Project life cycle: The 5 phases explained

Qual é o ciclo de vida do projeto?

The project life cycle is a five-phase framework project managers use to guide their projects to completion. It outlines all project stages, from inception to final implementation, and describes what the team must achieve during each phase.

Below is a summary of the project life cycle phases and their primary objectives.

1. Initiation: Define the project’s scope, cost, feasibility, goals, timeline, and success criteria.
2. Planning: Create a project roadmap or detailed action plan that outlines the tasks needed to complete the project.
3. Execution: Carry out the work to complete the product, service, or result. Ensure your team has all the necessary resources, tools, and instructions.
4. Monitoring and controlling: Monitor the progress and performance of your team and project to identify any deviations from the plan or quality issues so you can make changes accordingly.
5. Closure: Close the project, sign any outstanding contracts, pay vendors, conduct a post-project review, and identify how to improve next time.

When project managers clearly understand the various project management phases, they can see the big picture and better understand how to handle each stage. By breaking the project down into more straightforward steps, it’s easier for project managers to anticipate what’s coming next, which helps them stay on track and ensure the project’s success. Using the right tools and methods contributes to effective team management throughout the project life cycle.

The 5 phases of a project life cycle

Understanding the five project management life cycle phases and their requirements will give you a repeatable, improvable framework for effective project management.

Fase de iniciação

Fase de planejamento

During the planning phase in the project life cycle, you create a roadmap for completing the project on time and in line with your success criteria, all without going over budget.

In this stage, you’ll break your project into smaller tasks, set milestones and deadlines, and create detailed plans for resources, schedules, tools, and task assignments.

Below are some items you might create in the planning phase.

• Project management plan: Specify the project phases and tasks. Create a work breakdown structure and Gantt chart to outline task dependencies and timelines.
• Risk plan: Predict potential risks and create standard operating procedures for dealing with them, including who owns each issue.
• Financial plan: Create and allocate a budget across teams and resource types.
• Resource plan: Identify the team members you’ll need and assign roles. Use resource management software to centralize the documents, briefs, and other resources.
• Communication plan: Choose which channel(s) you’ll use to communicate with your team and clients. Decide how frequently you’ll communicate and set up meetings on the calendar.
• Quality plan: Establish KPIs and define how you’ll measure your team’s performance and outputs.

With a project management tool such as Jira, it's easy to store these plans in a centralized, accessible location. You can also access project planning templates to streamline your efforts.

Fase de execução

The project execution phase is where you implement the project plan and complete the project deliverables.

As the project manager, you assign tasks, clarify roles, answer questions, oversee work, facilitate communication, attend briefings and meetings, support your team, and keep them on track.

This might mean providing team members with new tools, materials, or resources.

Teamwork can be a challenge for projects with multiple people and complex tasks. Companies frequently use collaboration software to help teams work together and minimize downtime.

Jira provides end-to-end project execution management. The platform handles the day-to-day demands of executing complex projects, allowing teams to focus on delivering work rather than struggling with spreadsheets and disjointed tools.

With Jira, project managers can assign tasks, set deadlines, and automate reminders so nothing slips through the cracks. With all their work in one place, they can understand how each task impacts the timeline and budget, allowing immediate adjustments to keep the project moving forward.

Fase de monitoramento e controle

In this phase, you’ll track project progress and make adjustments to ensure the project stays on track.

Collect information from timesheets, reports, and team members. Using Jira to manage your next project will help you track a project’s progress; with either the timeline view, which acts as a Gantt Chart, or the Kanban board, both make it easier to identify when things are off track against your project roadmap.

As the project manager, your job is to restore order when issues arise—this is the controlling aspect of this phase.

Here are some examples of hiccups you might have to manage.

• Timeline: If a team member can’t complete a task on time, you assign it to someone else.
• Cost: A vendor cost is higher than anticipated, so you reduce the project scope.
• Team: A disagreement has arisen between two team members, so you help them resolve it.
• Quality: One part of the product is substandard, so you create a different approach for building it.
• Risk: An unforeseen risk emerges, and you need to mitigate it.

