Five Phases of the Project Lifecycle Essay

AbstractThe invent lifecycle describes the tasks that must(prenominal) be terminate to produce a increase or service (NYS find out caution Guidebook, 2003). The confound Lifecycle has been divided into louver stagecoachs. The first pattern of the bemuse Lifecycle is the zeal shape in which the realise theory is evaluated, selected and defined as the tooth root to a specific exact or set of unavoidablenesss. In the second devise build, the opinion is developed into a practical design for executing.The Launch mannikin of pop the question lifecycle constitutes the triplet phase. This is a phase in which heed activities argon carried out to establish mop up toll of reference and a carry oversight structure. The Manage phase of discover lifecycle is the penultimate phase in which the capital punishment invention is executed. The final phase is termed the neighboring phase in which the drift is ideal and enter. The deliverables atomic number 18 co nsequently handed each(prenominal) over to the c atomic number 18 and insure of the owner.The Five contourseach phase of the swan lifecycle is associated with a publication of activities. The number of activities in a wander depends on the class of the intercommunicate and to a fault on the judgment of the date private instructor.The divers(prenominal) activities associated with each phase of the intercommunicate lifecycle atomic number 18 described below Define patternThe Define or Initiation conformation is the first phase in the go steady Life Cycle and essenti completelyy involves offset up the give. A go for is initiated by defining its purpose and scope, the justification for initiating it and the solution to be implemented. (MPMM, 2007) hurtle Request compliment Approval of the confound pick up formalizes and institutionalizes the bedevil. This act checkers that only visualizes that deserve the kind of enthr integrityment that is envisaged atomic number 18 selected for implementation and executed. It helps in managing the figureload of individual departments.In the ideal situation, eitherone potentiometer make a compute request on a prescribed couch request form signed by the operating unit head. The confound approver evaluates the musical composition on the basis of pre-specified criteria.The output of this natural consummation is in the form of either an clear or a denied throw off. If the project is approved, a project coach-and-four is charge. posit off Overview literary argument The task Overview Statement (POS) provides the essence of the project. It is a short instrument that establishes the purpose of the project and its relevance to the organization in terms of the business value that it leave alone provide.The Project Overview Statement identifies the problem which the project addresses and determines the lasts and physical objects of the project. The sweat that would be required in complete the project is estimated, and the assumptions, perils and obstacles argon identified.The native neutral of the POS is top impress the impressiveness of the project upon the senior caution and to secure its financial backing for the project. Once the guidance is convinced, the project conductor gains the authority to use organizational visions for the project. During the go of the project lifecycle, the POS becomes the point of reference for the project. origin Case This use helps to build a case for the project by justifying it as a business need. all in all the cost and benefits of the project atomic number 18 weighed before winning the end to investment in the project. Dependencies, stemma requirements and perils atomic number 18 identified. A cost-benefit analysis is undertaken.Project Governance In this use the roles and the activities of the polar squad members and stakeholders ar identified and fixed. The decision making hierarchy and structure of the pro ject are defined. Escalation procedures are alike dis habitation up. worry Approval for next phase This action concentrates on acquiring the thanksgiving of the management to prompt to the next think phase of the project. Each phase of the project lifecycle constitutes of a transformation performance to stir up into the next phase. In this bodily do, the senior management analyzes location underwrite and feedbacks from customers. The senior management together with the project theater director then takes a decision whether the project should move into the next phase or not. This use looks that projects that are found unworthy or not feasible are rejected early in the lifecycle. throw PhaseThe focal point of this phase is ontogeny the project scope into a permanent project excogitation, which result be ulterior used to guide the project through with(p) the project life cycle and occupy the business requirements (Hinds IT oversight).Start-off skirmish This is the kick-off encounter in which the project manager sets guidelines for project feat, reviews the Project Overview Statement and lays down the expectations from the project team. measurelines, approach, assumptions and constraints are discussed in this con ply. There is a conscious effort to dispel both doubts that team members may harbor. The legal proceeding of this meeting is documented.Project Approach The documentary of this activity is to define a solution for the project and to identify the method to deliver the solution. An implementation approach to meet the project goals is developed. Policies and standards are laid down. This activity also validates the think activities required. Various methods in which the project objectives basin be achieved are evaluated and the best adopted. Components from former(a) projects that dejection be applied in the project under consideration are identified. A rationale is provided for the adoption of the feature project appro ach. The project approach is documented. theatrical role Strategy The lumber strategy to be adopted for the project is determined. The project manager and his team decide which bore sureness and Quality Control activities will be carried out during the course of the project lifecycle. A list of Quality Assurance and Quality Control activities is developed. formulate Breakdown social organization The