Industry standard for generic Project Lifecycle "Phase" names
Anupam SharmaPM Consultant| AKS Inc.Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Is anyone aware of industry standard names for Phases in a project lifecycle. These should be generic in the sense that they should be usable for IT, Business, and other projects. I.e., the names should not imply SDLC (as an example).
PMBOK does not appear to cover this. Saving Changes...
Using PMBOK as a reference, you will see there is no "standard" set of Life Cycle Phases. PMBOK indicates that Phase are relevant to each organisation and project.
What PMBOK does comment on is a series of common processes across each Phase (being... Initiate, Plan, Execute, Control and Close)
The danger of reusing these as phases is you get confusion over terminology. I have seen these used in a Life Cycle, I have also seen:
Concept, Evaluation, Design and Plan, Build and Implement, Benefits.
Another danger I see when looking at phase names is interpretation of meaning.
IT phase names may still be suitable for Non-IT projects, for example Design could be replaced with Layout, Test could be replaced Validate.
The problem you run into is you are using a single (or few)word(s) to describe an activitiy. These words will, without a doubt, be interperated differently by different people. Saving Changes...
Using PMBOK as a reference, you will see there is no "standard" set of Life Cycle Phases. PMBOK indicates that Phase are relevant to each organisation and project.
What PMBOK does comment on is a series of common processes across each Phase (being... Initiate, Plan, Execute, Control and Close)
The danger of reusing these as phases is you get confusion over terminology. I have seen these used in a Life Cycle, I have also seen:
Concept, Evaluation, Design and Plan, Build and Implement, Benefits.
Another danger I see when looking at phase names is interpretation of meaning.
IT phase names may still be suitable for Non-IT projects, for example Design could be replaced with Layout, Test could be replaced Validate.
The problem you run into is you are using a single (or few)word(s) to describe an activitiy. These words will, without a doubt, be interperated differently by different people. Saving Changes...
Michael BrownProject Manager| JPMorganChaseDeerfield, Il, United States
I'd second Mark's comments and take it one step further. Typically, phase names are very industry specific. For example, while "Plan, Design, Code, Test, Implement" may work for an IT organization, these concepts are not as relevant in an advertising agency. Similarly, drug manufacturers have a very specific set of phases and process/methodology they follow to bring new products to market - an endeavor that can span 8-10 years. Saving Changes...
Anupam SharmaPM Consultant| AKS Inc.Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Mark, Michael, Thank you for your inputs.
Everyone, The company I'm doing this project is in the Insurance industry. Does anyone has an inputs for phase names in this industry?.
I will post here the decision we finally come up with (which will be targeted to cover IT and Business projects).
Saving Changes...
Anonymous
In SDLC, there are five to seven standard phases that each "serial implementation" methodology or firm adopts and renames:
Analysis Design Construction Implementation Testing Closure (this is all the necessary, unglamorous work)
What gets interesting is the newer (OK, several year old) methodologies that take an iterative approach. For example, Rational Software's RUP. Saving Changes...
A final comment (I work in the insurance industry also)
try words like these:
Proposal Plan Investigate Create Check Implement/communicate Review
Good luck Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Dear Sharma, extending upon the PMBOK you can try the following for your "generic" PM processes: 1. Project Selection, 2. Initiating, 3. Planning, 4. Executing, 5. Controlling, 6. Closing, 7. Continuous Improvement. Though there are a number of methodologies and project life cycle phases out there, many of them do not fully address the activities or phases both at the very beginning of a project idea as well as at the end and after closing. If you would like, I would be happy to send you process descriptions, step guidance, and a list of PM templates, forms, and checklists that correspond to these processes. Cheers. -- Mark Perry, VP of Customer Care, BOT International Saving Changes...
