The success of the project is a project manager (we call it PM) worth of gold. Many people are thinking that job of project manager is just to remind everyone about what all have to do by the team member, deadline and bridge between team and stockholders of the project and keep update about the status, BUT that is not the case.

Project Management is the science, they have the deep understanding of the project, and process and execution, there are five phases of project management. In this article will cover phases entail and share tips for success during each stage of Project.

Project Management Institute (PMI) had to define five phases of Project Management which include conception and initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and Project close. PMI began in 1969, is the world’s largest nonprofit membership association for the project management profession. It has set the standards for project, program, and portfolio management and offers training and certifications. The gold standard of certification from the association is the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. There are seven other certifications available for different types of project management.

Phase 1: Project Initiation

This is the first part of any of the project, and in this phase, PM has to define the project at a broader level. This phase will start with the business case. Also in this phase PM need to do feasibility test to make sure that project is feasible and should be undertaken.

PM needs to create PID (Project Initiation Document) once the stakeholders will decide to “GO”, this document will outline the purpose of the requirements of the project, and it should also include business needs, business case.

The project manager will find PID templates online, PMBOK guidelines available online to get started.

Phase 2: Project Planning

This is a key phase to successful project management and focuses on developing project roadmap that everyone will follow throughout the project. This phase will start with setting goals and to do that there are two methods, S.M.A.R.T. and CLEAR

S.M.A.R.T. Goals – This is the method will help to ensure that the goals have been validated, it also provides a way to understand the implications of the goal and process.

Specific – To set specific goals, answer the following questions: who, what, where, when, which, and why.
Measurable – Create criteria that you can use to measure the success of a goal.
Attainable – Identify the most important goals and what it will take to achieve them.
Realistic – You should be willing and able to work toward a particular goal.
Timely – Create a timeframe to achieve the goal.

You will find many templates online on this.

C.L.E.A.R. Goals – It is the new methodology of setting goals that take into today’s environment of fast-paced business.

Collaborative – The goal should encourage employees to work together.
Limited – They should be limited in scope and time to keep it manageable.
Emotional – Goals should tap into the passion of employees and be something they can form an emotional connection with. This can optimize the quality of work.
Appreciable – Break larger goals into smaller tasks that can be quickly achieved.
Refine-able – As new situations arise, be flexible and refine goals as needed.

During this phase, PM will define the scope of the project and project management plan will be developed.it also involves identifying the cost, quality, available resource, and timetable. This also includes establishing baselines of the project, the baseline will determine if the project is on track or not.

Once the roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, each one involved in the project will know there accountability, there are few more documents need to create during this phases to make sure that project is on track.

1. Scope statement
2. Work breakdown schedule (WBS)
3. Milestones
4. Gantt Chart
5. Communication Plan
6. Risk Management Plan

Phase 3: Project Execution

In this phase deliverables are developed and completed, you will often feel like the meat of the project since a lot of happening during this time, you have to send status reports, meetings with stockholders, development updates and performance reports. The kick-off meeting is the start of the Project Execution phase. In this phase Project teams will be involved and informed their responsibilities.

Below are the tasks executed during Execution Phase:

• Develop team
• Assign resources
• Execute project management plans
• Procurement management if needed
• PM directs and manages project execution
• Set up tracking systems
• Task assignments are executed
• Status meetings
• Update project schedule
• Modify project plans as needed
• Select Project Management tool and start using it to track the process.

During this phase Project Manager is also execute Monitoring Phase, as both the phases’ executed simultaneously.

Phase 4: Project Performance/Monitoring

This phase is all about measuring the project progress and performance to ensur that everything is as per the project management plan. PM will use KIPs (Key Performance Indicators to determine that the project is on track.

Below are the few of the KIPs for Project manager to measure the performance:

• Project Objectives: Measuring if a project is on schedule and budget is an indication if the project will meet stakeholder objectives.
• Quality Deliverables: This determines if specific task deliverables are being met.
• Effort and Cost Tracking: PMs will account for the effort and cost of resources to see if the budget is on track. This type of tracking informs if a project will meet its completion date based on current performance.
• Project Performance: This monitors changes in the project. It takes into consideration the amount and types of issues that arise and how quickly they are addressed. These can occur from unforeseen hurdles and scope changes.

In this phase, PM may need to adjust resource vs schedules to make sure that project is on track.

Phase 5: Project Closure

This is completion phase of any project. We call this Project as Thanks Giving phase, in which PM will organize for a valuable team member for recognition, people who participated in the project to thank them for efforts. PM will also hold a meeting for post-mortem to evaluate about project success or failure, this will help to improve for future projects.

This is not the end for Project Managers, once the project is completed they need to create project punch list, final project budget, and final project report.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article and learn something out of it, please write your comment in below section, this will help me to improve in my next article, also if you want to be a blog contributor, feel free to reach out to me.