Project management life cycle: Best Practices for Success

Posted on Nov 17, 2023 at 12:11 AM

Are you tired of projects that never seem to get off the ground or never reach completion? Is there a magic formula for successful project management?

Understanding the project management life cycle and its implementation is the best way to finish every project excellently and successfully. That's what we're here to do in this article, so buckle up and let's learn more about the project management life cycle.

What are the five stages of a project management life cycle?

To start things off, we need to describe the project management life cycle; it is the process used to guide a project from start to finish, and it typically consists of five phases: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure.

As a manager, you need to carefully watch out for each phase of this lifecycle if you want to guarantee the success of your project; let's take a closer look at each of these stages and what they include:

• Initiation

 This step entails ascertaining the objective and boundary conditions of the project. During this step, managers must set straight goals and follow strategies for identifying the project’s objectives, pinpoint all relevant stakeholders, and create effective communication channels so everyone knows what is happening.

• Planning

Throughout this stage, a manager develops the project plan concerning the accomplishment of the various tasks in the project. A good plan should contain an agenda with time schedules, milestones set for this period, an estimate of funding, and a framework for managing possible risks.

• Execution

That’s where the rubber hits the road. This leads to implementing the plan into action, whereby a team continues to work on the project plan. 

• Monitoring and control

Well, by now, most of the work has gone down, and now it’s essential to measure progress (Through metrics, KPIs, etc) and make corrections if necessary; this usually goes through regular check-ins, status reports and performance metrics. 

Like that, problems are identified before they develop into issues, and managers can take whatever precautions they deem essential. 

• Closure

This is the project's closeout, completion, delivery of the product/service, closing evaluation, and delivering to stakeholders what was successful and unsuccessful.

You might be wondering why I should know all this. 

Well, there are many Reasons Why Studying Project Management Is a Milestone in The Success of Projects:

1. You can improve your career by knowing project management

2. You can get better jobs with better pay and benefits

3. You’ll be able to manage projects more effectively and efficiently

4.  You can save your company money and time 

5. You’ll be able to handle large projects more effectively

6.  Your tasks will be more successful

7.  And lastly, you’ll feel like a superhero!

Tips for the best practices in project management life cycle

Now that we've broken down project management into its five key stages and their characteristics, it's time to understand how to make the best of what we know through this series of tips designed to help you execute your management in the best way:

• Clearly Define Roles and Responsibilities

When executing the project, It's necessary to identify the roles and responsibilities of every team member to put everyone on the same page before launching the project itself; this will play a massive role in mastering the project's scope management and ensuring everything goes as planned.

This will also provide clarity so that there are no mixed messages and every person has an idea about their roles, making your employees more driven to do what's required.

• Communicate Effectively

 You know what they say: effective communication can make or break a project!

Like everything else in life, setting up communication channels when initiating the project and sustaining them during the process is the antidote to preventing any significant mistakes within the team and eliminating any possible conflicts.

• Use tools to streamline processes.

This is the time of the internet! Several project management tools are at your disposal, which can be used to make things more efficient and manage the team. Which of them is the best for you? Well, choose simple-to-use tools with the necessary functionalities for your project requirements. You can also follow funded training UK programmes if you’re still unsure which tools or data to use because when in doubt, always ask a professional.

• Track progress

Following up by regularly tracking progress and furnishing status reports is essential. Checking progress periodically helps reveal problems before they arise; reporting statuses and measuring performance can also help identify problems.

• Celebrate success

Lastly, remember to appreciate success. Great leaders are known for their appreciation of milestones and achievements among teammates and for recognising those who went the extra mile to ensure the standard of success is met. As a future leader, you should follow in these footsteps in your projects if you want them to be successful and sustainable.

One final thought

A project management life cycle can help you manage projects more effectively, but it’s important to remember that the life cycle itself is not a magical solution. It’s just a framework that can be used as a guide for managing projects better. Use your discretion and judgement when implementing these steps into your workflow, but remember that they should be applied with care and wisdom.