This paper examines the five phases of the project management life cycle and analyzes how each phase can support an organization's business strategy. Drawing on Kerzner's project management maturity model and Reynolds and McDonough's work on project monitoring, the paper walks through the initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closing phases. It highlights how each phase contributes to portfolio selection, resource management, stakeholder communication, and organizational learning. The paper also notes the role of modern project management software in enabling leaner teams to accomplish more within tighter constraints, ultimately helping organizations save time and money.
The paper demonstrates phase-by-phase comparative analysis: rather than treating the project life cycle as a single undifferentiated process, the author systematically links each phase to a corresponding organizational or lifecycle concept from the literature. This technique shows the reader not just what each phase does, but how it maps onto broader frameworks, strengthening the analytical argument that project management supports business strategy.
The paper opens with a framing statement that introduces all five phases and their strategic value, citing Kerzner. Each subsequent body section addresses one phase in sequence—initiation, planning, execution, monitoring—covering the phase's purpose, the role of the project manager, stakeholder considerations, and relevant tools such as project management software. A brief conclusion synthesizes the main takeaway: that structured phase management, aided by modern software, enables leaner and more cost-effective project execution. Works Cited follows APA-adjacent formatting.
This paper examines the project management life cycle and analyzes how each phase can support an organization's business strategy. These phases include the initiation phase, the planning phase, the execution phase, the monitoring phase, and the closing phase. As Kerzner remarks, this approach provides the portfolio selection that is important for companies, since it keeps them from taking on projects they cannot handle while effectively managing the projects they do have. The process allows maximum time and resource management to ensure the job gets done (Kerzner, 2005, p. 153).
In the initiation phase, the projected goal is established. The assigned project manager works with the involved parties — known as project stakeholders — in order to fully determine how to measure success once the project is completed. The stakeholders are often the ones funding the project, which gives them an overriding need to know what is happening. This knowledge is necessary because the project scope must be defined at the outset. The scope typically includes the project goals, the budget, the timelines, and any other variables that can be used to measure success at the final closing phase (Reynolds & McDonough, 2011). This is similar to the concept of the embryonic phase, where the project is being conceived alongside the selection of leadership ("Project management," 2011).
The planning phase is where the project manager does the groundwork of the project. Here, the project manager typically creates a specific list of tasks that must be completed in order for the project goal or goals to be met successfully. This list should consist of identifiable steps that can be documented in the form of tasks. Often, project managers choose to develop these tasks manually — for example, through an old-fashioned brainstorming session using sticky notes, systematically laying out tasks so they can be viewed in the context of the total picture. Sometimes, project management software is used to streamline this process when there are time constraints and limited personnel available (Reynolds & McDonough, 2011). This phase encompasses many of the same attributes as the line management phase, where the project is accepted and commitment is made by management and the organization ("Project management," 2011).
In this examination of the project life cycle, planning definitely prevents poor progress. The five phases, aided by modern project management software, allow smaller and leaner teams to perform and coordinate better, saving time and money for the organizations that undertake these projects.
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