Everything You Need to Know About Project and Program Cycles

WHAT IS A PROGRAM CYCLE?
Module 2 : Project& ProgramCycle EvaM. Bajade
A program cycle is a series
of steps that your program
repeats until an end-of-file
condition is reached.
(www.ibm.com)

It provides a more strategic and evidence-
based approach to justifying resources and serves
as the basis for a more integrated budget cycle,
ensuring that resource decisions are built around
strategic plans and priorities and performance and
evaluation data.
( https://pdf.usaid.gov>PDACS774 )

It is an operational model for
planning, implementing, assessing
and adapting.
( USAID )

4 PHASES OF PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
1. The Project Initiation Stage
2. The Project Planning Stage
3. The Project Execution Stage
4. The Project Closure Stage

The Project Initiation Stage:
understand the goals, priorities,
deadlines, and risks of the project

The Project Planning Stage:
outline the tasks and timeline
required to execute on the project

The Project Execution Stage:
turn your plan into action and
monitor project performance

The Project Closure Stage:
analyze results, summarize key
learnings, and plan next steps

PROGRAMME CYCLE MANAGEMENT
The Program Life Cycle predominantly
resembles the project management lifecycle. The
fundamental difference is that while program
management aims at dealing with results and gains
and its value to the organization, project
management aims at delivering products on time
and obtaining customer satisfaction.

5 STAGES OF THE PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

1. Project Initiation Phase
The first phase in the
project management life cycle is
the initiation phase. This phase
is the starting point for all
projects when we need to make a
positive decision about the
objectives we need to achieve.

2. Project Planning Phase
This phase of the project is
essentially the plan that tells you where
you are supposed to be in the first place.
Without a plan, you have no idea if you
are doing okay or not. If you have no
plan, you have no control. You need to
know – How long will it take? – How
much will it cost? – What must be done?

3. Project Execution Phase
In the execution phase, work
begins on implementing the project
plan. This means putting it into
action as soon as possible. The
famous quote “Procrastination is the
thief of time” holds very true for
project execution.

4. Project Control Phase
In the previous, execution
phase, the process had started and
now in this project management life
cycle phase, the focus is on monitoring
the processes as the work is
performed. Typically, control is the day-
to-day effort of project managers to
keep project works on track.

5. Project Close Out Phase
Project closure is defined as the
learning stage of a project. In this
phase of a project, we collect and store
data on our successes and
shortcomings. This ensures that we do
not continue to find ourselves following
the same predictable path to failure.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
1. Determine the Project Goals and Objectives
The first step in the project planning phase is to
define the goals and objectives of your project.
Project goals and objectives help you decide if the
project should be prioritized (or even undertaken—essentially
you need to use a proof of concept).
They also assist you in deciding what to deliver to the
client and in identifying problems early on, e.g., a short
deadline.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
2. Determine the Project Scope
Stakeholders often request extra tasks or
significant changes in direction (sometimes several of
them) during a project that could derail it.
Your project scope protects you from unrealistic
expectations, conflicting interests, and unattainable
demands as the project progresses.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
3. Build Your Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
At this stage, start determining which tasks, subtasks,
and deliverables must be carried out to complete the project.
You can do this by referring to your scope and creating a work
breakdown structure—a structured decomposition of tasks
needed to complete a project.
In his book Project Management for Humans, Brett Harned
emphasizes the importance of work breakdown structure: "Creating a work
breakdown structure for any plan or set of tasks helps you get granular
about the work that needs to be done on any given project."

STAGES OF A PROJECT
4. Set Timelines
Now that you have individual tasks created,
you can set timelines for each activity.
Project timelines help you estimate the completion
date and keep things on track.
Timelines are usually plotted on a Gantt chart
or in a resource management tool like Float.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
5. Determine and Plan Resources
For a project to succeed, you need the right people
and resources.
The resource planning process in project
management involves a lot of project assumptions and
making estimates.
But from the past steps—especially your WBS,
scope, and goals—you should have a rough idea of what
resources you need.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
6. Estimate Costs
One of the challenges in the project planning
process is balancing your budget with your
stakeholders' desire to save money.
However, if you underestimate costs, you
might find yourself without funds in the middle of the
project.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
6. Estimate Costs
To approximate the cost of the project, you can use:
Ballpark estimation:
What do you think the entire project will cost based on
project objectives and client expectations? This is not an
exact figure. It could cost less or more, so let your clients
know. Use this method when you need to give a cost
estimate before determining things like your WBS or
resources.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
6. Estimate Costs
To approximate the cost of the project, you can use:
Parametric estimation:
Use historical data in your resource management
tool and the cost of variables to estimate costs. Turn your
WBS into a cost breakdown structure. You can take the
prices of a unit of labor, such as a mason working at $23 an
hour, and multiply it by the amount of time the project will
take.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
7. Determine risks and constraints
No project exists without risks or constraints.
The key to avoiding a project failure is identifying the
potential pitfalls and creating an action plan to handle
them.
One way to properly prepare is to create a risk
register—a document that lists all of the potential risks
and information about them. Also, include an action
plan to counter each project risk in your risk register.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
8. Plan Out Communication
Creating a communication blueprint is
essential in developing a project plan. "No
matter what role you’re playing on a project,
if you’re not making a strong effort to
communicate with your team, you will likely
fail," says Harned.

STAGES OF A PROJECT
9. Make Plans for Quality Control and
Assurance
Planning for project quality control involves
providing guidelines for managing, assuring, and
maintaining standards within the project.
Without a plan, it will be very tough to achieve
your desired results.
You might end up with a slow e-commerce
website or a leaky plumbing system!

PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE
The project management life cycle is
a step-by-step framework of best practices
used to monitor a project from its beginning
to its end.
It provides project managers with a
structured way to create, execute and
finish a project. (www.coursera.org)

PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE
The project management life cycle
provides structure to the execution of
project delivery.
It helps project teams ensure both
client deliverables and employee needs
are met throughout the project
management process. (blog.bigtime.net)

That is all.
Thank You
for Listening!

Everything You Need to Know About Project and Program Cycles

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