What Happens in the Initiation Phase?

The first phase of project management is the Initiation phase. It's during this initial time that the project goal is established. During Phase 1, if a project manager has been assigned, this person works with the involved parties, otherwise known as the project stakeholders, to fully determine how to measure the success of the project once all work is complete. This allows the project manager and project stakeholders (these are the people with a vested interest in the project, and often the ones shelling out the money to make it happen) to agree on the project scope. The project scope will include project goals, budget, timelines and any other variables that can be used for success measurement once you reach the final phase, Closing. There aren't a whole lot of software programs that can help you during the Initiation phase, aside from a word processor to create your Project Charter. This document includes a list of goals and a short statement, like a mission statement, providing a detailed overall goal. Within this statement, you should also include a definition of success. During the Initiation phase you are not making a list of the things that need to happen to accomplish your total project goal, but rather a list of end-results. For example, Digitizing two hours of video is a task, but offer streaming videos of lectures to my class is a goal. Some project managers will disagree with this approach arguing that the Initiation phase is exactly where you'll define your project's tasks and milestones. However, in my experience, the Initiation phase is about clearly defining your target so you'll know when the objectives have been met. You can use the next phase, Planning, to address the project details. In this article, we'll look at the Planning phase. Often the most time-consuming of the phases of project management, the Planning phase is where you lay your project groundwork. In Phase 1 - Initiation, you define your project deliverables through the Project Charter. Now, in Phase 2 - Planning, you create a specific list of things that need to happen in order for your goal or goals to be met. Your specific list of identifiable steps is documented in the form of tasks. Many project managers choose to come up with project tasks using a manual method -- such as a good, oldfashioned brainstorming session. A technique that seems to work well is to write tasks on individual sticky notes (such as Post-It notes). Then, once you have your tasks written down, begin to hang them in the order you think they will logically occur during your project. This type of format allows you to rearrange tasks and see the whole project laid out in a visual format. Another great option for determining what tasks need to be done, and how long a task might take is to refer to past projects in which similar steps needed to be taken. Or, better yet, go talk to industry experts. Simply asking the people that will be doing the work (or who have done it in the past) how much time is needed to complete a task is enough to get a rough estimate.

In the project management world, there are formulas for calculating a task's estimated duration and many project management still make these calculations by hand. But, there are many handy project management software programs that can automatically make these calculations for you. Even at this early stage in the phases of project management, you can begin to enter your tasks into a project management program and allow the software to do the heavy arithmetic for you. Once you know what needs to be done, you can use a calendar to determine when the work should be completed and a list of resources to assign your tasks to specific people. Tasks should be clear and simply stated. If a task cannot be described in a sentence or two or completed between two hours and two weeks, you might want to break it up into two or more smaller tasks.

In this article, we'll look at the Execution phase. Phase three in PMBOK's phases of project management is the Execution phase (although, this phase may also be referred to as the Implementation phase). The name of the phase isn't nearly as important as what happens during this phase.

During the Execution phase, your best-laid plan from Phase 2 - Planning is put to work. This is also a great time to use your project management tracking software to it's fullest extent. Project management software is a must during this time. It doesnt have to be fancy, or even expensive, but it does need to keep you on top of everything you thought would happen during this project and whether or not it is actually happening. While the Planning phase can take a considerable amount of time, depending upon the project deliverables, the Execution phase can take as long or longer than the Planning phase. This is also the time when you'll spend the bulk of your money and keep your resources busy "executing" the project plan. During the Execution phase, the project manager spends a considerable amount of time in communication making sure the resources (or people, equipment and materials) are available to do their work and know what work needs to be completed. There's quite a bit to this phase as a project manager as you work to juggle many aspects of your project. During this phase, you'll use all of your management skills to implement and manage cost and quality, risks and change, and several other factors. This is also a great time to work to keep the project stakeholders informed of the project's progress.

What's Involved in the Project Closing Stage?

written by: Jean Scheid edited by: Michele McDonough updated: 2/19/2011 The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) defines the five phases of Project Management. In this article, well look at Phase 5 - Closing.

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No Abrupt Endings
Before the celebrations can begin, there are a few final details that need to be attended to so the project can be officially closed. That's the whole purpose of the final phase of the phases of project management - Closing. During this phase, project managers often depend on their project management software to provide detailed summary reports of everything from missed timelines to the amount of money spent during the project and how that information matches up with the original project plan.

Using good project management software can save you a lot of time during this phase. Joe Taylor, Jr, an internal business consultant for a Fortune 500 company, wrote a great article on the top project management software packages for under $100. You can use any of these tools or go for something bigger and more expensive. It really all depends on the types of projects you manage. Just make sure that the software you choose allows you to create end-of-project reports. These reports will be used for a number of purposes, including: If you've done your legwork before and during the project and kept good records, the Closing phase will probably be your shortest project phase. This assumes, of course, that you have obtained a signature sign-off from the project stakeholders. The sign-off is probably the single most important closing document. Without a physical signature on a document that clearly states the project has reached it's completion date, your stakeholders are likely to continue to keep your number on speed dial for a myriad of changes and "enhancements" you can't even begin to predict. Getting sign-off on a formal closing

document is a great way to put a stake in the ground. This doesn't mean enhancements can't still be made, but if they didn't fall under the original project scope, those enhancements are their own, unique project.