Project life Cycle of project is its journey where a project face multiple phases or Waves like initiation, planning, execution, managing, escalation, risk etc. Its something like a plant growing to become a tree and during his journey from Plan to tree there are multiple Season like summer, Winter, Rain, Wind, Thunderstorm and other challenges, but if that plant will get right direction and care then it will grow. Same with Project sometime Project also need direction and support from experts during his life cycle.
Although, project life cycle is depending on nature of project and requirement, but generally Project life cycle is from plan-driven to change-driven.
Plan Driven Project
Plan-driven projects may have predictive life cycles (also known as waterfall or traditional life cycles), in predictive life cycle approach, all requirements include SOW, Schedule, Cost, time etc. are decided in early stage of the project life cycle.
Change-driven projects
Change-driven projects, use iterative, incremental, or adaptive (Agile) life cycles. They will have varying levels of early planning for scope, schedule, and cost.
Let’s understand what Iterative and Increment or adaptive means:
Iterative and Incremental life Cycle:
iterative process makes progress through continuous refinement while an incremental process makes progress through small increments. So if I am a PM for an IT project, an iterative approach would be to initially build the overall DC and then refine the weak areas, while an incremental approach would be to build each individual Server or IT Racks one at a time.
Adaptive Life Cycle:
Adaptive life cycles involve fixed time and cost, and scope is broadly defined with the understanding that it will be refined as the project progresses.
As per PMBOK 5th Edition: The adaptive life cycle is also called a flexible or change-focused method (or agile or change-driven methods) and it responds to immensely high levels of change as well as the ongoing participation of different parties involves. In the adaptive life cycle, the overall scope of a project is broken down into different sets of requirements or sub-projects that will be undertaken individually. During the iteration, the functionalities of the cycle will be discussed, implemented and, finally, reviewed by the client.
The advantage of the adaptive life cycle is that it is appropriate for projects that involve higher levels of complexity and uncertainties such that each iteration of this particular project life cycle should address issues for every task and each task should be completed before another task is undertaken. The risk is minimized for this particular project life cycle.
Project Phases
A project may be divided into any number of phases depending on the size and complexity of the project. Project phases can be completed sequentially or can overlap in some project situations.
Note: There is not mandatory or compulsion to use the same phases or project is fit for all phase structure. There will be multiple aspects or variation within organizations and among projects of similar nature within an organization. Support in some project we need to prepare a feasibility report. In some project feasibility report can be a part of parallel activity, in some organization or project it can be a First phase of project and some other organization or project may consider this is a separate activity. So, it depends on the requirement and nature of projects.
Phase-to-Phase Relationships
Relation between Phases depends on the project requirement and stages and status. Some time we start parallel/sequential phases or sometime overlap as well. It depends like may be client can have Time limitation or cost etc. but it requires good team and extra efforts from project manager to manage all phase.
Below is Phase-to-Phase Relationships:
- Sequential Relationship
- Overlapping Relationship
Sequential Relationship
In Sequential Relationship next phase can starts only when the previous phase is complete. Its kind of step-by-step approach.
Overlapping Relationship
In this relationship, a phase starts prior to completion of the previous one. This approach may require additional resources, project management efforts, client efforts to ensure work can be done in parallel, but it may increase risk, and can result in rework if the subsequent phase starts progressing before accurate information is available from the previous phase.
So, far we have discussed a lot about project phases, process, project manager etc, but do you know how project is come out? I mean, how you would know that you need to execute or manage this project? From your management / Sales or PMO rights. But actually, what all those parameters which actually create the demand or requirement to make it a project or initiate a project. I remember one Phrase “If you do not have opportunities then Create it” But How? What I need to do?
Let’s Understand some of the parameter which can create an opportunity that you or your organization will convert that opportunity in a successful project.
How Project Opportunities identified
- Need and Demand
The business might drive the need for a project, customers might demand changes to products, or legal requirements might create the need for a new project. Projects can come out as a result of a need or demand. Once those needs and demands are identified, the next logical step might include performing a feasibility study to determine the viability of the project.
- Market Demand
Marketplace demand is always a game changer for a project. If there are any need to be there in market, then organization has been upgrade and full fill market demand and it create the project requirement, Suppose Cloud Computing. Cloud computing or services are on the Top now days and it is market requirement that organization should be migrate to cloud and it create new demand of engineers, project plant, implementation and jobs as well.
- Strategic opportunity/business need
Some time management to announce some initiative towards new business and once it will announced and became a target for that team or organization then it will converted as business need now. Team has been achive that goal / target to fulfill business need.
- Customer request
As per my experience, this is actually reasoned to initiate a project. When client demands something then we have to deliver as per our agreed contract. Most of the IT and Non-IT organization have Clients, and we are serving some services as part of production, operation, monitoring, managing etc. and to sustain in the business, organization cannot stick with one process or business, it has to be grown with new business and opportunities. Sometime these requirements initiated by Customer end and sometimes it will be proposed by vendor or organizations.
5. Technological advancement
Technology advancement or upgradation or migration is one of requirement to initiate or trigger any project. Suppose earlier we were focusing to build DC /DR or Server room in house for better control and security. But now Cloud computing is highly recommended or requirement from Client. Now IT organizations has to upgrade their man-power skill and their technology to migrate or adopt Cloud computing technologies.
6. Ecological impacts
Many organizations today are undergoing a “greening” effort to reduce energy consumption, save fuel, reduce their carbon footprint, and so on. These are examples of ecological impacts that result in projects.
7. Social need
Some time there are Social Need to develop project for social requirement, like safety equipment, Vaccination for protect some critical diseases, new seed experiment for farmers, new technologies for agriculture and many more.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, project lifecycle and phases are the period where project are identified, initiated, planned, execute, Monitored and formally declared as closure. Project lifecycle and phases can be more in count which is depending on the nature and requirement of the project.
(Reference: PMP PMBOOK by PMI)
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