Project Life Cycle

Project Life Cycle

1. Initiation

   • This is the start of the project. It looks to see if it is possible to be  completed. It must have sensible limits such as time and money. 
   • Inputs
     • User requirements
       • Some of the requirements may be quite general, for example how many pages a website needs.  Or they may be very specific, for example the company logo must be in the top left corner of every web page
       • This is what the customer wants the product to be able to do.
         • keep records about suppliers, producing reports about the most popular products, the website must have ten linked web-pages.
     • User constraints
       • The elements the project must stick to for example
         • Time
           • The start and end date for the project. The end date is when the deliverable product is released to the client.
         • Money
           • The amount of money that can be spent during the project. If the project is planned in enough detail then the budget should not be exceeded. There are, however, always exceptions to this.
         • Specific hardware
           • The hardware that the client wants the deliverable product to be installed or run on. The hardware to be used during the creation of the product may also be defined by the client.
         • Specific software
           • The software that the client wants the deliverable product to use to run on. The software to be used during the creation of the product may also be defined by the client.
   • Outputs
     • Feasability report
       • The feasibility report includes the answers to all the questions that are asked during the initiation phase. The report can also include different solutions for the client. The client can then select the solution they would like to be created. The feasibility study will also consider the constraints and requirements which have been provided by the client. These need to be realistic if the project is to go ahead.
     • Legislation
       • Which acts legislation and regulations need to be considered will depend on the type of product that is to be created. For example: If a website is to be created, then the project manager may need to consider the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, if any images or photographs created by other people are to be used.
     • Phase review
       • The phase review for the initiation phase will consider the feasibility report. A decision will be taken by the project manager and the client about whether the project is to carry on. The phase review for the initiation phase may find some omissions in the information collected and so the initiation phase will be repeated.

2. Planning

   • The project plan, is created by the project manager.  The plan forms the basis on which the project will be completed. The plan will include: a breakdown of the tasks, and the time and resources allocated to each one   how the tasks link – it may be possible to complete some tasks at the same time while others will need to be completed one after another
   • Inputs
     • SMART goals
       • Specific
         • Why do I want to achieve this goal, when, with whom, why, how etc
   • Outputs

3. Execution

   • Inputs
   • Outputs

4. Evaluation

   • Inputs
   • Outputs