Abstract
Depending on the phase, projects require different focus points and implementations. The project management (PM) lifecycle includes initiation, planning, execution, and closure. The initiation correlates with an assessment of the possibilities of the project. Managers need to pay more attention to estimating the costs, assessing the possible risks, and having discussions with stakeholders in regard to their plans. The next phase is planning, which highlights the examination of required finances, human resources, scheduling, etc. Successful planning requires an in-depth observation of the most cost-effective resources on the market, building a strong and motivated team, and calculating risks. Execution is the step of project implementation. Positive outcomes often occur in teams where managers apply transformational leadership strategies to motivate employees. Moreover, it is essential to find a balance between monitoring and encouraging the workforce. During the closure, project managers have to take care of the implementation’s legal, economic, and contractual finishing. Positive outcomes can be achieved by ensuring all stakeholders are satisfied with results and forming a collegial relationship with other organizational departments. These measures are often applied in companies that strive for successful project establishment, integration, and operation.
Introduction
Project management includes multiple helpful practices and strategies aimed at achieving success. However, a literature review allows for the determination of various tactics and factors that result in either beneficial or adverse outcomes based on the project phase. Researchers mention four different phases within the lifecycle: initiation, planning, execution, and closure (Takagi and Varajão, 2019). Each of the mentioned periods within the life cycle of a project contrasts in terms of objectives, characteristics, and aspects to be considered. The initiation phase is the first one and one of the most significant ones since it correlates with all the initial development strategies that the managers and team members identify. While this step in not linked to detailed planning and strategic assessment of possibilities, there is a level of consideration when it comes to the overall aim, scope, and other vital factors that will determine the project’s success.
The next step is planning, which is the phase where project managers and employees have to consider various aspects of the future of the implementation. According to researchers, detailed planning has been shown to correlate with overall project success and beneficial outcomes (Tesfaye et al., 2017). Various concepts need to be planned before the plan starts fully operating. Such factors include budgeting, planning resources, examining the deadlines, assessing future stakeholder satisfaction, analyzing the market and the demand, etc. Effective planning can mitigate multiple risk factors and constraints that may appear in future phases.
After planning all possible outcomes and risks, the project can be executed. This is the most extensive step resource-wise and the most challenging. However, addressing possible issues during the first two periods of the lifecycle can create a less risky environment and contribute to a more straightforward execution. The team members’ proficiency and the guidance of the project manager are the key variables since multiple problems can occur when the plan is being executed, yet there is no prior experience.
The closure is the last phase designed to assess how stakeholders benefit from the project, its success, and its future development. A successful closure involves an in-depth analysis of how the implementation operates, whether all the criteria were met, and extra factors that need to be addressed. Several management practices can be applied depending on the phase to increase the success factor.
Current Management Practices Based on Project Phases
There are several management practices that are being applied in every project. Current literature refers to project management (PM) as the domain that aims to identify, examine, and improve certain aspects, team members, and factors within organizations (Gorman et al., 2017). However, specific practices can be applied in particular project phases. This can help minimize challenges, increase the possibility for success during the entire lifecycle, and approach the strategy in a more structured and organized way. The current management implications are based on phase contrast yet have similar functions in some cases. Depending on the stage, management focuses on different things to contribute to a smooth transition from one step to another and see success in short and long-term project implementation.
Project Life Cycle: Initiation
Every project starts with the initiation phase. This phase is vital for project success since it involves the overall exploration of the new implementation, how it will affect the company, what the objective is, and how it can be achieved. Moreover, this phase is somewhat similar to the planning one (Viswanathan, Tripathi and Jha, 2019). The initial step covers multiple aspects, such as the people who will participate, whether shareholders will support the idea, and how the implementation will operate in the future. Several managerial strategies can be used for a successful initiation phase.
