PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management



Project Management

Project Management Phases and Processes

Structuring Your Project

Control each project phase with an exit gate.

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For all the projects except for minor ones, project managers who are experienced in the field of project management utilizes well developed project management methodologies. These methodologies are often defined in published system like PMBOK abbreviated as Project Management Body of Knowledge or PRINCE2. Besides these two mentioned methodologies there are certain customize approaches which can also be used specifically within an organization.

These different techniques possess some variations in emphasis and they try to use slightly different term but as a rule of thumb they only share two key features. Projects are delivered in steps and many similar project management processes move through these stages. These steps are represented below in figure 1.

These approaches have some differences in emphasis, and they tend to use slightly different terminology, but they generally share two key features: projects are delivered in stages, and certain common project management processes run across these stages.

This is illustrated in figure 1, below.

Figure [1]

Project Management Structure

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Project Phases

Stages and phases are very important from the point of view of project managers. By establishing a thinking approach in terms of steps, one can assure that the produced deliverables at the termination of each phase fulfill their cause, and the team members of project are adequately prepared for the next phase of the project.

First, we identify the required deliverables for every phase from the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The WBS is drafted as a portion of our activities of preparation and then it is to be validated by the remaining team of the project.

At the end of each phase, a person has to sign off the deliverables from that particular phase. In the phase of preparation, it is required to think over the fact that who will approve the requirements of each and every deliverable. Approvers may include the project board members, sponsor of project or key stakeholders of the project.

After the approval of these deliverables, the phase of approval is completed and the team of the project can now move from the “gate” to the next phase. This is the core reason why the term of 'gate' or 'stage' often associated with the study of project management. The exact phases and the order of their completion may slightly drift depending on the requirement of the project. The phases of project are as follows:

Project strategy and business case.

Preparation.

Design.

Development and testing.

Training and business readiness.

Support and benefits realization.

Project close.

Now, we are going to explore each phase in more detail.

Strategy of Project and business case

In this particular phase it is required to clearly define the overall requirements of the business and the proposed approach or methodology that is associated with it.

The gate at the termination of this particular phase is termed as the approval of our final proposal for the project and the business case associated with validating the approach we want to utilize in our ...