Running head: PROJECT LIFE CYCLE 1PROJECT LIFE CYCLE 11

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTPROJECT MANAGEMENTCC603ASSIGNMENT 1

PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

Lectures Name : Dr. Khalid Gazi Bin Hj. Ali

Lectures Comments :

Submit date : 26 Jul 2015

NameNo. Matrix

Mohammad Shahrul Hazrin Bin Mahad Hamdi16DKA13F1119

Marks :%

Introduction of Project Life CycleThe project manager and project team have one shared goal: to carry out the work of the project for the purpose of meeting the projects objectives. Every project has a beginning, a middle period during which activities move the project toward completion, and an ending (either successful or unsuccessful). A standard project typically has the following four major phases (each with its own agenda of tasks and issues): initiation, planning, execution or implementation, and closure. Taken together, these phases represent the path a project takes from the beginning to its end and are generally referred to as the project life cycle.Project life cycle also have defined phases between the project kickoff and project closeout. A phase represents a grouping of similar activities that has a very loosely defined beginning and end. Phases are typically sequential, where the prior phase is essentially complete before the beginning of the next phase; however, phases do not have clear-cut end dates and some activities in an early phase of the project will continue into the later phases. This is in contrast to project beginning and ending dates and milestone dates, which do have clearly defined dates with the expectation that these dates will be met.

The Phases of Project Life CycleEvery project has certain phases of development. A clear understanding of these phases allows managers and executives to maintain control of the project more efficiently. By definition, a project has a beginning and an end and passes through several phases of development known as life cycle phases. These phases are varied depending upon the industry involved but all follow the same basic steps. It is important to realize that the project life cycle for each project may differ, in both the number of phases it may have and the detail within each of these phases.The project life cycle consists of four phases, initiation, planning, execution (including monitoring and controlling) and evaluation. Initiation involves starting up the project, by documenting a business case, feasibility study, terms of reference, appointing the team and setting up a Project Office. Planning involves setting out the roadmap for the project by creating the following plans: project plan, resource plan, financial plan, quality plan, acceptance plan and communications plan. Execution involves building the deliverables and controlling the project delivery, scope, costs, quality, risks and issues. Closure involves winding-down the project by releasing staff, handing over deliverables to the customer and completing a post implementation review.

Initiation PhaseDuring the first of these phases, the initiation phase, the project objective or need is identified; this can be a business problem or opportunity. An appropriate response to the need is documented in a business case with recommended solution options. A feasibility study is conducted to investigate whether each option addresses the project objective and a final recommended solution is determined. Issues of feasibility (can we do the project?) and justification (should we do the project?) are addressed.Once the recommended solution is approved, a project is initiated to deliver the approved solution and a project manager is appointed. The major deliverables and the participating work groups are identified, and the project team begins to take shape. Approval is then sought by the project manager to move onto the detailed planning phase.

Planning PhaseAfter defining the project and appointing the project team, you're ready to enter the detailed Project Planning phase. This involves creating a suite of planning documents to help guide the team throughout the project delivery. Planning involves identifying and scheduling the work packages or activities necessary to perform the work; constructing estimates of duration, cost, and resources; developing plans to ensure quality, manage risks, and control scope; establishing communications and reporting strategies; acquiring resources, both people and contracts; and integrating these elements into a comprehensive planning document.The planning phase is where the project solution is further developed in as much detail as possible and you plan the steps necessary to meet the projects objective. In this step, the team identifies all of the work to be done. The projects tasks and resource requirements are identified, along with the strategy for producing them. This is also referred to as scope management. A project plan is created outlining the activities, tasks, dependencies and timeframes. The project manager coordinates the preparation of a project budget; by providing cost estimates for the labor, equipment and materials costs. The budget is used to monitor and control cost expenditures during project execution.Execution PhaseDuring the third phase, the implementation phase, the project plan is put into motion and the work of the project is performed. It is important to maintain control and communicate as needed during implementation. Progress is continuously monitored and appropriate adjustments are made and recorded as variances from the original plan. In any project, a project manager spends most of the time in this step. During project implementation, people are carrying out the tasks, and progress information is being reported through regular team meetings. The project manager uses this information to maintain control over the direction of the project bycomparing the progress reportswith the project plan to measurethe performance of the project activities and take corrective action as needed. The first course of action should always be to bring the project back on course(i.e., to return it to the original plan). If that cannot happen, the team should record variations from the original plan and record and publish modifications to the plan.Throughout this step, project sponsors and other key stakeholders should be kept informed of the projects status according to the agreed-on frequency and format of communication. The plan should be updated and published on a regular basis.Status reports should always emphasize the anticipated end point in terms of cost, schedule, and quality of deliverables. Each project deliverable produced should be reviewed for quality and measured against the acceptance criteria. Once all of the deliverables have been produced and the customer has accepted the final solution, the project is ready for closure.Closure PhaseDuring the final closure, or completion phase, the emphasis is on releasing the final deliverables to the customer, handing over project documentation to the business, terminating supplier contracts, releasing project resources, and communicating the closure of the project to all stakeholders. The last remaining step is to conduct lessons-learned studies to examine what went well and what didnt. Through this type of analysis, the wisdom of experience is transferred back to the project organization, which will help future project teams.Many projects skip this phase. Once the Execution Phase is complete, they simply move on. It's unfortunate since they really don't know if the project objectives have been met, don't organize the project artifacts to be easily found for future project's reference, and don't identify the key issues and lessons learned by the project that can be applied to future projects.Performing Project Closure will benefit both your company and your career. If you do this well, you will set yourself up to lead high-visibility, business-critical projects. So make sure your projects go through the full project management life cycle.