Project Initiation Practices
As mentioned before, project initiation is the first step toward a fully operating system. While less detailed than planning, initiation involves some of the same concepts. Having an innovative idea is certainly an excellent start. However, subjective arguments suggest that budget planning is one of the critical aspects of initiation. Adequate cost estimation is one success factor that ultimately correlates with the future of the project (Vladimirova, Kallaur and Bareshenkova, 2018). Other researchers also mention adequate budgeting as a critical effectiveness factor (Hübner et al., 2017). There are several reasons why it is such a crucial aspect.
First, if the project is too costly, stakeholders can choose to either invest, minimize certain expenses, or not follow through with the plan altogether. In case the cost estimation is far from the actual price of the project implementation, there is a chance that stakeholders can stop the project in the middle of the lifecycle and experience a financial loss. However, this is not the only factor that investors assess when choosing to approve the idea or not. The initiation also involves determining the scope and the possible results.
Examining possible results has to correlate with risk assessment. According to researchers, examining risks is a necessary procedure that has to be applied during each phase, including initiation (Croxatto and Greub, 2017). Wuni and Shen (2020) also mention that, during the early stages, it is still essential to include all stakeholders in the discussion. This includes preliminary dialogues with the shareholders/investors, discussions with team members who will participate during the future steps, consulting with managers who applied similar strategies, etc. Based on existing literature, evidence shows that a successful initiation phase consists of risk assessment, estimation of costs, identification of scope, and communication with stakeholders.
Project Life Cycle: Planning
The planning phase is the second step toward implementation. After the initiative is assessed and shared with parties who will be involved in the plan, it is crucial to plan every aspect that can impact success. While planning is based on estimation, it is important to consider all variables and have exact numbers in regard to finances, results, resources, workforces, etc. Besides these measures, planning involves the assessment of possible risks and challenges that can either be mitigated or reduced based on the nature of the issues. The planning phase is more exact than the initiation and often creates a clear vision of the project’s future.
Project Planning Practices
Project planning practices are complex examinations of multiple factors. Researchers mention that effective planning helps minimize future constraints (Burgelman and Vanhoucke, 2018). Such constraints can include financial resources, human resources, time, opportunities, etc. There are several different factors that need planning in advance. Taghipour et al. (2020) suggest that during this stage, it is vital to have accurate timelines in terms of the start and the deadline, an estimate for optimum resources, and an assessment of all the required activities to implement the plan. First, successful planning involves determining the deadline. While sometimes challenging to follow, such constraints contribute to more proficient work. Moreover, based on the article mentioned above, positive outcomes occur if the manager is aware of the available resources and ways to minimize costs.
This includes examining the market, determining the best products/services for a relatively low price, and having an estimation of costs for such resources. This phase also includes identifying the employees who will participate in the following phases. Determining team members who will be able to achieve the established objectives and effectively contribute to project operation is a critical success factor (Stepanek, Jahanshahi and Millard, 2019). If the planning phase does not consider this aspect, there is a chance that employees will negatively impact the possible beneficial outcomes through a lack of productivity, skills, and motivation.
As mentioned before, risk assessment has to be an underlying implication during each phase, and planning is not an exception. During this stage, it is essential to consider both internal and external factors. Researchers highlight the importance of assessing competitors regarding external factors (Stanitsas and Kirytopoulos, 2021). Internal risks may include the financial potency of the company where the project will be implemented, ineffective leadership that can compromise the results, etc. In conclusion, current management strategies during the planning phase include choosing the most efficient team members motivated to work on the plan, establishing a well-defined deadline, assessing possible rivals, and examining the market in terms of accessible yet high-quality resources/services.
Project Life Cycle: Execution
The execution phase is, arguably, the most challenging yet rewarding stage within the project lifecycle. This step correlates with the first two, yet ideas do not carry importance without efficient execution. Moreover, the team built during the planning phase is most active during this period. On the other hand, the project manager has to monitor, guide, and supervise the employees to meet the underlying objectives and operate in the most efficient way. The execution phase involves several vital aspects that can detrimentally impact the success and positive results.
