The Project Life Cycle Explained: 5 Phases of Project Management

There are many ways to run a project. But to run a project successfully, you have to consider all aspects of the project—from scope and budget to the tasks and conversations that take place after the project is launched and executed.

Traditionally, project management involves 5 key phases, and these stages form what is known as a project life cycle. 

In this article, we’ll define the project life cycle and cover each phase of the project management process. We’ll also share resources and templates you can use at every step. 

What is the project life cycle?

The project life cycle is a framework that represents the 5 key phases of project management: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure. 

The project life cycle is important because it provides firm footing for effective project management. It gives project managers a clear structure for guiding projects successfully from concept to delivery, maturity, and finally completion.

5 phases of the project management life cycle

As I mentioned, the project management life cycle is made up of 5 essential steps:

1. Project initiation & conception
2. Project planning
3. Project execution
4. Project monitoring & control
5. Project closure

In some ways, these stages show what goes on behind the scenes before a project might even come to a project manager’s attention.

If this process feels too rigid for you, that’s okay! Pick up the fundamentals, understand how the steps are formalized, and adapt the process to fit your project, team, or organization.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each step of the project life cycle in more detail.

1. Project initiation phase

Project initiation is arguably the most critical phase of the project life cycle. That's because what happens here will set the tone and goals for what’s to come. 

A project usually arises from a business need or goal aimed at solving a problem or exploring new ways to do business. For instance, if a company is looking to cut down the number of customer service calls they receive, they’ll investigate what’s driving the number of calls. That research will then inform what can be done to reduce the number of calls.

The best way to understand the challenges and objectives is through a project brief or charter that outlines the business case and provides a high-level overview of project details, such as goals, constraints, risks, and deliverables. This kind of background is invaluable to a team when kicking off a project. It’s also a great way to get all involved parties and stakeholders aligned on what’s to come.

While you can proceed without every detail documented, it’s a good idea to get buy-in on project objectives and intended outcomes during the initiation phase of the life cycle.

Key steps in the initiation stage of the project life cycle

• Identify the why behind the project—usually the business case and goals
• Conduct a feasibility study and/or SWOT analysis
• Create a stakeholder register to identify key project players
• Develop a project charter or brief
• Hold a project kickoff meeting

2. Project planning phase

The project planning stage is where you’ll lay out the details of your entire project from beginning to end. The plan you create here will lead your team through the execution, performance, and closure phases of the project life cycle.

As part of your project management plan, you’ll want to consider these factors:

• Project timeline: This should include deadlines for key project milestones (like deliverable reviews and meetings). Be sure to build in plenty of time for approval processes.
• Project scope: Projects tend to go off the rails without some level of constraint or control. Clearly document how much time has been allotted for the project and what the deliverables include. You can always adjust the guardrails later if needed.
• Project communication: Set expectations for how and when you’ll communicate as a team. Communication plans are particularly valuable for projects with cross-functional teams or external stakeholders.
• Potential risks: It’s the project manager’s job to look out for risks and report them to the team. The best way to do this is to conduct a risk assessment that identifies foreseeable risks and how to avoid them.
• Project estimates: Good estimation sets the stage for better project management because it’s easier to tell when things go off track. Consider using a work breakdown structure (WBS) to itemize tasks and estimate effort. 
• General workflow and process: This should include internal workflows for project teams, as well as how you’ll work with stakeholders, to ensure you get it all done on time and under budget.
• Team roles and responsibilities: A responsibility assignment matrix can help you outline clear roles for everyone involved in the project.

Once you estimate the project’s time and effort, you can create a project plan that lays out phases, tasks, resources, responsibilities, milestones, and deadlines. Using a gantt chart tool like TeamGantt can truly help you to build a well-defined plan that’s easy to understand and update.

Explore our library of free project management templates, and save time on every aspect of your project plan.

Key steps in the planning stage of the project life cycle

• Set SMART goals for the project
• Define and document the project scope and requirements
• Create a project roadmap with a detailed timeline of tasks and milestones
• Estimate project time and costs
• Assess resource availability and assign task roles and responsibilities
• Catalog potential project risks and establish a contingency plan
• Document expectations for project communication
• Create a stakeholder engagement plan
• Develop a procurement plan for third-party suppliers and tools
• Outline a financial plan that fits the project budget
  

3. Project execution phase

In this phase of the project life cycle, the team is off and running! The project execution stage is typically the longest in the project management process because it’s when the actual work is done. You’ll find teams collaborating, reviewing work, presenting to stakeholders, and revising.

In the previous phase, a project manager does a lot of heavy-lifting. During project execution, a project manager guides the team—and stakeholders—through a series of tasks and milestones.