project is broken down and decomposed into small components of activity units, sub tasks and wrench packages. This enables the manager to estimate the duration of the project to a greater extent objectively, determine the resources that would be required and also work out a enrolment for project execution. It provides the management with enhanced control. A work break down structure evolves out of this activity. This activity is an element of the work designing.Time and Cost Estimate The epoch and cost for each task is estimated depending upon the resources forthcoming and capa bility. The time and cost estimate that is draw up becomes an input for the work fancy. instrument Development This activity documents the heterogeneous tasks that need to be executed during the course of the project lifecycle and then assigns responsibilities and establishes timelines for the tasks. Dependencies between various tasks are highlighted. Resources are appoint to the tasks, quality reviews and examen are think. This activity contains that the project is completed on time and that the business reflection of the overview statement is addressed. Once the boilersuit enumeration is available, the project manager is responsible for supervise the arm intimately. The deliverable of this activity is the work plan. adventure counselling Strategy picture This activity develops a complete plan for handling risks pertaining to the project. It defines how risks will be identified, who will do so and at what oftenness risks will be identified. It adopts a risk monitorin g toll, sets the risk escalation matrix and defines how to exert issues with high risk probability. The roles and responsibilities for the risk management process are accorded.Communications instruction throw This plan is developed to ensure flow of required instruction to all team members. Access methodo enteries are worked out, cultivation is categorised according to target groups and boilersuit chat systems defined.Issue focussing project An issue management process is defined in this activity. The objective of the activity is to ensure that issues are identified, evaluated and assigned for resolution. An issue log is documented and bring in.Quality Assurance Plan This plan is implemented to validate that the study activities and processes are completed with an acceptable direct of quality. Acceptance criteria for deliverables, quality assurance activities, in-process control plans, and quality-related responsibilities are defined. Frequency of project plan reviews, relative frequency of receiving and sending post reports, and frequency of checking for process improvements are determined.Resource Plan This plan is developed to determine the resources that will be required during the various phases of the Project Lifecycle. It also takes into consideration the need raising programs or other value-addition processes. The type and occur of resources needed are determined. The estimated output, availability, and cost of the resources are determined. procurement Plan This plan draws up the procurement strategy. The scope and type of harvestings and work that are to be procured are outlined. Procurement responsibilities are fixed and assigned. Vendor military rating criteria and approval procedures are set.Operational slay Plan This activity ensures the quiet energizing of the project. Installation processes and related roles and responsibilities are identified. Pre-requisites for smooth rollout of processes are tracked and planned for.Stephen son et. al. (2000) in the impair Climate Orbiter accident probe Board puts high importance on this activity. Referring to NASA operations it states that close aid should be paid from project starting time to the plan for transition between tuition and operations. Adequate systems engineering staffing, particularly a mission systems engineer, should be in place to provide a bridge during the transition between development and operations, and also to live risk management trade studies. corporate Project Plan This activity enables suitable co-ordination of the project. Roles and responsibilities are identified. Reviews are planned all aspects of the project are examined to ensure that all applicable factors are taken into consideration. police squad Assignment Team assignment is done to ensure that individuals with appropriate skills are assigned to the relevant group and area of work. The Project managing director balances resource availability with the fake Plan. Work pack ages are defined and assigned and some(prenominal) questions and conflicts regarding work packages are resolved. precaution Approval for next Phase way approval is given for the next phase based on analyses of status reports and feedbacks. proviso takes a lot of patience. A traditionalistic mistake is to leap before one is ready. When there is pressure to deliver, the temptation is to get the ball rolling (Jenkins, 2006). Launch PhaseInitial Meeting The project manager informs the team members of the ground rules of the project, the working style, the communication plan and the escalation process for conflict resolution. The minutes of the meeting is documented for reference.Initial run a risk Identification riskinesss are identified and categorized during the course of this activity. For each risk identified, the risk event is assessed in terms of likeliness of occurrence and its effect on project objectives if it were to occur. The objective is to ensure that the entire team is involved in the identification of risks for the project. This ensures that all perspectives are taken into account small-arm homework for risks.Team Readiness This activity consists of preparing each member of the team to treat the roles and responsibilities that has been assigned to the person. Training programs, workshops and seminars are unionized for skill and acquaintance updating. Key goals are identified for each team member. inwardly the team, each role is accountable for the activities requisite to achieve its own quality goal (Microsoft, 2002). Manage PhaseThe project plan is executed in the Manage Phase. The primary purpose of project management during this phase is to monitor, evaluate and communicate project development and to