Project Execution Practices
Since identifying the most efficient team members was a crucial part of planning, the execution phase is one in which they can prove their high performance. Execution directly correlates with the workforce, which is why project managers chose to focus on this domain. Moreover, paying attention to the leadership style is a significant factor that drives teams to be successful during project implementation. Researchers specifically mention transformational leadership as the most effective style in terms of communication with the workforce and team motivation (Eliyana, Ma’arif and Muzakki, 2019). The project manager has to participate in every process and monitor if each planned task is achieved. It is important for the managers to examine whether the team is focused on the objectives, how said tasks are being executed, and what the productivity rate is (Al-Agele and Ali, 2017). However, leaders have to encourage innovation and include team members in organizational discussions.
The goal is to balance maintaining high employee morale and controlling the entire operation while mitigating inefficiency. Researchers highlight that successful execution depends on the support of top management (Antony et al., 2019). This can create beneficial outcomes in both the internal environment in regards to the team’s job satisfaction and recognition for high work and the initial objectives that will be met with proper monitoring strategies (Musawir et al., 2017). In conclusion, observing and contributing to the workforce’s proficiency tend to lead to organizational success during project execution.
Project Life Cycle: Closure
Last but not least, the final project management stage is closure. The completion of an implementation is a vital step that aims to confirm all the objectives were met and the project successfully operates in the organization. According to Galli (2018), closure consists of an evaluation of learned lessons and an assessment of whether the plan was effectively introduced. This includes a review of all the actions executed prior, an overview of how the budget, schedule, and other plans were close to the actual project developments, and multiple other factors that contribute to a fair examination and further advancements that may improve several factors.
Project Closure Practices
There are various domains and structural levels that project closure involves. Researchers highlight contractual, physical, legislative, and economic closure as four determining domains (Zohrehvandi et al., 2017). Managers tend to focus on specific closure aspects that correlate with project success. One of them is assessing the stakeholders’ satisfaction with the results (Albert, Balve and Spang, 2017). Analyzing the results, the customer’s demand, the financial benefit for the shareholders, and the positive results for the company’s reputation is vital to ensure the overall implementation is effective (Lee et al., 2020). Furthermore, researchers mention the importance of obtaining support and help from other departments (Wen and Qiang, 2019). In an organization where all departments have the same primary goal, which is business success, a project is more likely to be effective. Based on existing literature, effective measures involve the connection between managers and other stakeholders, including team members, customers, and employees from other structures within the same company.
Conclusion
Any project implemented by a company into the structure of the organization goes through different phases, such as initiation, planning, execution, and completion. Moreover, each step correlates with different measures that project managers apply to ensure the successful operation of the program. In terms of initiation, this stage involves the initial observation and analysis of the factors that can influence the project’s success. This consists of exploring different possibilities directly linked to the next phase, planning. Researchers have approved strategies regarding positive effects related to risk assessment. It is essential to assess the risks on both internal and external levels, such as consumer demand, competitiveness, and the company’s overall goals.
Planning is another essential step that goes in-depth in regard to finances, HR, timing, and opportunities of the project. Managers find it to be effective if they pay attention to the available resources on the market, build strong teams, and verbalize possible risks. Planning is especially important for choosing the most skilled and proficient employees who will be active during the next phase and will directly influence the outcomes. This is why it is particularly crucial to focus on HR management and risk mitigation.
The next phase, execution, is the implementation of the project. The best practices during this step are: monitoring the team, motivating the employees, and implementing transformational leadership. During this phase, the managers have to be less active and make sure the workforce reinforces the initial plan. Moreover, the best outcomes have been noticed in companies where superiors manage to find a balance between supervising and ensuring high morale since this will cover both the productiveness and a high level of job satisfaction.
Last but not least, closure is the completion of the project. Closure involves the administrative, physical, legal, and economic round-up, which allows managers to see the outcomes and how effectively the plant was installed in the organization. Successful measures involve ensuring a high level of satisfaction for all the stakeholders and obtaining support from other departments that operate within the same company. Such strategies are confirmed to lead to organizational success and effective project implementation.
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