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'Great projects are delivered by great people.'
In today's world, business around the world have undergone rapid change.
Customers expect businesses to adapt rapidly to the changing environment
by providing more offerings cheaper and faster than before. This rate of
change has forced businesses to transform their operational processes into
project-based initiatives. Below is a summary of the Method123 Project
Management Methodology (MPMM) which will outline the phases, activities
and processes to undertake a project.
Project Life Cycle
The 4 phases of Project Life Cycle are shown below.
1. Project initiation
Within the initiation phase, the business problem or opportunity is identified,
a solution is defined, a project is formed and a project team is appointed to
build and deliver the solution to the customer. The figure below shows the
activities undertaken during the initiation phase:
1.1 Develop a business case
The trigger to initiating a project is identifying a business problem or
opportunity to be addressed. A business case is created to define the
problem or opportunity in detail and identify a preferred solution for
implementation. The business case includes:
• a detailed description of the problem or opportunity;
• a list of the alternative solutions available;
• an analysis of the business benefits, costs, risks and issues;
• a description of the preferred solution;
• a summarized plan for implementation.
The business case is then approved by an identified project sponsor,
and the required funding is allocated to proceed with a feasibility study.
1.2 Undertake a feasibility study
At any stage during or after the creation of a business case, a formal
feasibility study may be commissioned. The purpose of a feasibility study
is to assess the likelihood of each alternative solution option achieving
the benefits outlined in the business case.
The feasibility study will also investigate whether the forecast costs are
reasonable, the solution is achievable, the risks are acceptable and the
identified issues are avoidable.
1.3 Establish the terms of reference
After the business case and feasibility study have been approved, a new
project is formed. At this point, terms of reference are created. The terms of
reference define the vision, objectives, scope and deliverables for the new
project. They also describe the organization structure, activities, resources
and funding required to undertake the project. Any risks, issues, planning
assumptions and constraints are also identified.
1.4 Appoint the project team
The project team are now ready to be appointed. Although a project
manager may be appointed at any stage during the life of the project,
the manager will ideally be appointed prior to recruiting the project team.
The project manager creates a detailed job description for each role in the
project team, and recruits people into each role based on their relevant
skills and experience.
1.5 Set up a project office
The project office is the physical environment within which the team is
based. Although it is usual to have one central project office, it is possible
to have a virtual project office with project team members located around
the world. A project office environment should include:
• equipment, such as office furniture, computer equipment, stationery and
materials;
• communications infrastructure, such as telephones, computer network,
e-mail, Internet access, file storage, database storage and backup facilities;
• documentation, such as a project methodology, standards, processes,
forms and registers;
• tools, such as accounting, project planning and risk modelling software.
1.6 Perform a phase review
At the end of the initiation phase, a phase review is performed. This is
basically a checkpoint to ensure that the project has achieved its objectives
as planned.
2. Project Planning
Now that the project has been properly defined and the project team
appointed, you are ready to plan the project in detail. The project planning
phase involves creating a suite of planning documents which help guide the
project team through the remaining phases of the project. The activities
outlined below need to be completed.
3. Project Execution
After you have carefully planned your project, you will be ready to start the
project execution phase. The execution phase is typically the longest phase
of the project. It is the phase within which the deliverables are physically built
and presented to the customer for acceptance. To ensure that the
customer’s requirements are met, the project manager monitors and
controls the production of each deliverable by executing a suite of
management processes. After the deliverables have been physically
constructed and accepted by the customer, a phase review is carried
out to determine whether the project is complete and ready for closure.
Time
Management
