Project Phases and the project Life Cycle

• Projects divide each project into several project phases to improve management control and provide for links to the ongoing operations of the performing organization.
• Each project phase is marked by completion of one or more deliverables.
• The conclusion of a project phase is generally marked by a review of both key deliverable and project performance to date.
• These phase-end reviews are often called phase exits, stage gates, or kill points.
• Subprojects within projects may also have distinct project life cycles.
• The project life cycle serves to define the beginning and the end of a project.
• Project life cycles generally define:
• What technical work should be done in each phase (e.g., is the work of the architect part of the definition phase or part of the execution phase?).
• Who should be involved in each phase (e.g., implementers who need to be involved with requirements and design).
• The project life-cycle definition will also determine which transitional actions at the beginning and the end of the project are included and which are not.