project Closure !eport should list all the activities re$uired to close the project, to ensure that project closure is underta"en smoothly and efficiently. -nce the report has been created and approved, the closure activities specified #ithin the report are underta"en and the project is then officially closed. -ne to three months after the project has been closed and the business has begun to experience the benefits provided by the project, it is important to underta"e an 'valuation, often referred to as a Post I ple entation !evie" +PI!,- This allo#s the business to identify the level of success of the project and list any lessons learned for future projects. 'valuation is often carried out by an independent person to provide an unbiased opinion of the project outcome. The first step is to revie" the project perfor ance to determine #hether the project delivered the benefits, met the objectives, operated #ithin the scope, and produced the deliverables on time, #ithin budget and using the allocated resources. The revie# also needs to determine #hether the project conformed to the anage ent processes specified in Terms of )eference. 3t should also identify the %ey project achieve ents, failures and any lessons learned for future reference. The evaluation should revie# ho# the project performed against each of the targets set during the Initiation and Planning phases of the project, ie has the project% +elivered the business benefits described in the 1usiness 'ase4 !chieved the objectives specified in the Terms of )eference4 +eviated from the original scope as defined in the Terms of )eference4 Met the $uality targets defined in the &uality Plan4 Proceeded according to the planned +elivery /chedule4 +eviated from the budgeted project expenditure as defined in the (inancial Plan4 +eviated from the forecast resource levels as defined in the )esource Plan4 anage ent processes (as set out

The next stage is to identify the extent to #hich the project has conformed to the

in the Terms of )eference) during the *xecution phase of the project. These are% Time Management, 'ost

Management, &uality Management, 'hange Management, )is" Management, 'ommunications Management and !cceptance Management. (inally, the *valuation should% 5ist the ajor achieve ents for this project and describe the positive effect that each achievement has had on the customer0s business. 5ist any project failures and describe the effects they have had on the customer0s business. +escribe the lessons learned from underta"ing this project and list any reco projects in the future. /uccessful project management models can often be used as te plates for future projects. endations for similar