Project Life Cycle Phases and Business Strategy Support
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.
- Introduction: Overview of five project life cycle phases
- Initiation Phase: Establishing goals, scope, and stakeholder roles
- Planning Phase: Groundwork, task lists, and brainstorming methods
- Execution Phase: Putting the plan in motion with software support
- Monitoring Phase: Tracking progress, reports, and stakeholder updates
- Conclusion: Planning and software enable leaner, cost-effective teams
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What makes this paper effective
- Follows a clear, logical structure that mirrors the actual sequence of the project life cycle, making the argument easy to follow from start to finish.
- Integrates relevant citations (Kerzner, Reynolds & McDonough) to ground claims in established project management literature rather than relying solely on general assertions.
- Draws meaningful parallels between the five project management phases and corresponding lifecycle concepts (embryonic phase, line management phase, maturity phase), adding analytical depth.
Key academic technique demonstrated
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.
Structure breakdown
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.
Introduction
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).
Initiation Phase
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).
Works Cited
Kerzner, H. (2005). Using the project management maturity model: Strategic planning for project management (2nd ed., p. 153). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Reynolds, D., & McDonough, M. (2011, May 3). Looking at project monitor and control. Retrieved from
Project management. (2011, July 4). Retrieved from
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