The 5 stages
The planning and workload required to manage and complete a project may seem insurmountable at first. Instead of panicking, just approach the project by subdividing it into easy to manage and organize efforts in clear steps.
Most projects develop in 5 stages: start, definition and planning, execution, implementation, control and conclusion. Each of these stages contains specific activities that will lead to the achievement of the project goal.
1. Start
At this stage, we will find ourselves evaluate the idea of the project together with the team: is it linked to the core business of our company? Can we make it? Will our business benefit? Here are the questions to ask, if the outcome of the questions is a yes, you can continue by defining the range of action the project or the results you want to achieve, and identify potential partners. This is the time to create a feasibility study.
The final result of this phase is a project plan, which must be approved by all parties involved. The approval will avoid misunderstandings and false expectations in the next steps.
2. Planning
At this crucial stage, the project guidelines are drawn. These include (but not limited to):
- establish concrete objectives and objectives
- estimate costs
- define the range of action and results to achieve
This project plan will contain information about theobtaining resources as well as on how producer a quality documentation, manage the unexpected risks and circumstances, communicate within the working team and with external stakeholders, and much more. Ideally, it will also bring a clear timeline with detailed information about what will happen and when. The best way to do this is to define intermediate objectives: high level objectives with clear deadlines.
As far as this stage is concerned, it is not necessary to get too close to estimated planning. Sometimes things don't work exactly as you imagined: a team member might get sick or some activities might be more challenging than expected. The project manager will have to monitor the scope, timing and budget of the project, and if necessary adapt these aspects so as not to ensure that the objectives are achieved.
3. Execution
In most cases, execution is the time when the project acquires visibility outside. This phase usually begins with a start meeting where each member of the team is informed about the activities he has to do and the important project details. In this phase we focus on creating a complete and accurate documentation. The project manager must evenly distribute resources and help the team stay focused on their tasks. This also means that the success of the execution phase of a project depends closely on the accuracy with which the planning phase was carried out.
4. Monitoring and Control
This phase often overlaps with the execution phase. In the course of a project, the status of deliveries must be maintained under observation, and planning team meetings at regular deadlines to make sure you keep in line with the expected. At this stage you will have to be careful for possible deviations from the default objectives.
Do you want to minimize the number of update meetings? A Project Management Software Cloud-based enables team members to update the progress of their business in real time.
5. Conclusion
A project is defined when the complete product is formally delivered to all stakeholders. But before this happens, it is advisable to reunite the team and evaluate the project together: what worked and what could be better? This will prevent similar errors in the future and will allow establish more stable processes and create more efficient teams.
