What Is the Project Life Cycle? Everything That You Need To Know
Every project has its pursuit of accomplishment, while the standard path remains the same for all. From beginning to middle to execution, distinct roles are assigned to each phase, constituting a life cycle.
Project management and execution is a complex event, while the project life cycle simplifies it to many folds. Followed by a cascade of stages, there are various types of the project life cycle. The project team and manager must abide by a mutually decided action plan to achieve maximum output, which we call the project life cycle! What is project lifestyle, and how to create a successful one? Here’s an easy breakdown.
What Is Project Life Cycle? – A Brief Introduction
The project life cycle is a well-structured and well-elaborated pathway followed by a project management team to accomplish shared goals.
From the beginning phase to the end, there are pre-discussed duties and goals to achieve one common goal. However, the ending phase is unpredictable before it draws near; a successful project life cycle contains flexible ways to tackle any ending or outcomes.
Moreover, the project life cycle requires skill and professional knowledge to create a strategic action plan. The beginning and end hold significant value concerning time restraint.
Types Of Project Life Cycle
There are four promising types of project life cycles depending on the organizational setup and goals. You can choose and plan any of them to expect maximum benefits:
Iterative Project Life Cycle
The iterative life cycle is specifically designed for projects with unpredictable endings or unsalable outcomes. In an unclear situation, the best solution is to provide maximum benefits to the consumer irrespective of the outcome.
The iterative life cycle is further split into five phases that can be repeated based on the ongoing circumstances. A major portion of the cycle is decided after the completion of one phase, abiding by consumer remarks for the previous or next one.
Incremental Project Life Cycle
An incremental life cycle is discrete in completing the final stage, where a near-to-perfection end product is curated. For the project management to reach there, it’s utmost to repeat a complete cycle until the final product is ready.
Once the span of one incremental life cycle is completed, feedback is taken from the consumer to guide the next cycle. This incremental cycle best suits projects with unpredictable outcomes and quick deliveries.
Agile Project Life Cycle
The agile life cycle is incremental and iterative as a project management maneuver. The beginning of each cycle is only processed once, followed by repetitive planning and execution phases.
Repeated iterations are done throughout the planning, execution, and control stages, and the product is placed for consumer remarks after each stage. After successful iterations, the outcome is delivered to the consumer to guide the upcoming increment. The life cycle enters the closure stage once the client is satisfied with the iterations and has no more objections.
Predictive Project Life Cycle
A predictive project life cycle is like a pathway that prospers in a standard linear manner. There are five distinct phases of this life cycle, each with preset outcomes.
A predictive life cycle only progresses if the previous stage is clear and the desired goals are achieved. It best suits projects with a single end product or goal, planning everything upfront.
Project Life Cycle Phases
There are four stages or important landmarks in a project life cycle journey. Their mutual success determines the destiny of a project’s life cycle.
The importance of the project life cycle is unimaginable without understanding these phases. The best project life cycle examples include the initiation and planning phases, execution, and closing phases.
Initiation
The initiation phase is split into objectives and important duties for a project management team.
- Problem identification to state the objectives for the life cycle.
- Best addressing possibilities are documented to reach one common objective.
- Tasks and teams are organized for progressing into the next phase.
Planning
Once the project life cycle enters this phase, there’s much work for the project manager and teams. Solutions are further analyzed as steps and expected outcomes.
Scope management is done to diverge all the possible outcomes, schedules, time frames, material requirements, etc. The project budget is also designed according to the estimated cost and expenditure.
Execution
A well-designed project plan is implemented, and every step is monitored to sustain efficiency and service quality. The execution phase becomes open to adjustments per the client’s feedback and project proceedings in a particular direction.
Progress status reports are made to discuss with stack holders and clients to keep track of how near is your project’s success.
Closing
The projects are terminated after delivering the necessary documentation and required end product or service to the client and major stack holders.
A project life cycle is the best way to achieve goals with maximum excellency and lesser loss to technical errors. Your success is promised if you’re on a trackable path toward growth!
FAQ
What is a project life cycle?
The project life cycle is the sequence of phases that a project goes through from initiation to completion, defining the processes, activities, and tasks involved in each stage.
In which stage of the project life cycle is a major portion of the actual project work performed?
The major portion of the actual project work is typically performed during the « Execution » stage of the project life cycle.
What are the five stages of the project life cycle?
The five stages of the project life cycle are: Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing.
What are the 7 phases of a project life cycle?
The 7 phases may vary based on methodologies, but a common breakdown includes: Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring, Controlling, Closing, and Post-Implementation Review or Maintenance.