Project management principles and practices

¶ … Life Cycle Management

Managing a project is a process which begins well before implementation and which extends beyond the final steps of execution. This is because the project manager is not just responsible for overseeing a contract's realization. The project manager must also be fully involved in the steps leading up to this realization and the evaluative steps that must be engaged following. This is why the Project Management Life Cycle is such a critical concept. It provides a more complete framework for seeing an awarded contract, an internal team assignment or even an independent venture from its true start to finish. The discussion here considers some of the most important aspects of each of the four Project Life Cycle stages.

Initiating

The process of Initiating the project life cycle involves the preliminary steps that a project manager must take in order to establish the validity and value of a project. The text by Method 123 (2013) offers a comprehensive outline of the project life. In its discussion on the initiation phase, the article indicates that "you can start a new project by defining its objectives, scope, purpose and deliverables to be produced." (Method 123, p. 1) First and foremost in this phase of project initiation is developing a business case. The project manager will be responsible for helping to bring light to the intended outcome by presiding over the creation of an effective business proposal.

According to the text by Gido & Clements (2011), there are a number of ways to approach this proposal and these will depend significantly on the size and scope. Accordingly, the text notes that "many projects that are small or not complex may not require an extensive proposal. In other cases, contractors may even submit an unsolicited proposal prior to the customer preparing an RFP. In both of these situations, a simplified or basic proposal may be appropriate and sufficient. Such a proposal should include the following elements: statement of the customer's need, assumptions, project scope, deliverables, resources, schedules, price, risks, and expected benefits." (Gido & Clements, p. 88)

Another part of this phase that is of critical importance is the feasibility study phase, which should be incorporated into an effective business proposal. The feasibility study doesn't just help an organization to ascertain whether or not a project's intended objectives may be achieved but also how best to achieve them. For instance, one of the challenges in offering a proposal for a contract is in the pricing. Part of planning is making space for the real and practical considerations to be addressed in advance. This is why, the text by Gido & Clements points out, pricing considerations are a critical upfront issue to be addressed. The text notes that "when contractors prepare a proposal, they are generally competing with other contractors to win a contract. Therefore, they need to be careful not to overprice the proposed project, or the customer may select a lower-priced contractor. However, contractors must be equally careful not to underprice the proposed project; otherwise, they may lose money rather than making a profit or may have to request additional funds from the customer, which could be embarrassing and hurt the contractor's reputation." (p. 75)

This is why the feasibility study is so important. This should help the organization to reach usable conclusions about the nature of the project that it is endeavoring to undertake. With feasibility established and additional steps taken to appoint a project charter, perhaps the most important part of the initiation phase is that this where we create the project team. Just as is true in a broader organizational sense, the personnel who are selected to participate in a project will have a big impact on the manner of its implementation. Be sure that all roles are filled appropriately and that the personalities assembled to collaborate are compatible.

Planning

The Planning Phase begins when a contract has be awarded, a project has been approved or feasibility has fully been established. In other words, at this juncture, all preliminary steps have paved a path for a detailed and readily actionable plan. At this point, the text by Method 123 shows, the major dimensions of the Planning phase are really a range of separate plans.

For instance, one important aspect is the need to create a resource plan. This plan should lay out the cost requirements related to materials, labor, project time, equipment, real estate, emerge consumption and any other commodities that would be needed to bring the project to fruition.

Similarly, this stage calls for the project manager to create a quality plan that would help to articular benchmarks, propose metrics for measuring success in achieving project goals and proposing a basis for rendering post-implementation evaluations. This describes one of a number of additional projections which must be made during the planning phase. Once this has been done, synthesis of these plans into a single mertiable proposal is also extremely critical. Taken together, these should constitute a path forward for the project. According to Method 123, "in short, you need to create a comprehensive suite of project plans which set out a clear project roadmap ahead." (p. 1)

Performing

Once a project's plan has been established and accepted by both contractor and client, the implementation begins. As the various dimensions of this phase show, this is when the careful projections and planning are brought to bear. According to Method 123, there should be ongoing management of and flexibility within the performance of various implementation steps.

For one, it is incumbent upon the project manager to Perform Time Management. Sometimes, it is only when we being a project that we fully understand how team members will be required to use and allot their time. The Project Manager should be prepared to adjust in order to optimize performance and prevent wastefulness.

The same is true of the Performance of Issue Management. It is important to utilize the proposal without necessarily depending on it. Such is to say that "just as the developers worked on establishing relationships during the pre-RFP stages, contractors must listen to the customer and incorporate what was learned into the proposal solution." (p. 87) Issue management means showing the flexibility to address unexpected challenges or to implement alternate strategies where appropriate.

Also critical is that the project manager Perform Communications Management in order to ensure that all parties are informed of the details pertinent to their respective roles. This means that all team members must be made aware of their responsibilities and the expectations before them and that the project manager must maintain open lines of communication to provide input, feedback and direction. The same open line should be opened between contractor and client to ensure that the latter is satisfied with the ongoing path of the project and that expectations are being met.