Understanding The Many Aspects Of Project Management

Sandeep Kashyap
ProofHub Blog
Published in
7 min readNov 12, 2019

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“What makes a project successful?”

There’s one question with many possible answers.

Some say, behind any successful project is a project manager with above and beyond management skills. For some, it is the team who works hard day and night to deliver every deliverable and deadlines within the project to make it successful. And for the rest, it takes the best of both (management and teamwork) to make a project successful.

In this particular article, we’re going to get a deeper understanding of a “Successful Project Management Life Cycle”.

We will take a closer look at the various aspects of project management. Including, the five phases of project management and their related knowledge areas.

What are the 5 phases of project management?

Source: https://project-management.com/top-5-project-management-phases/

The phases of a project management life cycle vary with the varying needs of an organization. However, the following 5 phases of the project management remain the same in almost every project across every industry. Let’s discuss each of these phrases in brief, along with tips to make them more efficient.

Phase 1: Initiating

The first phase of the project management life cycle is the “project conception and initiation”. During this phase, the manager defines the project at a broad level. This is the phase where they do detailed research on whether or not the given project is feasible. Now, if the project is indeed feasible, the project manager outlines the purpose and requirements of the project and moves to the next phase.

Tip: Avoid getting too bogged down in technical requirements during this phase. It will only delay the whole project management process.

Phase 2: Planning

This is the phase where you, as a project manager, along with stakeholders and teams, establish the scope of the project. You refine the objectives and define the most suitable course of action to attain the objectives that the project intended to achieve. You then set SMART and CLEAR goals that everyone will follow:

S.M.A.R.T

  • Specific — To set specific goals, answer the following questions: who, what, where, when, which, and why.
  • Measurable — Create criteria that you can use to measure the success of a goal.
  • Attainable — Identify the most important goals and what it will take to achieve them.
  • Realistic — You should be willing and able to work toward a particular goal.
  • Timely — Create a timeframe to achieve the goal.

C.L.E.A.R

  • Collaborative — The goal should encourage employees to work together.
  • Limited — They should be limited in scope and time to keep it manageable.
  • Emotional — Goals should tap into the passion of employees and be something they can form an emotional connection to. This can optimize the quality of work.
  • Appreciable — Break larger goals into smaller tasks that can be quickly achieved.
  • Refinable — As new situations arise, be flexible and refine goals as needed.

Tip: Find a Gantt chart software. Use it to create and access a visual timeline that you can use to plan out tasks and visualize your project timeline.

“Want to get better at managing projects? Start working with ProofHub!”

Phase 3: Executing

The next phase is “project execution”. As the name itself suggests, this is the phase where all your planning is out to implementation to achieve the desired result and satisfy the project specifications. Here’s how you proceed during this phase of project management process:

  • You develop a project team
  • You assign the available resources across project
  • You and your team executes project management plans
  • You set up tracking systems
  • You host status meetings to keep everyone on the same page
  • You update project schedule as needed
  • You modify project plans as needed

Tip: Consider using a project management software solution to manage projects, teams and team communication in real-time during project execution.

Phase 4: Monitoring and Controlling

The next phase is all about monitoring and measuring project progression to ensure that everything is happening as per the project management plan. Each task, activity, subtask, and milestone is tracked, reviewed, and regulated in order to achieve the desired project outcome at its soonest. At the same time, the manager identifies any areas in which changes to the project scope or project plan are required, and make corresponding changes.

Tip: Consider reviewing the project progress and model at the end of each phase.

Phase 5: Closing

And here comes the last stage of the project management life cycle i.e. “project closure”. This is the phase where you finalize all activities and deadlines within the project and formally close the project. This phase represents the completed project.

Tip: Consider using a cloud-based file management system to securely collect, save, and share all project documents in one central location.

What are the 10 knowledge areas of project management?

According to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Project management can be further divided into 10 more digestible parts, known as the 10 project management knowledge areas. You can define these project management knowledge areas as the standard terminology and guidelines for project management. Here, have a look:

  • Project Integration Management: Project Integration Management includes the processes and activities needed to identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various processes and project management activities within the Project Management Process Groups.
  • Project Scope Management: Project Scope Management includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully.
  • Project Time Management: Project Time Management includes the processes required to manage the timely completion of the project.
  • Project Cost Management: Project Cost Management includes the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing, and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget.
  • Project Quality Management: Project Quality Management includes the processes and activities of the performing organization that determine quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities so that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken.
  • Project Human Resource Management: Project Human Resource Management includes the processes that organize, manage, and lead the project team.
  • Project Communications Management: Project Communications Management includes the processes that are required to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information.
  • Project Risk Management: Project Risk Management includes the processes of conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, and controlling risk on a project.
  • Project Procurement Management: Project Procurement Management includes the processes necessary to purchase or acquire products, services, or results needed from outside the project team
  • Project Stakeholders Management: Project Stakeholder Management includes the processes required to identify all people or organizations impacted by the project, analyzing stakeholder expectations and impact on the project, and developing appropriate management strategies for effectively engaging stakeholders in project decisions and execution.

ProofHub For Project management

ProofHub is an all-in-one work management tool with a powerful set of collaboration and communication features. The software basically fits the needs of any project or project team by providing a broad range of features and tools, including Gantt chart, Kanban board, Chats, Discussions, Custom roles, White-labeling, Calendar view, Task management, Files, Notes, Notebook, Time tracking, Multiple timers, Online Proofing, Announcements, Request forms, and a lot more.

“Managing projects become easier than ever. Try ProofHub for FREE!”

In all, ProofHub has every feature or functionality that you or your growing team may need to make project management and team collaboration successful.

Plus, ProofHub is coming up with new and improved features that can make project management even more fun and exciting. Here are a few advantages that you can expect when you use ProofHub for project management:

  • You find all the tools your team needs put under one roof
  • You get ultimate control over teams and projects
  • You get to guarantee on-time project delivery
  • You have to face little to no learning curve
  • You get the best tool with no per-user fee
  • You get a free trial, including all the available features

Overall, ProofHub is a perfect project management companion for any growing business or team. It has every feature and functionality that you need or may need to get projects initiated, planned, executed, monitored, and delivered.

Did you find this post helpful? Is there any aspect of the project management life cycle that we have missed? If so, they tell us about it in the comments section.

If you enjoyed this…

Read the other articles:

  1. 6 Steps Every Team Should Follow — A Project Management Guide for 2019
  2. 10 Powerful Tips For Project Management Success
  3. 9 Best Practices for Successful Project Management
  4. Work Hack: Leveraging Project Management Software to Improve Team Productivity

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