The monitoring and controlling phase lasts throughout the project life cycle. Project managers constantly spot opportunities to perform better.

You can integrate Confluence with tools like Jira to communicate your project’s progress across key stakeholders. Confluence keeps all project-related documentation in one place, allowing you to share updates, track changes, and collaborate in real-time with your team.

Closure phase

Projects have a defined end, unlike ongoing operations. This is the closure phase, where final tasks like delivering results, paying vendors, signing contracts, or ensuring proper storage and accessibility of documentation are completed.

Project managers will also use this phase to evaluate team performance, allowing them to spot areas for improvement.

Here are some questions you might ask during the closure phase:

• Did everyone accomplish their tasks?
• Did communication ever break down?
• What talents and shortcomings did you find in each team member?

Present these findings to your team members in a post-project meeting. Encourage them to speak, share what went wrong, and voice their ideas about how to do better on similar projects.

In addition to evaluating the team, assess the quality of your product.

• Is it up to the client’s standards?
• Did it solve the problem you set out to solve?
• Where did it underperform and overperform?

These questions will help you better understand your current ability to hit your goals. Qualitative and quantitative feedback is important. Run tests, send surveys, and get an accurate depiction of your creation’s performance.

Confluence is a valuable tool for documenting this entire process. With Confluence, you can easily store, share, and reflect on project outcomes, lessons learned, and team feedback, creating a centralized knowledge base for future projects.

Types of project life cycles

There are three variations of the project life cycle: Agile, Waterfall, and iterative.

Modelo ágil

O modelo ágil enfatiza a flexibilidade e o progresso iterativo. Ele permite ajustes e melhorias em todo o projeto. As equipes se adaptam aos poucos com base no feedback constante.

O modelo ágil é popular entre as equipes de desenvolvedores de software que dependem da colaboração constante entre os dois lados e encontram com frequência obstáculos imprevistos.

Duas estruturas ágeis que você pode considerar são Kanban e Scrum. O Kanban envolve a visualização de tarefas, a limitação do trabalho em andamento e a garantia de um fluxo contínuo de trabalho, o que o torna ideal para projetos que exigem flexibilidade sem prazos rígidos. O Scrum opera em sprints com intervalos de tempo, com metas definidas e revisões regulares, promovendo iterações estruturadas e responsabilidade da equipe.

Modelo em cascata

A metodologia Waterfall segue um fluxo sequencial linear, com cada fase dependente dos resultados das anteriores. Ao contrário do modelo ágil, ela não é um processo iterativo.

Exemplos de tipos de projetos que costumam seguir o modelo Waterfall incluem projetos de manufatura, construção e saúde.

Modelo iterativo

O modelo iterativo envolve ciclos repetidos para refinar o projeto por meio de feedback e várias iterações.

É um pouco diferente do modelo ágil, pois o feedback costuma ocorrer ao final de um marco. No modelo ágil, o feedback é mais contínuo e frequente.

Por que a gestão do ciclo de vida do projeto é importante?

A gestão eficaz do ciclo de vida do projeto simplifica os processos de várias maneiras:

• Maior visibilidade do projeto: as equipes podem remover obstáculos com iniciativa para garantir resultados oportunos e de alta qualidade, permitindo uma tomada de decisão mais eficaz.
• Melhor gestão de riscos: as equipes podem identificar riscos com antecedência e encontrar soluções. As verificações regulares de risco garantem que os projetos permaneçam dentro do prazo e evitem falhas ou atrasos dispendiosos.
• Comunicação aprimorada com as partes interessadas: com atualizações regulares, relatórios de progresso e reuniões, os participantes ficam mais informados e envolvidos durante todo o ciclo de vida do projeto.

Os gerentes de projeto podem usar as ferramentas do Jira para organizar e priorizar ideias. Facilitando a criação e o compartilhamento de roteiros personalizados com a equipe.

