Abstract
The implementation of project plans is a task that requires extensive preparation due to the multitasking and a wide range of conventions to take into account. One of the essential factors is the assessment of management at each of the four stages – initiation, planning, execution and closure. This analysis has identified characteristic trends and approaches to the rational use of resources, including labour and financial assets. The staging of the work defines distinctive interventions at all the phases, and through the application of relevant academic sources, the specifics of the project life cycle management are considered. Recommendations on possible ways of strengthening teamwork and optimising interaction are given and relate to the development of an adequate information exchange system along with competent knowledge management. Control over the project life cycle at all stages is associated with a wide range of factors that are critically important to consider to ensure sustainable and effective activities.
Keywords: project, management, life, cycle, stage
Introduction
The effective implementation of all planned procedures based on the current tasks and the available resource base largely depends on how stable the entire work algorithm is. At each stage, appropriate interventions designed to realize the stated objectives allow solving specific problems and addressing relevant needs that correspond to the goals of the project. This whole complex of solutions represents the life cycle of the project and helps cover each task comprehensively, thereby minimising errors and increasing the credibility and reliability of work. The lack of such a structural framework, conversely, reduces the validity of all interventions and is fraught with gaps that can negatively affect the bottom line due to inadequate implementation mechanisms.
In general terms, a project life cycle is a sequence of actions necessary to achieve the goals or objectives of projects that can be of different sizes and levels of complexity. However, regardless of these criteria, all projects can be attributed to a predetermined life cycle structure, which includes four stages: initiation, planning, execution and closure. In Figure 1, these stages are displayed, including the basic activities that are characteristic of each of them (Lucid Content Team, n.d.). While taking into account such a structure, leaders and curators of projects carry out the necessary procedures and monitor the productive implementation of all urgent tasks guided by this scheme.
This work is aimed at assessing the features and nuances of project life cycle management by using current academic resources as a rationale and analysing the existing concepts and practices. The emphasis on the importance of such a cycle in the field of project management is fundamental, and a critical assessment of all findings is a tool to reveal the value of such activities in relation to the results of projects. Identifying specific trends can provide objective data on the mechanisms for optimising workflows and methods to improve reliability at each stage. Project life cycle management includes a wide range of responsibilities and conditions that are essential to comply with to implement the assigned tasks effectively, avoiding mistakes and gaps and increasing the sustainability of the results achieved.
Importance of Managing the Project Life Cycle
In the modern field of project management, much attention is paid to issues related to adequate control over all stages of the project life cycle. According to dos Santos, Reis and Fleury (2020), this set of measures is aimed at creating an efficient system that works sustainably and is based on the rational use of available assets. A clear understanding of the above phases allows managers and supervisors to control projects as effectively as possible. Thus, the goal of the life cycle is to create an easy-to-use structure for guiding and managing projects.
The concept of such a cycle means that projects have a limited duration of life and that there are predictable changes with regard to efforts and attention devoted to their implementation. Demirkesen and Ozorhon (2017) give an example of such management in the construction industry and note that competent governance at each of the stages is paramount due to the fact that the integration of processes plays a more important role than drawing up separate scenarios. This approach is objective because, given the complexity of many projects and their multitasking nature, control over the stability of the entire system is more justified than overseeing specific tasks individually. Following the principle of holistic control, for instance, with the help of the Project Management Office, or PMO, helps coordinate all operational steps efficiently, thereby obtaining a clear vision of all prospects and improvement opportunities (Paton and Andrew, 2019). As a result, by forming such a relatively rigid oversight framework, a number of valuable benefits can be achieved, including asset savings, increased speed of operations and other benefits that are relevant in the context of dynamic work and changing phases of complex projects.
Project Management at the Initiation Phase
Initiation is the start of work on a concept, preparation for its planning and implementation. In Figure 2, basic activities are depicted, which show how best to launch a project (Ray, 2018). As Alnaggar and Pitt (2018) argue, to begin with, responsible persons should determine what task the team faces and whether a particular idea will help solve the stated problem. If the answer is yes, this is necessary to develop an implementation concept and conduct analytical work aimed at the economic justification of the project. The search for partners is also included in this phase and involves establishing contacts with potential investors or those who can help (Di Maddaloni and Davis, 2017). According to Varajão (2018), the initiation phase is characterised by the fact that it includes much discussion, research and analysis. Therefore, at meetings with potential partners, one of the keys to productive work is to find out what is essential for all parties involved, what projects they have conducted in the past and what they expect from the future. The task of this stage is to define common goals to implement them successfully.
After reaching agreements, this is crucial to fix the main theses in the project charter. The charter is a formal, rather short document that describes the full range of tasks. This is an essential component of the initiation phase as it is used throughout the entire life cycle of the project and helps resolve all controversial issues throughout the workflow (Varajão, 2018). In this document, information is reflected on the goals and mission, benefits, possible risks, planned budget and implementation timeline, as well as key partners and stakeholders. As Söderberg (2020) remarks, financial and time boundaries are clearly defined during this phase to create a background for the next stage. This set of measures is adequate and helps minimise errors in the process of further work due to the formation of a stable framework and concept and the absence of the need for constant revisions.
Planning as a Project Life Cycle Stage
When documents are signed, and the terms are finally approved by the stakeholders, the planning stage begins. The manager proceeds to create a detailed project plan that each team member can refer to at any stage of the workflow. The plan details the features and objectives that meet the expectations of the parties involved (Wuni and Shen, 2020). At the planning stage, the manager breaks down the workflow into small tasks, creates a team, assigns roles to, among other things, successfully manage the team, develops a step-by-step sequence for completing tasks and sets deadlines. For all activities to have a better chance of success, this is critical to make sure that there are sufficient resources for each of them.
