Project life cycle and quick checklist as you navigate through these stages. This is a partial list of important considerations to maximize chances of your project success.

Initiate

• Receive formal go-ahead from project sponsor/s.
• Understand the project context including anticipated benefits and challenges.
• Assemble your team to initiate planning activities.

Plan

• Kick-off the project. Invite representative from all parties including suppliers.
• Define scope and charter, high-level project plan, key milestones, risk and issues management plan.
• Forecast budget, secure resources and communicate guiding principles as well as project vision to teams. If you want to use brainstorming – this is the stage!

Execute

• Establish and conduct periodic meetings with team. Use ad hoc meetings to build agreements to resolve issues/build agreements.
• Track progress – plan v/s actual, actively manage risk and issues.
• Keep management and stakeholders informed.

Monitor & Control

• Remember triple constraint (i.e. Scope, Cost, Schedule). Keep an eye on deliverables/product quality.
• Institute formal change management process and use it to avoid scope creep.
• Monitor project progress (i.e. Plan v/s Actual). Adjust plan to align with execution realities.

Closing

• Organize lessons learned. Apply learnings in your next project and share with other PMs.
• Ensure work and deliverables/documents are complete for smooth handover to operational organizations.
• Appreciate team’s contribution, celebrate (hint: good PMs set aside budget for this) and initiate a new project!

Are you ready to use some of these considerations to maximize your project success?