5 Phases of Project Management for Successful Projects

Project management forms a crucial part of an enterprise’s work process. Completing the work well before time requires access to top-notch methodologies, processes, and tools. Above all, you need to acquire the right project management framework so the work in hand is completed with quality. 89% of companies establish at least one project management office (PMO).

Project management involves several activities like defining project scope, maintaining a budget, coordinating tasks, etc. Apart from the resources, your team should also know how to effectively and efficiently manage a specific project. Project Management is a highly regarded practice in the industry today. 

Phases of Project Management

1. Initiating Phase

This is where the project starts. This phase involves determining the project’s scope, purpose, and objectives. Your team should perform thorough research during this phase so they get all the required information. They should also identify the target audience and stakeholders directly impacted by the project. Apart from that, budget planning, deadlines, task distribution, etc are also a part of the initial phase. Obtaining approval from the stakeholders is a major aspect to be taken care of at the beginning stage. 

2. Planning Phase

This is a subset of the previous stage. All the tasks identified during the previous stage are carefully planned in this one. The work breakdown structure usually known as WBS is a crucial part of the planning phase, which means breaking the project into smaller and more manageable tasks. In this stage, a project schedule is created, detailing the sequence of tasks, their dependencies, and estimated durations. It helps in setting realistic timelines and identifying critical path activities. Risk management and quality assurance are other parts of this phase. 

3. Execution Phase

The team starts off the project work in this phase. Everything that was planned and researched is put into action here. It involves putting the project plan into action so the delivery is done on time. The Progress in this phase is monitored against the project plan to track whether tasks are being completed on time and within budget. Adjustments are made as needed to keep the project on track. The team updates the stakeholders about the project through meetings and other methods as agreed by both parties. Regular meetings are conducted to ensure swift work and to identify risk factors. 

4. Monitoring and Control Phase

The monitoring and control phase involves ongoing oversight of the project to ensure it stays on track and meets its objectives. Project progress is regularly measured and compared against the planned schedule, budget, and quality targets in this phase. The team uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess project performance. Risks are continuously monitored, and appropriate actions are taken to mitigate or address them. Risk response strategies are also implemented as necessary. Quality control measures are applied to ensure that project deliverables meet the defined quality standards. Change requests are evaluated and managed according to the established change control process.

5. Project Closure

The final phase where the project is closed and delivered. This involves testing, checking, and delivering the project for approval. It also includes making changes as advised by stakeholders. A project review or evaluation is conducted to assess the project’s overall performance, identify lessons learned, and capture best practices.

Benefits of Project Management

Project management is a set of best practices that are used by almost all companies of different industries. A lot of them use Agile frameworks for project development. Below are the major benefits of project management:

• Strategic planning ensures the project goes in the right direction


• Improves communication and collaboration across the teams


• Better client or stakeholder satisfaction as you provide timely feedback and reviews


• Timely quality checks leave no room for error


• Better planning ensures efficient time management


• The budget is maintained because of properly followed project management processes

Conclusion

If you want your team to acquire project management skills and add more value to your workflow, then our Spoclearn offers various Project Management Certificaton Training Courses that can be of great help. With modules specifically designed for practical knowledge and hands-on experience, the course can benefit individuals and enterprise teams in an organization in the long run.