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The Project Cycle

Initiating
Planning
Executing
Closing

Introduction to Project Management

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Every project proceeds through a cycle comprised of four stages: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Closing

Initiating: This is the first step of every project cycle. Getting a project underway can be very simple or very complex, depending on factors such as who is involved, what the end product will be, what the end user will expect and other important considerations. Defining a project is the opportunity to establish those components and boundaries, so that the size and shape of the project—as well as its outcomes—are all understood and agreed upon before beginning work.

Planning: Planning is the important second stage because the amount of time and energy dedicated to planning will correlate directly to how well the project stays on schedule and on budget, and how well it meets its goals.

Executing: The core of the project is in the end, the doing itself—the creation or implementation of the planning. The Executing Stage is the third part of the project cycle.

Closing: The last step in every project is the closing. This is the opportunity to focus on the quality of the project deliverables (a portfolio, a performance, a website, etc.), the learning outcomes for individual students, and the effectiveness of the team’s work and processes. It is also the time to document lessons learned, and archive information.

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Executing Phase Steps

Roles and Responsibilities
Monitor and control process
Managing risk

The Executing Phase

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Roles and Responsibilities

The Executing Phase

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Explain how Project Managers can be part of the Monitor and Control Cycle, and that their responsibilities may fall into three categories:

Communication Manager: Keeps track of the materials by filling in the master inventory list, naming, and filing (digitally or physically) all the materials so they can be found and accessed by others when needed. This student helps coordinate each team’s internal communication through regular check-ins. This manager makes sure that all teams are getting the information they need from each other, if they have dependent deliverables.

Time Manager: Helps teams remain on schedule and coordinates schedules between teams that have dependent deliverables. This manager consults with the Project Manager on the overall project schedule and determines how each team’s progress may impact the bigger picture. This student helps create the impact statement for each review cycle.

Quality & Risk Manager: Helps teams get the supplies or other resources they need to meet their deliverables with a high quality. This manager works with the Time Manager to target additional resources for teams that may be facing schedule challenges, and/or to prioritize resources for deliverables or activities that present a high risk to the project’s success. This person helps create the impact statement for each review cycle.

Project Manager: Helps keep the project in scope by reviewing the impact statement and master inventory and status report(s). This manager compares that information to the original project Goals and makes updates or revisions to the Student Project Plan as needed. During each monitor and control cycle, the Project Manager reports (formally or informally) to the stakeholders, and presents a project update to the larger group.

Explain that in addition to the managers, each person on a team will be responsible for certain activities.

EXAMPLE Project team roles will not always be equivalent. Some people on a project team (e.g., the student whose job it is to water) will have very specific areas of responsibility with limited authority (she is meant to water once each day for 30 minutes, unless it is raining). Other students on the team may have more responsibility and authority (e.g., one who is responsible for determining when the vegetables are ready to be picked). Depending on the project, your project team or schedule may be assigned per each activity. For example, if you are planning a student garden, one team may be in charge of the activity “Plant” and one team might be in charge of “Fertilize.”

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Monitor and Control Process

The Executing Phase

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Monitor and Control Cycle. This may be daily, weekly, bi-weekly or even monthly, based on the length and complexity of your project. The monitor and control cycle should occur often enough that no single part of the project can get significantly off track in between check-ins. Determining the length of the cycle is based on the types of deliverables and how quickly each element is moving through the project schedule. You may decide to establish different cycles for different elements.

Involving students in the monitor and control process is a great way to keep a focus on the three-legged stool for successful projects. (See more about the three-legged stool model for project success in the Preface.)

While a project is being executed, several elements must be monitored: the use of time and resources, the quality of the work, and the documentation of key information. Through monitoring these elements, teams will be sure that they control the scope of the project, or that they are proactively revising their Student Project Plan to ensure the project’s eventual completion and success.

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Monitor and Control Process

Step 1: Status Report

Step 2: Document & Communicate

Step 3: Analyze Impact

Step 4: Update and Report

The Executing Phase

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Step 1: Status Report

Evaluate the project’s progress:

Each team creates a status report.

The Executing Phase

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Each monitor and control cycle begins with evaluating progress, usually through a progress report. The progress report is an objective accounting of the status of each task and activity.

Whether created by each individual or for each team, the report is an opportunity to consider progress toward milestones. Generally progress reports are meant to be a snapshot in time, as well as a planning tool for moving forward. They consider “where are you right now” as well as “what is needed to move ahead successfully.”

The Status Report lists the following information:�

The time frame of the report
Activities, tasks or milestones that were scheduled to occur in this time period
Anything incomplete from the last report time frame
Anything else that occurred in this time period even if not scheduled. That includes things that were scheduled in previous time frames that are not yet complete.

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Step 2: Document & Communicate

The Executing Phase

Tracking over time
Ongoing and final archive

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The documentation part of the monitor and control cycle

Communicates information which may be needed for dependent deliverables being created by other teams or team members
Codifies decisions and actions as a snapshot in time, for reference and decision making, for reviewing, and evaluating the project
Provides information for future projects, which may be a useful baseline and/or increase efficiency

Most projects will have some kind of information that needs to be tracked so that it is all in one central location where all team members know how to find it. This might be data for a science experiment, tracking supplies used for a design project, or compiling works from multiple authors for a classroom blog.

Documentation of a project may include recording information about the process (e.g., lessons learned) or actual work product of the project itself (e.g., data reports, specifications, drawings, etc.)

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�Step 3: Analyze Impact

The Executing Phase

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Review information in Status Reports
Reference Master Inventory
Write Impact Statement

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The impact analysis is performed by reviewing the information provided in the status reports, and possibly referencing the master inventory (when needed). If there are multiple teams working together, this analysis provides an across-the-project view of the project’s progress.

At the end of the analysis, it is typical to write an impact statement that indicates any action items that are recommended to address shortcomings and the expected future impact (positive or negative) of those actions. These actions may include applying more resources, allowing more time, changing the deliverables, or other adjustments. The impact statement needs to be reviewed in the context of the schedule, deliverables and resources, and may lead to the revision of the Student Project Plan.

Once the status report and master inventory are done, the Quality & Risk Manager and Time Manager should use this information to track the project’s overall progress, help prioritize next steps, and if needed, recommend revisions.

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Step 4: Update and Report

Update: Planning documents, schedules, etc.
Report: Internal and External Stakeholders

The Executing Phase

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Ongoing communication ensures that all team members have the information they need, and that stakeholders’ expectations are being managed through the project. Each monitor and control cycle should include a project report.

Make decisions about changes to the Student Project Plan. Will the schedule be revised? Will more resources be allotted? Will any deliverables change? During this revision it is key to review the scope of the project to be sure it has not changed. If the scope has changed, then what other changes must be made in schedule or resources to accommodate that?

Assess the information, make new action items (if needed), revise the Student Project Plan, and report out to the team and stakeholders. The Project Manager leads these activities. The teacher will need to determine how the information will be communicated to the stakeholders.

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Monitor and Control Process

Step 1: Status Report

Step 2: Document

Step 3: Analyze Impact

Step 4: Update and Report

The Executing Phase

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