THE 4 PROJECT

LIFE CYCLE
PHASES
What is a Project Life Cycle?

The project life cycle is a 4-step framework designed to help project managers
guide their projects successfully from start to finish. The purpose of the project
life cycle is to create an easy to follow framework to guide projects.

What are the 4 stages of the project life cycle?

•The project initiation stage: understand the goals, priorities, deadlines, and
risks of the project
•The project planning stage: outline the tasks and timeline required to execute
on the project
•The project execution stage: turn your plan into action and monitor project
performance
•The project closure stage: analyze results, summarize key learnings, and plan
next steps
1. Project initiation stage: understand the goals, priorities,
deadlines, and risks of the project

The initiation stage of the project management life cycle is when you
meet with clients and stakeholders to understand their goals, motivations,
and hopes for the project.

During this stage the aim is to hash out the high-level goals that must be
met for you to consider the project a success. There’s lots of research,
discovery, and discussion, but very little detailed planning in this phase.
The key project management steps for the initiation stage include:

•Identifying project objectives and deliverables

•Outlining project risks, dependencies, constraints, and priorities
•Establishing project scope based on deadlines and available resources
•Submitting a project proposal for approval
2. Project planning stage: outline the tasks and timeline required to
execute on the project

Once your project proposal has been approved, it’s time to move on to the
project planning stage of the project life cycle.

The project planning stage is when you create a comprehensive 

project plan, which involves:
•Translating your proposal into a series of actionable tasks and scheduling
them in a project roadmap
•Documenting processes or workflows that your team will use
•Creating measurable short-term goals from high-level project goals
•Addressing potential issues that could derail your roadmap
This project plan will be the source of truth for your team when any questions,
conflicts, or issues arise throughout the project.
3. Project execution stage: turn your plan into action and monitor project
performance

The project execution stage is the true start of the project, when you 
carry out all of the tasks and activities you mapped out in the planning stage.
This is where the majority of the project work takes place, and it requires
constant monitoring. Expect to adjust your goals and roadmap as you get deeper
into the project.

As a project manager, your main responsibilities of the project execution

stage are to:
• Monitor and control the execution process, reviewing the quality of the
team’s output
• Adjust and update tasks, goals, and deadlines to meet changing
conditions
• Communicate between your team and the project stakeholders
4. Project closure stage: analyze results, summarize key learnings, and plan
next steps

Once you’ve achieved your project goals and the results have been signed off on
by your stakeholders, it’s time for the project closure stage.
In the project closure stage of the project management process, you:
•Hand off deliverables
•Release team members and project resources
•Analyze project performance in a project retrospective

A project retrospective is as much about reviewing the success of the project as it

is about extracting learnings that can apply to future projects. Projects
will never go without obstacles, and there will always be things to learn that will
ease the progress of other projects.