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The Role of the Project Life Cycle (Life Span) in Project Management A literature review by

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If that is true, then it would be valuable to examine just what role the so-called project life cycle plays in the conduct of project management. And, moreover, has this changed over the years as we improve our understanding of the complexities of project management.

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Aaron Shenhar

project management life cycle literature review

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Mohammad Azam

Tyrone Van Stade

Aftab Hameed Memon

Life Cycle Management (LCM) has been employed in the management of construction projects worldwide for many years in order to reduce whole life cost, time, risk and for improving the service to owners. Despite an increasing enthusiasm to propose the LCM practice as a useful approach in an environmental context, the adoption and application of LCM in the construction projects remain limited. LCM can be implemented in various stages of a project lifecycle starting from project initiation phase until the project closure phase. However, in Malaysia LCM is still considered as a new practice and seems ambiguously understood in the construction industry in Malaysia. Objective: This study is to assess the level of implementation and different tools of LCM at various stages of construction projects. Results: The quantitative data for this study was gathered through questionnaire surveys among the contractors, consultants, architects and developers. The data obtained was analyzed using frequency analysis and cross tabulation analysis. From the analysis, it was found that although 102 (80%) of the respondents mentioned that they have applied LCM in their project but yet the level application is very low. Only sometimes in the project LCM is applied. Further, LCM is not applied throughout the lifecycle, various practitioner apply it partially and in a certain phase of project lifecycle. Conclusion: Life Cycle Management (LCM) application in infrastructure projects should be promoted to achieve it potential benefits through enforcement from the clients.

Abimbola Windapo

The paper examines the level of awareness of stakeholders in adopting Inherently Safer Design (ISD) principles in the Project Life Cycle Management (PLCM) of South African Energy utility projects. It seeks to understand whether stakeholders in the latter stages of the Project Life Cycle are competent to make design change decisions on these projects. ISD principles are essentially useful for reducing risks and as such, safety experts have acknowledged it as an excellent approach in the design process. However, there are no known efforts to date that attempt to integrate ISD concepts into PLCM. This paper seeks to fill this gap. This study, through the review of extant literature establishes that ISD principles can be used in project procurement, and adopts a quantitative survey approach in obtaining information from stakeholders in the South African utility industry. Findings reveal that the principles of inherent safety are permeating into the managmeent of South African utility projects but the level of awareness and its adoption are below optimal levels. It also emerged that there is a divergent awareness of ISD strategies amongst PLCM stakeholders and that the design engineers are better informed about the ISD approach of eliminating risks and hazards in the industrial systems studied than other stakeholders. The findings also indicate that the level of awareness of stakeholders of ISD principles is greater within earlier project phases. Based on these findings, the paper concludes that the hazards witnessed within the project execution and finalization phases could be as a result of the low levels of awareness, divergent views and lower use of ISD strategies by PLCM stakeholders. It is suggested that the level of awareness of the principles, concepts, basics and benefits of integrating ISD into PLCM be raised amongst stakeholders functioning within utility industry project procurement in South Africa and that design changes be limited to the earlier phases of utility project procurement.

… , 1998. Proceedings., 17th DASC. The AIAA/ …

Catalina Soare

Michael Stratton

A common dilemma management faces in managing projects, programs and portfolios are the continued rates of failure of projects and programs within those portfolios. Numerous studies have been done on what constitutes project/program success and a review of this literature by Cooke-Davies in his chapter entitled “Project success” in The Wiley guide to managing projects (2004, pp. 106-109) led him to postulate that there were really three levels of success related to projects, which in turn reflected upon an organization’s success: (a) "Project management success -- was the project done right?" (b) "Project success -- was the right project done?" and, (c)"Consistent project success – were the right projects done right, time after time?" Looking at these three factors denoting success, the questions of whether a particular project was done right and doing projects consistently is clearly in the hands of the project/program manager and their use of project management (PjM) processes, program management (PgM) processes, and key artifacts used in these processes. Whereas, the question of doing the right projects falls under the purview of a relatively recent field of study that has risen out of the project management discipline: portfolio management (PfM). The project/program manager plays a key role in each of the three disciplines, and in many cases, has a hand in the development and maintenance of the key artifacts used by the three disciplines. This study provides practitioners and scholars with quantitative research to aid them in their study and use of the PfM, PM and PgM processes, artifacts, and execution of roles within the three sets of processes. This study also begins to fill the gap that currently exists in the literature, especially with regard to quantitative research-based studies on the intersection of the PfM, PM and PgM processes and artifacts.