In this life cycle step, a project manager typically oversees the project budget, timeline, resources, and risk. That’s a lot to be responsible for! So how do project managers handle all of it? They stick to the plan. 

All of the documentation you create during the planning stage comes together to form a holistic project management plan. Use those documents as your source of truth to guide decisions and create efficient workflows during project execution.

Don’t forget to stay tuned-in to what’s happening with the team. This can be done through regular team check-ins, status updates, timeline review, and budget tracking.

Having a single platform to track your budget, timeline, resourcing, and communications certainly makes managing a project easier. Lucky for you, TeamGantt does it all.

Key steps in the execution stage of the project life cycle

• Provide easy channels for team collaboration
• Establish streamlined workflows for your team
• Schedule and lead regular project meetings
• Send project status reports to stakeholders
• Facilitate reviews and approvals of project deliverables
• Clear blockers that get in the way of progress

4. Project monitoring and control phase

The monitoring and control phase is all about making sure the project runs smoothly and things go according to plan. This step of the process typically happens alongside project execution. 

As part of the project monitoring stage, you should keep an eye on:

• Budget and timeline: Keep a close eye on milestone completion and whether time spent on tasks aligns with your estimates. That way you can spot delays and overages early and adjust your plan before things get too far off track. TeamGantt makes it easy to track and monitor progress with simple visualizations built into your gantt chart.
• Project goals: Use those goals to help make decisions about design, functionality, and any new requests. Sometimes it’s okay to stray a bit. Just be sure to keep the lines of communication open with the stakeholders, and bring new ideas to the table with enough time to rework them as needed. (Yup, it happens!)
• Quality control: Be the person who not only manages the process, but also cares about the work. Consult with leadership on quality standards, and review all deliverables before they’re sent out or presented for review. Your team and stakeholders will love you for it. 😍‍
• Risk management: Risk is a conversation you want to keep going throughout the project. Report on project risks in weekly status updates to keep them top-of-mind and allow the team to provide input.‍
• Team performance: As a project manager, your role is to look out for the project. But the success of a project depends on the team working on it. If you see someone slacking or unintentionally dropping the ball, address it. Just be empathetic, and find the right avenues to handle performance issues with team members.

TeamGantt’s Project Health Report makes it easy to monitor team performance and stay on top of deadlines by showing you which tasks are falling behind before your project goes off the rails.

Key steps in the monitoring stage of the project life cycle

• Review timesheets to ensure hours logged stay within budget
• Track task and milestone completion
• Compare actual progress against the plan to spot potential delays
• Track baselines and report on project health
• Monitor and manage scope creep and other risks
• Manage change requests and adjust the plan as needed

5. Project closure phase

When your project is complete and everyone is happy with what’s been delivered, tested, and released, it’s time to wrap up. In the project closure stage, the team will complete the steps needed to close tasks, hand off the project to stakeholders, finalize any reporting, and celebrate the project.

Many organizations move from one project to the next and don’t take time to properly close down a project. It’s a smart move to take a few hours to properly close, reflect, and even celebrate a project.

Here are a few steps to consider in this final stage of the project management life cycle.

• Conduct a project retrospective: Schedule a project debrief, and discuss what went well and what didn’t as a team. Record the outcomes, and share the notes to improve teamwork and performance on future projects.
• Create a project closure report: Write a 1-page report that recaps project goals and results. This document should outline the date of initiation, original deadline and budget, and actual date of delivery and budget used. You might also want to include team members and stakeholders involved, project issues and pain points, and project wins in your project closure report.
• Celebrate the project: ‍Organize a small party over lunch or after work to get the team and stakeholders together to acknowledge the hard work done and the great product produced. 🎉 If there’s no budget, that’s fine. A high-five or thoughtful email works really well when it comes to team morale.

As the project manager, the more you can be a cheerleader for your team, the better experience you’ll have working with them.

Key steps in the closing stage of the project life cycle

• Secure final approval and hand the end product off to the project sponsor or client
• Hold a post-mortem meeting to review project wins and hiccups
• Store all the final project documentation in a centralized archive
• Send final payments to contractors and suppliers

Put the project management life cycle to work for you

Processes and frameworks are great to have in your back pocket. But remember, every organization runs differently. 

You have to consider the people, organizational history, challenges, and existing practices before you roll something out. 

Motivations and empathy are everything in project management. So carry on, attack those projects, and do what’s right for everyone involved.

Simplify your project management process with TeamGantt

Want to take the pain out of project management without sacrificing your hard-earned gains? TeamGantt makes every project step a whole lot easier. (Heck, we’d even call it fun!) 

Spend less time in spreadsheets and more time giving your team high-fives for all the awesome work you’re doing together. TeamGantt provides clear visibility into the details with easy collaboration for the whole team every step of the way. 

Give TeamGantt a free try today!