Introduction
Every organisation, irrespective of its area of focus, should draw sufficient attention to project management activities. The rationale behind this claim is that numerous tasks and activities such as constructing a building, increasing employees’ performance levels, running a marketing strategy and so on are considered projects that require management. According to Tereso et al. (2019, p.6), a comprehensive and professional approach to these processes implies many advantages, including added business value, improved business realisation and others. That is why private and public companies should invest much time and effort in finding and implementing the best project management practices to ensure that such benefits can be achieved.
It is reasonable to admit that every project is a set of many smaller processes. That is why a traditional approach is to divide a project life cycle into a few constituents. Many experts indicate that every project should be initiated, planned, executed and closed (Yu et al., 2018, p.3). This approach demonstrates that building construction, marketing strategy implementation and many other tasks should go through these four stages. The scholars above are not unique who focus on the project life cycles. In addition to that, Abdel-Basset, Atef and Smarandache (2019, p.216) stipulate that initiation is the first stage that is followed by planning, implementation, and completion. Each of these stages implies its own peculiarities, denoting that organisations should employ the best practices to cope with the tasks and achieve successful outcomes.
Thus, the current report will focus on and evaluate the existing practices in managing the project life cycle at initiation, planning, execution and closure stages. A scientific approach is necessary to collect credible information on the topic and analyse it. That is why the report will follow a specific structure for ease of reading and understanding. The Review of the Relevant Literature will present the current evidence on the project life cycle management practices. This section will be further divided into four subheadings, and each of them will separately synthesise and critically appraise findings for each project management stage. Finally, the Conclusions will summarise the project and explicitly establish its validity for the project management field.
Review of the Relevant Literature
This section will present credible and timely evidence on the topic under consideration. In particular, the report will focus on scholarly peer-reviewed articles that were published within the last five years, from 2017 to 2021. The findings will be grouped and synthesised to reveal the existing knowledge on various project management stages, including initiation, planning, execution, and closure. Each subsection will have a concluding paragraph that will comment on what practices are considered more effective.
Initiation Stage
This stage is significant because it reveals what a project an organisation requires and stipulates how and when the desired goal can be achieved. In fact, there exist not so many practices that can be used to initiate a project. The identification of stakeholders and development of a consultative project charter is appropriate, and this approach implies that managers should find all the people and entities involved in the project (Mbiru, Wickham and Ayentimi, 2021, p.5). Hussein et al. (2021, p.138) and Tereso et al. (2019, p.12) also admit that developing a charter is a suitable strategy. Fernandes, Moreira et al. (2018, p.810) also highlight that a milestone list can be used in addition to the charter. Finally, it is possible to rely on kick-off meetings that are organised to discuss all the details of a project prior to its planning and implementation (Tereso et al., 2019, p.12; Aldaghlas, Hui and Duffield, 2020, p.898). Thus, the existing project initiation practices include charter and milestone list development, identification of stakeholders and kick-off meetings.
Now, it is reasonable to comment on the findings above. Project charter and milestone list development are similar practices because they involve creating certain documents that will guide the project implementation. As a rule, a limited number of people is involved in these practices, meaning that they can fail to represent a comprehensive picture. Simultaneously, the identification of stakeholders also presents a limited involvement because the exclusive focus on individuals and entities that are interested in the project can result in missing other essential details. That is why it is possible to stipulate that kick-off meetings are the most appropriate strategy when it comes to initiating projects. The rationale behind this statement is that the given approach makes responsible individuals gather and discuss all the details of a particular project. Tereso et al. (2019, p.12) also stipulate that the given strategy is highly effective. This approach is considered appropriate because it typically results in a comprehensive discussion of a future project, its details and necessity.
Planning Stage
As per the information above, planning is the second step in the project management process. This stage focuses on what actions should be taken, how it is possible to implement them, what schedule is applied and many others. One should also admit that a planning step involves predicting what challenges and risks can emerge and how it is appropriate to respond to them. Consequently, there is no doubt that it is necessary to have effective strategies and practices in place to ensure that project managers can successfully manage the given tasks.
In the beginning, it is necessary to present the literature findings on the existing project management planning approaches. A study by Tereso et al. (2019, p.12) offers a comprehensive list of practices, highlighting work breakdown structure, requirements analysis, activity list, risk identification and others. Kambli and Shinde (2020, p.10384) also advocate for using a work breakdown structure that splits the entire project into smaller tasks and presents detailed explanations for each of them. Simultaneously, these researchers stipulate that some successful outcomes can be obtained from relying on tasks lists that are similar to a work breakdown structure (Kambli and Shinde, 2020, p.10388). These practices demonstrate that it is reasonable to approach the project planning stage systematically.
A few more essential strategies include planning stakeholder engagement and requirements analysis. On the one hand, it is necessary to know what role stakeholders should play in project planning and how it is possible to affect their behaviour (Silvius and Schipper, 2019, p.11). On the other hand, a requirements analysis should be applied in pair with the previous strategy (Rasnacis and Berzisa, 2017, p.47). The rationale behind this suggestion is that the given analysis determines stakeholders’ needs and plans how to satisfy them. Furthermore, it is reasonable to comment on the use of risk management approaches. Numerous scholars admit that this practice should be included in project planning (Tereso et al., 2019, p.12; Vujovic et al., 2020, p.2; Rasnacis and Berzisa, 2017, p.47). Managers should understand what potential barriers can emerge and how it is possible to mitigate their adverse impact.
Based on the information above, one can claim that all the mentioned project planning practices contribute to positive outcomes. However, their critical analysis reveals that a work breakdown structure and risk identification are more appropriate. Firstly, project planning is a complex task, and it is reasonable to split the process into smaller steps. Secondly, it is impossible to avoid all the risks, denoting that a response to them should be developed in advance. Consequently, the combination of these two practices contributes to efficient project planning.