The Diagram of Project Life Cycle

Diagram 1.1: Project Life Cycle Phase

Diagram 1.2: Project Management Knowledge Areas

Diagram 1.3: Phases of the Project Life Cycle

Diagram 1.4: Project Management Output

Diagram 1.5: Project Initial Phase Key Steps

Diagram 1.6: Project Planning Phase Key Steps

Diagram 1.7: Project Execution Phase Details

Diagram 1.8: Project Closure PhaseThe Characteristic of Project Life CycleProject life cycle descriptions can be very general or very detailed. Highly detailed descriptions of life cycles can include forms, charts, and checklists to provide structure and control. Most project life cycles share a number of common characteristics:i. Phases are generally sequential and are usually defined by some form of technical information transfer or technical component handoff.ii. Cost and staffing levels are low at the start, peak during the intermediate phases, and drop rapidly as the project draws to a conclusion. Figure 2-1 illustrates this pattern.iii. The level of uncertainty is highest and, hence, risk of failing to achieve the objectives is greatest at the start of the project. The certainty of completion generally gets progressively better as the project continues.iv. The ability of the stakeholders to influence the final characteristics of the projects product and the final cost of the project is highest at the start, and gets progressively lower as the project continues. A major contributor to this phenomenon is that the cost of changes and correcting errors generally increases as the project continues.

The phase of a project represents the completion of one or more deliverables and identifies the technical works and other activities needed in each of the phases.

Characteristic

i. Cost and staffing levels:- The concentration of cost and staffing are slight at the beginning, increasing toward the completion and decreasing rapidly toward the finishing of the project.

ii. Adding value:- The ability to control costs and add value to the projects output is at its greatest during the Conceptual Phase and at its least during the Finishing Phase.

iii. Probability of project success:- At the start of the project, the chance of successfully completing the project is lowest; therefore, the risk and uncertainty are highest. The likelihood of successful completion generally gets progressively higher as the project continues.

iv. Potential savings and cost to change:- As a project progresses, the cost of alteration or addition increases. The earlier in the project life cycle that errors are identified, the cheaper they are to correct. As the project progresses, the ability to achieve savings diminishes. Similarly, the cost to change increases as the project progresses through the Project Life Cycle.

v. Ability of stakeholders influence:- Generally, at the start of the project, the stakeholders are able to influence the final characteristics of the projects outcome and the final cost of the project.

vi. Uncertainty and financial commitment:- The level of uncertainty and risk is highest during the Conceptual and Development Phases and, as more information about the project is known, it will gradually be reduced through the Execution Phase. Unlike financial commitment, it is usually lower during the initial phases and much higher during the Execution Phase.

vii. Production of information:- The information developed during the Conceptual and Development Phases will be used in the Execution and Finishing Phases. Thus, it is important to ensure that the project management information system and communication plans are established early.

Table 1.1: Characteristics of the Project Life Cycle

In todays dynamic and competitive business environment, many organizations are realizing the importance of project management. Project management has appeared as a trend in the continuing performance improvement in organizations. Therefore, it is important for facility management professionals to understand the phases of the Project Life Cycle, its characteristics and implications in carrying out the functions of project management.

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