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International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics

AHFE 2018: Advances in Human Factors, Business Management and Society pp 405–414 Cite as

Agile Project Management and Project Success: A Literature Review

  • Thomas Bergmann 17 &
  • Waldemar Karwowski 17  
  • Conference paper
  • First Online: 27 June 2018

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31 Citations

Part of the Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing book series (AISC,volume 783)

Agile project management (APM) has recently emerged as a new and different way of managing projects. Some experts are already voicing the opinion that APM will become the project management of the 21st century. However, so far APM has not impacted project management as much as it should have. Its focus was mainly on IT projects. The literature on APM is still in its early stages, and more research needs to be done in areas other than software development. Therefore, the present paper provides a review of the existing literature in the agile project management domain. It compares traditional to modern project management, specifically APM, and discusses the influence of project complexity factors. Further, it reviews different frameworks of project success and critical success factors. Finally, it recommends APM dimensions irrespective of project types, which potentially could impact the success of a project.

  • Agile project management
  • Project complexity
  • Project success
  • Critical success factors

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Thomas Bergmann & Waldemar Karwowski

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Bergmann, T., Karwowski, W. (2019). Agile Project Management and Project Success: A Literature Review. In: Kantola, J.I., Nazir, S., Barath, T. (eds) Advances in Human Factors, Business Management and Society. AHFE 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 783. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94709-9_39

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, impacts of covid-19 on construction project management: a life cycle perspective.

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

ISSN : 0969-9988

Article publication date: 7 June 2022

Issue publication date: 1 September 2023

The impacts of COVID-19 on construction projects have attracted much attention in the construction management research community. Nevertheless, a systematic review of these studies is still lacking. The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyze the impacts of COVID-19 on the different stages of a project life-cycle, and comprehensively sort out the epidemic response measures adopted by project participants. In addition, the study also attempts to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by project management practitioners under the context of COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

This study comprehensively demonstrates the systematic review process of COVID-19 related research in the construction industry, systematically summarizes the research status of the impact of COVID-19 on construction projects, and defines the strategies to deal with COVID-19 in project management; and through the visualization research, determines the current key research topics and future research trends.

This study identifies 11 construction activities in the project management life cycle that are affected by COVID-19 and finds that the COVID-19 epidemic has the greatest impact on construction workers, construction standards, construction contracts and construction performance. The study further summarizes the six main epidemic countermeasures and mitigation measures taken within the construction industry following the arrival of the epidemic. In addition, the results of this study identify opportunities and future trends in intelligent construction technology, rapid manufacturing engineering and project management in the construction industry in the post-epidemic era through literature results, which also provide ideas for related research.

Practical implications

COVID-19 has brought severe challenges to society. It is of great significance for the future sustainable development of the construction industry to identify the impact of COVID-19 on all phases of the project and to promote the development of coping strategies by project stakeholders.

Originality/value

First of all, there is little study comprehensively reviewing the impacts of COVID-19 on the different stages of construction projects and the strategies to deal with the negative impacts. In addition, from a life cycle perspective, the used articles in this study were grouped into different categories based on project stages. This promotes an integrated and comprehensive understanding of historical studies. Moreover, on the basis of a comprehensive review, this paper puts forward future research directions to promote the sustainable development of the construction sector.

  • Project construction management
  • Project life cycle
  • Opportunities
  • Literature review

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the professionals who collaborated on this study. The authors would also like to thank all the reviewers who provided suggestions to improve this paper.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China ( 72071096, 71971100, 71671078); the Social Science Fund of Jiangsu Province (19GLB005, 19GLB018); The Key Project of Philosophy and Social Science Research in Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province (2018SJZDI052) sponsored by Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province; the Key Research Base of Universities in Jiangsu Province for Philosophy and the Social Science Research Center for Green Development and the Environmental Governance.

Declaration of competing interest: There is no conflict of interest.

Li, Z. , Jin, Y. , Li, W. , Meng, Q. and Hu, X. (2023), "Impacts of COVID-19 on construction project management: a life cycle perspective", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management , Vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 3357-3389. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-10-2021-0873

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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. 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.

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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. 

example of the project lifecycle in stages.

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. 

Gantt chart example.

Example of a Gantt chart. Source: Wrike, accessed November 2023. 

