Project Life Cycle Characteristics
Projects vary in size and complexity. All projects can be configured within the following generic life cycle structure:
• Start of the project,
• Organization and preparation,
• Execution of work and
• Project closure.
This generic life cycle structure is often referenced during communications with senior management or other entities less familiar with project details. They should not be confused with the Project Management Process Groups, since the processes of a Process Group consist of activities that can be carried out and repeated within each phase of a project, as well as for the project as a whole. The project life cycle is independent of the life cycle of the product produced or modified by the project. However, the project must take into account the current phase of the product life cycle. This overview can provide a common frame of reference for comparing projects, even if they are of a different nature.
Typical Cost and Staffing Levels in a Generic Project Life Cycle Structure
The generic structure of the life cycle generally has the following characteristics:
• Cost and staffing levels are low at the start of the project, peak as work progresses, and drop rapidly as the project approaches closure.
• The curve above, a typical cost and staffing curve, may not be applicable to all projects. A project may, for example, require significant expenditures to secure the necessary resources at the beginning of its life cycle or to have its full staffing from a very early point in its life cycle.
• Risks and uncertainty are greatest at the beginning of the project. These factors decrease during the life of the project, as decisions are made and deliverables accepted.
• The ability to influence the final characteristics of the project’s product, without significantly affecting cost, is highest at the beginning of the project and decreases as the project progresses towards its conclusion.
While these characteristics remain present to some extent in almost all project life cycles, they are not always present to the same degree. In particular, adaptive lifecycles are developed with the intention of keeping stakeholder influences higher throughout the lifecycle and change costs lower than in predictive lifecycles.
Within the context of the generic life cycle structure, a project manager may determine the need for more effective control over certain deliverables or that certain deliverables must be finalized before the project scoping can be completed. Large and complex projects, in particular, may require this additional level of control. In these cases, the work developed to meet the project objectives can benefit from the formal division into phases.