Execution Stage
An execution stage focuses on how a specific project can be implemented. That is why managers should draw sufficient attention to this step to ensure that they can achieve the stipulated goals. Today, there are a few approaches and techniques that can assist managers in implementing a project, and it is necessary to know what options to choose to obtain the best outcomes for the entire project.
The most elementary approach to the execution stage is to follow the advice and schedule developed during the two previous processes. However, some additional practices can contribute to more effective project execution. For example, Bakar, Haron and Rahman (2020, p.64) admit that it is rational to develop an execution plan that is general guidance on how a project can be implemented. Furthermore, managers can benefit from relying on the management of lessons learned (Winter and Chaves, 2017, p.158). This approach implies documenting information on both positive and negative cases that emerge during project implementation. Tereso et al. (2019, p.12) also emphasise the effectiveness of the lessons learned approach to execute project activities. In other words, it is possible to rely on the existing knowledge to identify how to respond to positive and negative occurrences.
In addition to that, one should not forget that stakeholders play a crucial role in project execution. Thus, Matu et al. (2020, p.119) stipulate that stakeholder participation leads to successful outcomes of road projects. Even though this finding refers to a limited setting, it is still possible to suppose that this execution practice can produce advantages in other spheres. Moreover, a study by Tereso et al. (2019, p.12) identifies positive effects of progress meetings. Their name suggests that these events take place during the implementation process to control and monitor whether the selected execution strategy manages to result in positive outcomes. If some inefficiencies are identified, managers should make the required adjustments, and Jovanovic and Beric (2018, p.7) admit that a requested strategy is to subject project execution processes to changes to meet the final outcome. This requirement is necessary to ensure that the project execution does not suffer from unexpected events.
The evidence above allows for mentioning that a current trend is to approach the execution process dynamically. In particular, it is necessary to keep abreast of the implementation stages to know when to introduce essential changes. However, it is still required to understand what alternative execution practices can be used. The list of possible options includes the execution plan, lessons learned, promoting stakeholder participation and others. Managers should be aware of these practices and be ready to rely on any of them if there is a necessity to facilitate the execution stage.
Closure Stage
A closure stage is the final process of every project. Even if it is successfully implemented, some disadvantages can emerge if managers fail to close their assignments. According to Pal et al. (2019, p.1), one should avoid closing projects abruptly, meaning that appropriate procedures should be developed in advance. It is not necessary to ignore the importance of this process because scientific evidence highlights the role of this stage. For example, Nyawira, Lillian and Gakuu (2020, p.264) focus on building assignments and stipulate that drawing sufficient attention to closing efforts predicts a good quality of buildings. That is why managers from other areas should also invest in closing projects.
The closure stage includes a few practices that are available for managers. Firstly, one can state that a project closure report is a suitable strategy. This approach implies that a specific document highlighting financial details and terminated processes should be prepared and sent to involved managers (Zohrehvandi et al., 2017, p.277). Simultaneously, Tereso et al. (2019, p.13) stipulate that client acceptance forms and close contracts can be used. In particular, a client acceptance form denotes that managers should have a signed document demonstrating that clients have received the project results. In addition to that, Fernandes, Pinto et al. (2018, p.573) stipulate that it is necessary to archive all the project information after it has been executed and closed. This step is required to ensure that managers will be able to restore the details if necessary.
The critical analysis of the findings above allows for suggesting that every project requires a specific closing strategy. If a project implies direct cooperation with clients, a suitable option can be client acceptance forms. In this case, it is rational to improve coordination among various stakeholders (Endo, Gionoli and Edelenbos, 2020, p.1). However, if projects do not require communicating with clients, appropriate closure documentation or close contracts seem reasonable. These practices will be sufficient for managers to ensure that projects are completed.
Conclusion
The research has synthesised and critically evaluated evidence on the current project management practices in various spheres. In particular, the focus is on different project life cycle processes, including initiation, planning, execution, and closure stages. Each of them has a few specific tools or techniques that can help achieve the desired outcomes. Consequently, the given report has identified possible options and commented on which of them are more appropriate and why. The current paper is valid because various managers can use its findings to choose the best approaches to different project life cycle stages.
As for the initiation stage, the comparison of the project charter, milestone list, identification of stakeholders, and kick-off meetings reveals that the latter practice should be used. The rationale behind this statement is that this approach contributes to the fact that all the involved managers gather and discuss details of the future project. This approach allows for determining what project a company requires and when it should be achieved.
The planning stage can produce the most advantageous outcomes when a work breakdown structure and risk identification are used. On the one hand, the breakdown structure contributes to the fact that a complex planning process is divided into smaller tasks, and it becomes easier for managers to complete them. On the other hand, the risk identification approach is essential because every project implies some risks. That is why it is necessary to identify what obstacles can emerge and how to manage them.
The execution plan, lessons learned and promoting stakeholder participation are the requested execution practices. However, it is challenging to stipulate which one is better than the others. The current trend is that project execution processes should be approached dynamically, meaning that it is impossible to find a single strategy. Instead of it, it is reasonable to hold progress meetings to monitor the implementation process. If some inefficiencies are identified, it is necessary to change an execution strategy to overcome the weaknesses.
Finally, the closure stage practices should be individually selected for every project. This statement’s rationale is that projects involving cooperation with clients should involve client acceptance forms, while others can benefit from other closure documentation. However, helpful advice for managers of all projects is to archive the project information after it has been closed to allow for restoring the details if it is necessary for the future.
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