It is pertinent to note that the Gantt chart is a great tool for creating and controlling time horizons. Charts are ideal for planning and scheduling and for further tracking progress through all phases of the life cycle. In Figure 3, an example of this diagram is presented (Gantt Chart vs. roadmap, n.d.). As Sharon and Dori (2017) state, with its help, a number of important objectives can be visualised for the ease of perception and minimisation of errors associated with time frames. This tool allows creating dependencies and milestones, monitoring the workload of each team member, interacting and creating reports, working with project portfolios, sharing schedules, and many other tasks.
When the schedule is ready, the key roles and areas of responsibility are identified, possible risks and ways to prevent them are identified and the budget is planned, it is time for an organisational meeting. This activity is important because, during this meeting, the manager introduces the project and its goals, discusses the most important stages of the plan with the team, answers questions and also introduces everyone to the tools that the team will use during the work process (De Toni and Pessot, 2021). After the general meeting, each of the team members should have a clear idea of the project as a whole, its stages and their implementation. Bahadorestani, Naderpajouh and Sadiq (2020) note that one of the keys to success is constant access to the project plan for all participants. Thus, team members will be able to constantly keep abreast of affairs and changes during the workflow, which is a significant objective and not only brings the team together but also stimulates productivity.
Management at the Execution Stage
This stage is the most unambiguous throughout the entire project life cycle. When the whole range of interventions is approved and the team is formed and ready to get down to business, the workflow moves to the execution phase. The task of the manager, at this stage, is to control the synchronous start of the work of all departments and to make sure that each stakeholder performs one’s task in a qualified manner (Chawla et al., 2018). In Figure 4, common activities at this stage are presented (Project executing processes, n.d.). This is critical to note that changes in the plan are acceptable during the execution phase. Ensuring the correct implementation of all tasks is difficult since various circumstances can slow down the timely implementation of the project, preventing adherence to a predetermined schedule (Cha, Newman and Winch, 2018). Flexibility is extremely important because the earlier the problem is identified, the faster it will be resolved. As Mennuto, Meca Belahonia and Bazán (2021) confirm, improvements are always welcome if they have a positive impact on the project’s outcomes. However, successful execution mainly depends on the quality of the preliminary work.
Management Principles at the Closure Stage
Closure is the final stage that marks the formal completion of the project. However, managers should not immediately forget about the activities done and switch to the next tasks. To leave a pleasant impression of the professionalism and work of the team, an experienced manager should adhere to some control principles at this stage. An important condition is to utilise a strategy of continuous monitoring when the outcomes of the work performed are evaluated on the basis of the planned metrics (Sabini, Muzio and Alderman, 2019). In Figure 5, an exemplary assessment form is presented that reflects the variables included for the analysis of the totals (CIToolkit content team, n.d.). According to McClory, Read and Labib (2017), the manager should turn in the project along with the documentation to the client or the team that will lead it in the future, and correcting errors is an important component of the closure stage. Thus, the team can learn useful lessons from the success and failures of the project.
Another important task of the manager at the closure stage is to notify all interested parties about the results of the work done, including the direct executors. As Zhang, Cao and Wang (2018) note, satisfaction from collaboration is a significant marker of job success, while the perceptions of personal contribution as undervalued reflect poor management. Supervisors should remember that few projects can run without obstacles, which, according to Mossalam (2018), is a natural part of a complex and multitasking operating environment. Therefore, the collection of comprehensive data and a comprehensive assessment of the work done are mandatory procedures at the closure stage.
Recommendations
Based on the assessment of the project life cycle and its stages, some general recommendations can be given to optimise management and improve the reliability of all interventions. One of the conditions is the development of strategies for working on the principle of building information modelling, or BIM, which, as Ma et al. (2018) argue, is a convenient methodology to collect comprehensive data for valid work. Clear planning is the key to achieving the goals set, and an appropriate framework that allows applying as much relevant information as possible is valuable. Another recommendation is the use of adequate knowledge management principles in the control process since, according to Anwar and Abdullah (2021), the rational use of all available resources is accomplished through effective collaboration and interaction among the parties involved. These project management principles should be taken into account to ensure a smooth and hassle-free project life cycle.
Conclusions
The phasing of the project life cycle is an important criterion to take into account to achieve optimal results of interventions, and a wide range of responsibilities and conventions should be considered to avoid mistakes at each stage and utilise the available resource base rationally. The analysis of the control features at these stages allows asserting that individual management principles are characteristic for each of them. Project frameworks can have a distinctive background and objectives, but the overall workflow remains the same. All preliminary procedures are followed, including drafting a work strategy, engaging stakeholders, defining performance metrics, and other conditions. Careful planning is characteristic not only for the second stage but also for the entire cycle as a whole since flexibility is a prerequisite for observing in project management. Not all procedures are carried out smoothly, and the results of activities do not always correspond to the anticipated outcomes. Therefore, timely interventions designed to adjust progress as needed are acceptable in such a cycle and reflect the competence of oversight.
The use of relevant academic sources has made it possible to identify relevant trends in project management and obtain credible information regarding the approaches and tools applied to control the project life cycle. All the findings concern the stated topic and do not touch on related areas, thereby confirming the validity of the work done. As valuable recommendations, the implementation of BIM and knowledge management principles in teamwork is seen as meaningful objectives designed to enhance collaboration and provide a sufficient evidence base for sustainable interventions. The results of the assessment are of practical importance and can be used by supervisors to prepare effective plans and frameworks for the implementation of projects in different fields since the stages are commonly applied and characterised by similar strategies.
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