Project Management Phases

There are different opinions about the number of phases in PM. McKinsey sometimes uses five phases, but KPMG uses four every once in a while. In any case, a project should always go through the following four basic phases. You can insert as many phases as you like between these phases:

1. Idea

In this phase, the goals of the project are defined, the period of time and budget are set, and a rough project structure for processing in smaller parts is created. At the beginning of every project there is already the end. It is about defining the goal of the project roughly, but still resiliently, so that it can motivate all the steps in the further course of the project.

2. Planning

In this phase, the project structure is worked out in detail. Individual project modules (measures) are developed, which in turn consist of concrete individual steps (activities). This determines who does what and at which time. In addition, a plan is drawn up as to which cost objectives each measure in the project has.

3. Implementation

In this phase, the project is realized by the participants. Progress is continuously monitored in order to identify potential problems at an early stage.

4. Closing

In the final phase, the results of the project are compared with the initial frameworks. After completion of the project there should be a debriefing so that the course of the project can be reviewed and all project participants can give feedback.