Define the Phases of Project Management
One of the essential steps of successful project management is to define the phases of project management.
Only when we define the phases of project management we will be able to assign appropriate stakeholders for the project.
Without breaking down project management into various phases it is not possible to launch a project.
Even if we manage to begin the project, we will not be able to complete the project successfully.
So we need to define the phases of project management to successfully manage the project.
Here are some of the most common phases of project management - Specifications Requirements Analysis,
Feasibility Study, Choosing System Design, Design Phase, Project Execution, Control and Monitor,
Project Closure. Most of the projects will fall into these project management phases. There may be
minor variation in these phases depending on the specific project at hand.
Whether it is a simple project or a complex project all the projects should be
subjected through all these phases. We should skip certain phases because the magnitude
of the project at hand is small. All the projects handled in an organization should follow
all the common phases and cannot skip a phase. This will bring problems while documenting the progress of the project.
First, we need to clearly define the phases of project management and we should follow
those phases for all projects irrespective of the size of the project. If we do not have a
standard project management, we are more likely to end up with a random system with lot of uncertain elements.
This will also affect the overall standard of the project management.
Each phase will be further broken down into a number of elements to reduce the
complexity of the project. We should clearly define these elements as well clearly at
the beginning so that the entire project will be carried out smoothly without any glitches.
When we define the phases of project management clearly in the beginning itself we will
be able to understand and manage the project lifecycle rather more easily. Each project is
vulnerable to its own set of risks and similarly each phase has its own risk factors. By clearly
defining the phases of project management we will be able to identify these risk factors and have
alternative processes place in case those risks should occur during the project lifecycle. If we do not
have clearly defined project lifecycle, then we will also not be able to identify the risk factors clearly.
This leaves room for too much of uncertainty in the project lifecycle. On the other hand when we anticipate a
risk we will be prepared to handle the problem in an efficient way.
Therefore, before setting out to launch your project have your project management methodology in place and
define the phases of project management that are relevant to your specific project. This will
give you a lot of control over the entire project.