Page 30 - DMGT521_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Unit 2: The Project Life Cycle

projects, some degree of customisation is a characteristic of projects. In addition to the presence Notes
of risk, as noted earlier, this characteristic means that projects, by their nature, cannot be completely
reduced to routine. The PM’s importance is emphasized because, as a devotee of management by
exception, the PM will find there are a great many exceptions to manage by.

2.2.3 Purpose

A project is usually a one time activity with a well-defined set of desired end results. It can be
divided into subtasks that must be accomplished in order to achieve the project goals. The
project is complex enough that the subtasks require careful coordination and control in terms of
timing, precedence, cost, and performance. Often, the project itself must be coordinated with
other projects being carried out by the same parent organization.

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Caution Simultaneous projects often interact with other projects in terms of the functional
departments. Thus, the project manager must keep all these interactions clear and maintain
the appropriate interrelationships with all external groups.

2.2.4 Conflict

More than most managers, the PM lives in a world characterized by conflict. Projects compete
with functional departments for resources and personnel. More serious, with the growing
proliferation of projects, is the project versus project conflict for resources within multi-project
organizations. The members of the project team are in almost constant conflict for the project’s
resources and for leadership roles in solving project problems. If the characteristics listed above
define a project, it is appropriate to ask if there are non-projects. There are. The use of a
manufacturing line to produce a flow of standard products is a non-project. The production of
weekly employment reports, the preparation of school lunches, the delivery of mail, the flight
of Delta, 1288 from Dallas to Dulles, checking your e-mail, all are non-projects.
Now we know that a project is a specific, finite task to be accomplished. Whether large or small
scale or whether long or short run is not particularly relevant. What is relevant is that the whole
project should be taken as a single unit. There are, however, some attributes that characterize
projects.
Every project goes through various stages in its development. These stages vary depending on
the type of project. For example, a project to build a new car has different stages compared to a
project to develop an advertising campaign for a new type of washing detergent. However, at a
generic level projects must go through common steps such as:

1. Specifying in detail what the project is for.
2. Planning the project and working out how it will be done.
3. Doing the project and creating the deliverables according to the plan.

4. Checking that the deliverables are as you originally wanted and meet the needs.
5. Closing the project down.
These five steps defined are a simple project lifecycle. The lifecycle is a skeleton framework
which you can build your project around. From a slow beginning, they progress to a buildup of
size, then peak, after that a decline, and finally they are terminated. Some projects end up by
being phased out into the normal, ongoing operations of the parent organization.

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