The Project Lifecycle

There is no single project lifecycle model that fits all kinds of project. Each industry or application area has its own distinct model with very specific characteristics (a simple software development life cycle model is illustrated below). Even within a particular application area both the model used and its precise interpretation can vary. In every case, however, the lifecycle model provides project managers with a structure within which work can be identified and organised into phases. Once an appropriate life cycle model has been selected, its structure can be used to form the basis for developing the project plan.


A simple Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

A simple Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)


In the absence of an application-specific life cycle model, a generic model can be used to provide the necessary framework. The following phases might form part of such a model:


A simple generic project life cycle

A simple generic project life cycle


The project life cycle model can be used as a framework within which to plan project activities and to define project milestones. Each phase of the life cycle will be associated with a specific set of deliverables which can be evaluated against the planned objectives for the current phase, and which will form the foundation on which the next phase of the life cycle will build. The end of each phase will be a significant project milestone. In many projects, the phases of the life cycle model used will form the basis for the Work Breakdown Structure (we will look at this in some detail elsewhere), which is used to define and organise the units of work that must be undertaken during the project’s lifetime, and which forms the basis for the project plan. The standard assumption is that each phase will be completed before the next phase begins, although there are invariably exceptions to this rule.