Project Management Life Cycle: The 5 Phases Explained

All projects follow a finite framework known as the project management life cycle, which consists of five phases and moves from start to finish. Having a firm understanding of the project management life cycle can help you better manage projects by maintaining a clear focus on what needs to be accomplished at every stage.

In this article, we'll review the different phases in-depth and how you can further develop your knowledge about the life cycle. Afterward, build key project management skills and learn about different methodologies by enrolling in the Google Project Management Professional Certificate.

What is the project management life cycle?

The project management life cycle is a step-by-step framework of best practices used to shepherd a project from initiation to conclusion. By following each step, teams increase their chances of achieving their goals, including meeting crucial deadlines and staying within budget.

While project managers can choose from many project management methodologies to define how they'll oversee a project, the project management life cycle is a larger framework that describes the order a project follows.

The five phases of the project management life cycle are:

• Initiating

• Planning

• Executing

• Monitoring & controlling

• Closing

The importance of the project management life cycle

The project management life cycle is important to follow for several reasons. It typically provides:

• A structured way to create, execute, and finish a project

• Clear phases, milestones, and deliverables

• Better communication among stakeholders

• Risk management

• Quality control

Project vs. product life cycle

Similar to the life cycle a project follows, products also follow a unique framework that begins when a product is introduced to consumers and ends when it's removed from shelves. Learn more about the product lifecycle.

The project management life cycle: 5 phases

Let's review the five phases of the project management life cycle and look more closely at the work that typically needs to be accomplished with each one.

1. Initiating

This is a crucial phase to the project’s success because it gives the team direction. Without clarity around what needs to be achieved and why, the project runs the risk of not accomplishing the end goals and meeting stakeholders' expectations.

In the initiation phase, you will define the project, including its purpose, goals, scope, resources, team roles, and stakeholder expectations.

The initiation phase can include the following steps:

• Communicating with stakeholders to understand the purpose and desired outcomes

• Identifying project scope

• Determining SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound)

• Clarifying resources like budget and time constraints

• Confirming team size and roles required

• Determining how often and which stakeholders will be involved throughout the project

• Compiling a project proposal and project charter

Tools and documents used in the initiation phase can include:

• Project proposal: The project proposal defines a project and outlines key dates, requirements, and goals.

• Project charter: This is a definitive document that describes the project and main details necessary to reach its goals. This can include potential risks, benefits, constraints, and key stakeholders.

• RACI chart: A RACI chart plots the roles and responsibilities of members on a project team.

2. Planning

In the planning phase, you’ll determine the steps to actually achieve the project goals. In other words, the “how” of completing a project. If the initiation phase involves assembling your troops, the planning phase involves deciding what to do with them.

You’ll establish budgets, timelines, milestones, source materials, and necessary documents. This step also involves calculating and predicting risk, implementing change processes, and outlining communication protocols.

The planning phase can include the following steps:

• Deciding on milestones that lead up to goal completion

• Developing a schedule for tasks and milestones, including time estimates and buffers

• Establishing change processes

• Determining how and how often to communicate with team members and stakeholders

• Creating and signing documents such as non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or requests for proposal (RFPs)

• Assessing and managing risk by creating a risk register

• Holding a kick-off meeting to start the project

Tools used in the planning phase can include:  

• Gantt chart: A horizontal bar chart in which members can see what tasks must be completed in what order, and how long each is expected to take

• Risk register: A chart that lists risks associated with the project, along with their probability, potential impact, risk level, and mitigation plans

Read more: What Is Change Management? + How to Use It Effectively

3. Execute and complete tasks

Executing a project means putting your plan into action and keeping the team on track. Generally, this means tracking and measuring progress, managing quality, mitigating risk, managing the budget, and using data to inform your decisions. 

The execution phase can include the following steps:

• Using tools like GANTT or burndown charts to track progress on tasks

• Responding to risks when they manifest

• Recording costs

• Keeping team members motivated and on task

• Keeping stakeholders informed of progress

• Incorporating changes via change requests

Tools used in the execution phase can include:

• Change requests: These are documents used to propose changes to a project’s scope or goals

• Burndown chart: This chart breaks down tasks on a granular level and visualizes the amount of time remaining

4. Monitor & control

Although monitoring and controlling is labeled as the fourth step, it typically takes place concurrently with the execution phase. You'll be responsible for monitoring the project's performance, gathering key data to determine whether it's performing in line with the project plan. If not, you will control the issues that need to be addressed.

Steps in the monitoring & controlling phase can include:

• Setting quality assurance protocols

• Using project monitoring tools

• Gathering relevant project data

• Identifying any issues (or risks) that arise

• Digesting that data into project reports

• Resolving issues by implementing change control

Tools used in the monitoring & controlling phase include:

• Project management software: Tools like Jira, Trello, and AirTable can help you monitor tasks, including the roles responsible for particular work, and their deadlines and deliverables.

• QA tools: Software like Jira, or data visualization charts like a Pareto chart or a Histogram, can help you communicate any important areas that need attention or what's going well.

• Change control plan: If you end up needing to implement changes to the project, a change control plan will help you outline what that entails, who will be responsible, and any deadline or budget adjustments that may impact project scope.

5. Close projects

In the closing phase of the project management life cycle, you’ll conclude project activities, turn the finished product or service over to its new owners, and assess the things that went well and didn’t go so well. It’ll also be a time to celebrate your hard work.

Steps in the closing phase can include:

• Conducting retrospectives and take notes of changes you can implement in the future

• Communicating to stakeholders of the end of the project and providing an impact report

• Communicating with the new owners of a project

• Creating a project closeout report

• Celebrating the end of the project and your successes

Tools used in the closing phase include:

• Impact report: This report compiles a series of metrics that showcase how your project made a difference and is presented to your stakeholders.

• Project closeout report: A project closeout report provides a summary of your project’s accomplishments, and provides key learnings for future project managers to reference.

The following video provides an overview of the project management life cycle. This is a preview of the Google Project Management Professional Certification.

3 ways to keep learning about the project management life cycle

Exploring the project management life cycle more extensively can be a great way to familiarize yourself with this process, discover how it works in real-life situations, and build a foundation for using the life cycle in the future. Here are three ways you can learn more:

1. Read project management books.

Reading books about project management is a low-cost way to gain insight into the project management life cycle and project management in general in your spare time.

2. Take an online course or complete a certificate.

Online courses and certificates, such as those you'll find on Coursera, offer a visual way to grasp key project management concepts, including the life cycle, as well as hands-on training so you get to practice what you're learning.

3. Network with project managers.

Engaging in discussions with other project managers allows you to gain first-hand accounts of how the project life cycle works. By building relationships and creating community with other project managers, you can ask questions, get practical tips, and potentially observe projects in action.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Career Chat. It's a low-commitment way to stay current with industry trends and skills you can use to guide your career path.

Sharpen your project management skills with Coursera

Deepen your knowledge of project management with the Google Project Management Professional Certificate. Over six courses, you'll learn about every phase of project management, including how to create effective project documentation and artifacts.