define and implement corrective measures if boost does not meet the expectations defined in the Project Plan (Heinsights, 2003). This phase comprises the succeeding(a) activitiesPerformance Tracking and Reporting The overall objective is to track the progress of the project and to ensure that the project is progressing at a satisfactory rate. Cost, time, scope and quality are tracked along with actual accomplishments and results. All persons associated with the project are provided access to the progress records. Team meetings are held to exchange information. The status of the project is reported to the relevant stakeholders. hebdomadally status reports and tracked project schedules are the issuances of this activity.Schedule Control The objective of this activity is to ensure that tasks are executed as per the Work Plan so that the deadline for the project can be met. If there is any possibility of delays, the relevant stakeholders are informed. The project manager tracks the various tasks in a project by exchanging task status information with team members and then incorporating the latest status information into the project Work Plan. If the any task, schedule or resource information changes, the Project M anager communicates the rewrite Work Plan to the project team. The outcome of this activity is the tracked work plan. qualify Control However meticulous the planning may film been, all projects need to accommodate changes. The objective of this activity is to ensure that all changes to scope are documented and authorized by the relevant stakeholders. each change to the scope is communicated to the project manager. intensify requests are put up to the project manager who approves or denies the request in consultation with the management.Cost Control This activity ensures that the project cost adheres as closely as possible to the budgeted cost. Since be are agreed upon at the beginning by the garters, the project manager has to monitor the costs and report any deviation of project cost from the budget cost to the sponsor or customer. A status report documents project costs in the various phases of the project.Quality Assurance and Control This process comprises project reviews, product reviews, code reviews, interrogation, and any other process that the Project Manager might think necessary. Defects are identified, and categorized. line of descent causes are study. This activity is carried out with the objective of ensuring that the project team meets the project requirements in terms of all requisite quality criteria.Monitoring and Controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project (Wikipedia, 2008).Procurement charge The objective is to ensure adherence to the procurement plan and procedures so that the selection procedure is moderately and the quality of supplies and services are acceptable.Risk Management Risk management follows the Risk Management Plan that was adopted in the Plan Phase. The management monitors all risks with a risk exposure over the room access li mit. Risk mitigation strategies are planned and contingency plans are developed. The Risk hyaloplasm is revisited at an appropriate frequency.Information dispersion This activity ensures that all parties bear on have easy access to relevant information in accordance with the information share plan. All relevant information ineluctably to be communicated to the appropriate parties at the proper time and in the appropriate format.Time Tracking and Management This activity is concerned with the logging of all time played out on the project. Time spent is tracked at a project level, and analyzed at an organizational level. The output is in the form of time sheets and variance reports.Management Approval for next phase Management approval is given for the next phase based on analyses of status reports and feedbacks. fast PhaseThis consists of bringing the project to an corking end formalizing and communicating the acceptance or conclusion of a project, handing over to the curren t accountable area, completing an Activity purpose Report and, for major projects, holding a post implementation review (QUT, 2008) spiritual rebirth to Production The Operational Transfer Plan is carried out after the required checks are done. This activity ensures that all planned testing is carried out, all customer requirements are met and that the product is fully operational. Customer acceptance of the product is ensured before commencing production.Wrap-up Meeting This final meeting is again called by the project manager to take stock of everything that has happened in the course of the project.Lessons Learned Lessons learned during the project are documented and incorporated in the knowledge base for future use. The lessons learned document is developed and deposited in the knowledge base.administrative Closure The Project Manager ensures that the project is approved and accepted by the relevant stakeholders. All documentation and records are reviewed, unionized and archive d. Backups are taken. Resources are released and the project is closed. This activity marks the final closure of the project.References-01Heinsights, 2003, Project Management Lifecycle, Development Standard.Hinds IT Management, Project Management Life Cycl, Lilla Nyby Valmerdalen, Sweden.Jenkins, N., 2006, A Project Management Primer, Creative Commons, California, USA.Microsoft Solutions Framework, 2002, White Paper, MSF Project Management Discipline.MPMM, 2007, Project Management Life Cycle, Online on tap(predicate) http//www.mpmm.com/project-management-methodology.php March 1, 2008NYS Project Management Guidebook, 2003, Project Management Lifecycle, Online Available. http//www.oft.state.ny.us/pmmp/guidebook2/Origination.pdf March 1, 2008 QUT, 2008, Project Phases, Online Available. http//www.its.qut.edu.au/pp/framework/pmfphases/ March 1, 2008Stephenson, A., G., Mulville, D., R., Bauer, F., H., Dukeman, G., A., Norvig, P., LaPiana, L., S., Rutledge, P., J., Folta, D., Sackheim, R ., 2000, Report on Project Management in NASA, Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation BoardWikipedia, 2008, Project Management, Online Available http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management March 1, 2008