• O Jira divide grandes projetos em tarefas gerenciáveis, acompanha o progresso e incentiva o trabalho em equipe na empresa.
• O Jira Product Discovery trabalha com o Jira, oferecendo contexto e visibilidade sobre projetos de desenvolvimento de software, tarefas de negócios e muito mais.

Desafios da gestão do ciclo de vida do projeto

A gestão de projetos pode ser complexa e desafiadora. Ela precisa de atenção cuidadosa aos possíveis obstáculos, incluindo desvio de escopo, restrições de recursos e falhas na comunicação.

O desvio de escopo ocorre quando os requisitos do projeto se expandem além do que a equipe decidiu no início do projeto, o que pode levar a recursos insuficientes, atrasos e desvios do plano do projeto. Os processos de controle de alterações ajudam a eliminar o desvio de escopo. Os gerentes de projeto devem verificar o escopo do projeto com frequência, comunicar as alterações e envolver as partes interessadas para garantir que todas as alterações correspondam às metas do projeto.

As restrições de recursos podem causar atrasos, comprometendo a conclusão do projeto. Para superar esses problemas, verifique os recursos logo no início do planejamento do projeto. Crie um plano de backup para encontrar possíveis problemas e pensar em soluções, como obter ajuda externa ou transferir recursos.

Falhas na comunicação podem prejudicar a produtividade. Podendo incluir comunicação insuficiente, divergências e colaboração deficiente. Criar uma cultura em que as pessoas estejam felizes em compartilhar informações com a equipe do projeto e fazer reuniões regulares, formais e informais, pode manter todos em sintonia e evitar problemas na comunicação. Ferramentas de gestão de projetos, como o Jira, simplificam a comunicação, acompanham o progresso e facilitam o compartilhamento de informações.

How does Agile differ from traditional project life cycles?

Abaixo estão algumas técnicas comprovadas para dominar a gestão do ciclo de vida do projeto:

• Implemente marcos claros. Divida o projeto em marcos com prazos. A divisão faz com que o projeto pareça mais viável e permite que você acompanhe o progresso com mais eficiência.
• Troque informações com frequência. Faça reuniões com os membros da equipe para discutir o progresso, descobrir gargalos e buscar novas ideias.
• Esteja envolvido com as partes interessadas. Atraia as partes interessadas para o processo pedindo feedback, conversando sobre as atualizações e esclarecendo as solicitações delas para garantir que a equipe atenda a todas as expectativas.

Fique de olho no progresso das tarefas e facilite que os membros da equipe façam o mesmo. O que evita prazos perdidos e trabalhos esquecidos.

How does project life cycle management contribute to organizational growth?

É aqui que uma ferramenta como os quadros do Jira se torna útil.

Os quadros Kanban do Jira ajudam você a planejar, visualizar e monitorar o trabalho. Eles apresentam a você e à equipe uma visão geral compartilhada de todas as tarefas e o status delas. Os membros da equipe podem mover as tarefas com facilidade para o estágio certo, mantendo todos informados.

Use o Jira para a gestão eficaz do ciclo de vida do projeto

Project management can be complex and challenging, requiring careful attention to potential obstacles, such as scope creep, resource constraints, and communication breakdowns.

Scope creep happens when project requirements expand beyond what the team decided at the start of the project, leading to insufficient resources, delays, and deviations from the project plan. Change control processes help eliminate scope creep. Project managers must check the project's scope often, communicate changes, and involve stakeholders to make sure any changes match the project goals.

Resource constraints can cause delays, jeopardizing successful project completion. To overcome these resource issues, check your resources early in the project planning. Create a backup plan ahead of time. This is how you can find potential problems and think of solutions, like getting outside help or shifting your resources.

Productivity suffers when there are communication breakdowns, which encompass insufficient communication, disagreements, and poor collaboration. Creating a culture where people are happy to share information within the project team and holding regular meetings, both formal and casual, can keep everyone on the same page and prevent communication breakdowns. Project management tools, such as Jira, simplify communication, track progress, and simplify information sharing.