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Project Lifecycle

The phases of a project life cycle

stages. Although each project will require its own set of unique processes and tasks, they all

follow a similar framework. There’s always a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is called

the project lifecycle. The project lifecycle provides predictability and gives the project

manager a way to tackle tasks in distinct phases. In this section, you will get an explanation

of what you need to know about each phase.

The Initiation Phase

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

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 outlines 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

The Execution Phase

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

The Controlling and Monitoring Phase

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.

Project Closure

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 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 a project management software.

WHAT IS A FEASIBILITY STUDY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

Before any executive gives the green light to a project that could cost thousands (or millions)

of dollars, you can bet they will want to see a feasibility study. So what is a feasibility study

in project management? It determines whether the project is likely to succeed in the first

place. It is typically conducted before any initial steps are taken with a project, including
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planning. It is one of — if not the— most important factors in determining whether the

project can move forward. The study identifies the project market (if applicable); highlights

the project's key goals; maps out potential roadblocks and offers alternative solutions; and

factors in time, budget, legal, and manpower requirements to determine whether the project is

not only possible but advantageous for the company to undertake.

Although project managers may not be the ones conducting the feasibility study, they can

serve as critical guidelines as the project gets underway. Project managers can use the

feasibility study to understand the project parameters, business goals and risk factors at play.

Types of Feasibility Study

A feasibility analysis evaluates the project’s potential for success; therefore, perceived

objectivity is an essential factor in the credibility of the study for potential investors and

lending institutions. There are five types of feasibility study—separate areas that a feasibility

study examines, described below.

1. Technical Feasibility

This assessment focuses on the technical resources available to the organization. It helps

organizations determine whether the technical resources meet capacity and whether the

technical team is capable of converting the ideas into working systems. Technical feasibility

also involves the evaluation of the hardware, software, and other technical requirements of

the proposed system. As an exaggerated example, an organization wouldn’t want to try to put

Star Trek’s transporters in their building—currently, this project is not technically feasible.

2. Economic Feasibility
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This assessment typically involves a cost/ benefits analysis of the project, helping

organizations determine the viability, cost, and benefits associated with a project before

financial resources are allocated. It also serves as an independent project assessment and

enhances project credibility—helping decision-makers determine the positive economic

benefits to the organization that the proposed project will provide.

3. Legal Feasibility

This assessment investigates whether any aspect of the proposed project conflicts with legal

requirements like zoning laws, data protection acts or social media laws. Let’s say an

organization wants to construct a new office building in a specific location. A feasibility

study might reveal the organization’s ideal location isn’t zoned for that type of business. That

organization has just saved considerable time and effort by learning that their project was not

feasible right from the beginning.

4. Operational Feasibility

This assessment involves undertaking a study to analyze and determine whether—and how

well—the organization’s needs can be met by completing the project. Operational feasibility

studies also examine how a project plan satisfies the requirements identified in the

requirements analysis phase of system development.

5. Scheduling Feasibility

This assessment is the most important for project success; after all, a project will fail if not

completed on time. In scheduling feasibility, an organization estimates how much time the

project will take to complete.

When these areas have all been examined, the feasibility analysis helps identify any

constraints the proposed project may face, including:

Internal Project Constraints: Technical, Technology, Budget, Resource, etc.

Internal Corporate Constraints: Financial, Marketing, Export, etc.

External Constraints: Logistics, Environment, Laws, and Regulations, etc.

Conducting a Feasibility Study

Anyone conducting a feasibility study will take several steps to put together the report. These

research actions typically include:

Preliminary analysis: Before moving forward with the time-intensive process of a feasibility

study, many organizations will conduct a preliminary analysis, which is like a pre-screening

of the project. The preliminary analysis aims to uncover insurmountable obstacles that would

render a feasibility study useless. If no major roadblocks are uncovered during this pre-

screen, a more intensive feasibility study will be conducted.

Define the scope: It’s important to outline the scope of the project so that you can determine

the scope of the feasibility study. The project’s scope will include the number and

composition of both internal stakeholders and external clients or customers. Don’t forget to

examine the potential impact of the project on all areas of the organization.

Market research: No project is undertaken in a vacuum. Those conducting the feasibility

study will delve into the existing competitive landscape and determine whether there is a

viable place for the project within that market.

Financial assessment: The feasibility study will examine the economic costs related to the

project, including equipment or other resources, man-hours, the proposed benefits of the
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project, the break-even schedule, the financial risks, and — most importantly — the potential

financial impact of the project’s failure.

Roadblocks and alternative solutions: Should any potential problems surface during the

study, it will look at solutions for the project to go ahead successfully.

Reassessment of results: A holistic look at the feasibility study with fresh eyes, particularly

if any significant amount of time has passed since it was first undertaken, is essential.

Final decision: The final aspect of a feasibility study is the recommended course of action—

in other words, whether the project should proceed or not.

IMPORTANCE OF FEASIBILITY STUDY

The importance of a feasibility study is based on organizational desire to “get it right” before

committing resources, time, or budget. A feasibility study might uncover new ideas that could

completely change a project’s scope. It’s best to make these determinations in advance, rather

than to jump in and to learn that the project won’t work. Conducting a feasibility study is

always beneficial to the project as it gives you and other stakeholders a clear picture of the

proposed project.

Below are some key benefits of conducting a feasibility study:

 Improves project teams’ focus

 Identifies new opportunities

 Provides valuable information for a “go/no-go” decision

 Narrows the business alternatives

 Identifies a valid reason to undertake the project

 Enhances the success rate by evaluating multiple parameters

 Aids decision-making on the project

 Identifies reasons not to proceed

Apart from the approaches to feasibility study listed above, some projects also require other

constraints to be analyzed -

Internal Project Constraints: Technical, Technology, Budget, Resource, etc.

Internal Corporate Constraints: Financial, Marketing, Export, etc.

External Constraints: Logistics, Environment, Laws, and Regulations, etc.