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. 

monday.com ss.

Example of project management software. Source: monday.com, accessed November 2023. 

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. 

Slack ss.

Example of team chat features in Slack. Source: Slack, accessed November 2023. 

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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Phase Reviewsin the Project Management Life Cycle

As a Project Manager , would you like to review your project management life cycle to see if it€™s on track?

At regular points during the Project ManagementLifecycle , you€™ll need to perform a formal project review (otherwise known as a stage gate review), to determine whether your project is on track. To help you do this, we€™ve described how to:

How to Perform Project Reviews Efficiently

There are many ways that a project management life cycle can be reviewed to determine its current status. These include:

  • Quality Assurance & Control Reviews
  • Project Audits & Independent Reviews
  • Post Implementation Reviews
  • User Acceptance Reviews

But the most important type of project review is completed at the end of each project phase, it€™s called a €œPhase Review€.

A Phase Review is a formal review of the project undertaken by the Project Manager, to determine whether the project is currently on schedule, within budget and has generated all of the required deliverables to date. The results are documented in a Phase Review Form which is presented to the Project Board, to gain the approval to proceed to the next phase in the Project Lifecycle.

You need to complete a Phase Review at the end of each phase, to allow your board to determine whether your project has achieved its objectives to date and is ready to proceed to the next phase.

Step 1: Identify your Review Criteria

The first step is to identify the criteria that you€™re going to review the project against. Examples of review criteria are:

  • Have the business benefits been defined?
  • Was the feasibility of the solution determined?
  • Is the project on schedule as per the Project Plan?
  • Is the project within budget as per the Financial Plan?
  • Has the project produced the required deliverables?
  • Have there been any substantial changes?
  • Are there any critical project risks?
  • Are there any high priority issues?

Step 2: Complete the Phase Review

Having defined your review criteria, you€™re now ready to conduct your Phase Review, to determine whether the above criteria have been adequately satisfied. To perform the review, you will need to assess the project€™s performance against the project plan, financial plan and quality plan. You will also want to check that all of the deliverables have been produced and that the quality targets have been met.

As well as determining whether the project is currently on-track, the review should also check that the project team have all of the resources needed to complete the project. For instance, if you need additional support, funding, people, equipment or materials, then this is the time to ask for it from your project board.

Step 3: Fill-in a Phase Review Form

You need 3 phase review forms at your disposal:

  • Initiation Phase Review Form
  • Planning Phase Review Form
  • Execution Phase Review Form

Complete the relevant form, depending on the phase you have just completed within your project. The form will help you to summarize the results of your phase review. You will need to clearly communicate the current status of your project, if you wish to obtain all of the resources needed to proceed to the next phase in the project lifecycle.

Step 4: Gain Approval to Proceed

As the Project Manager, you€™ll then present your Phase Review Form at a board meeting held specifically to discuss the current status of the project and decide on its continuation. At this meeting, you will present:

  • The original project vision, objectives, scope and deliverables
  • The deliverables completed by the project to date
  • The progress of the project against the delivery dates
  • Any areas of slippage, in terms of time, cost and quality
  • Any key issues and risks that require attention

The Project Board will assess this information and reach one of the following conclusions:

  • Approve the project to proceed to the next phase
  • Request additional work be undertaken to complete this phase
  • Delay, transfer or close the project

Completing a Phase Review is a critical step in delivering a successful project, as it gives your Project Board more control and it helps you to share with them the responsibility for the delivery of the project.

By taking these 4 steps, you can ensure that your project progresses smoothly through each of the project managementlife cycle phases, with the full support of your Project Board.

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IMAGES

  1. The project life cycle: your complete guide

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  2. What Are The 4 Project Management Life Cycle Phases?

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  3. A Complete Life Cycle of Project Management by ProThoughts

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  5. A Complete Guide to the Project Management Lifecycle

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  6. 5 Basic Phases of a Project Management Life Cycle

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COMMENTS

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  8. PDF Projects and Their Management: A Literature Review

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    Literature review and research objectives. Despite the universalist nature of project management methodologies, different contexts exhibit different approaches to project management (Hanisch & Wald Citation 2012).As a consequence, there has been a call to investigate the adoption of project management methodologies in different environments (e.g. Marshall & Fischer Citation 2006).

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  17. PDF A Literature Review on Project Management System

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  18. Project risk management: A review of an institutional project life cycle

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