The 5 Steps of an Effective Project Management Process

Quick Summary

An effective project management process has 5 steps:
1. Project Initiation: An idea is transformed into an attainable goal by creating a project charter, whic outlines key project details like goals, constraints, stakeholders, budget, and timeline.
2. Project Planning: A detailed project roadmap is created, which may be done using traditional or Agile methods. Key activities include defining technical requirements, setting up communication and deliverables, creating a schedule, and conducting risk management.
3. Project Execution: The tasks outlined in the project plan are carried out. The project manager creates efficient workflows, monitors progress, and maintains effective communication and collaboration between stakeholders.
4. Project Monitoring and Controlling: This phase runs concurrently with execution. Project managers use key performance indicators (KPIs) and critical success factors (CSFs) to monitor progress, ensure goals are met, and manage costs.
5. Project Closing: Involves completing paperwork, terminating contracts, and conducting a reflection meeting to discuss successes and failures. A detailed project report is created for future reference.

Managing all the moving parts of any project can be a challenging feat. Even the smallest of projects can have numerous components that require effective organization and management. Keeping track of those moving parts can be a nightmare, at least without a proper project management process. 

Projects can generally be divided into five separate phases. These include initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure. By separating any project into these five stages, it becomes much easier to set and meet goals and deliverables. In other words, by following a few simple steps, projects suddenly become much easier to manage.

If you are being thrust into a project management role and don’t know where to start, this guide on the five steps of an effective project management process makes for a great starting point. Let’s determine how to manage a project in the most effective way possible.

The 5 Steps of an Effective Project Management Process

Of the five stages of effective project management, the first is project initiation, your starting point.

Step 1: Project Initiation

The first phase is project initiation, and this is when an abstract idea without specifics turns into an attainable goal. The first part of this stage is to define what your project is on a grand scale and to develop a business case.

One of the best ways to do this is by creating a project charter, a document that contains important information such as project goals, constraints, who the main parties of the project are to be, the budget, timeline, and any other such relevant details. What you’re doing here is identifying the scope of the project, among other key factors.

Keep in mind that although the project charter contains broad information, it’s not meant to contain technical details, as these will be decided upon during the planning stage.

For example, if an ice cream manufacturer decides to create a new flavor, the project charter would only contain basic information such as that a new ice cream flavor is indeed under development, and that there is a given time frame and budget. However, details such as exact ingredients, the flavor profile, nutritional value, and other such factors will be determined during the planning phase.

Step 2: Project Planning

Phase two of an effective project management process is the project planning stage. This is perhaps the most crucial of the five stages, as this is where the project roadmap is created.

There are methods such as Agile project management that can cut down on creating this road map, although generally speaking, this phase may take up roughly half of the entire project’s time if planned in a traditional way.

The main goal of this stage is to identify the various technical requirements that the project will meet for successful execution and completion. This stage also involves creating a plan for communication, setting up deliverables and goals, and creating a detailed schedule. 

On that note, creating attainable goals is a difficult part of this process that many struggle with, although it does not need to be so difficult.

Setting Goals During the Project Management Process

Now, this brings into question how goals are set. There are two main methodologies for setting goals, including SMART and CLEAR.

SMART Goals

SMART is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely; the five criteria that any goal should be able to meet. This is a great way to set goals that require critical analysis.

CLEAR Goals

If you’re looking for immediate results and great flexibility, then the CLEAR goal-setting method may be more suitable for you. CLEAR stands for collaborative, limited, emotional, appreciable, and refinable.

Other Crucial Elements of the Project Management Process Planning Stage

During this planning stage, a project scope is also defined, and the scope of a project can change over time, although project managers should always be in charge of this decision.

The next important element of the project planning stage is risk management. Project managers must analyze past data to identify any potential risks associated with the project. Project managers must then also develop strategies to minimize or eliminate those risks. Speaking of risks, a risk of any project is that project delays, bottlenecks, and other obstacles may arise.

Therefore, creating an effective plan to accommodate for changes helps mitigate time wasted due to unforeseen circumstances. Scope creep is an issue that occurs when projects face unforeseen problems, with the scope of the project then becoming much larger, and often unmanageable. However, this can be avoided by reducing the risk of unforeseen changes.

Step 3: Project Execution

Now that the project has been planned and detailed down to the finest degree, it’s time to execute. This is where your team does the heavy lifting and carries out all of the tasks as set out in the project plan.

If you are in the role of a project manager, your main task is to create efficient workflows to allow for those goals to be achieved as easily as possible. It is therefore also your responsibility to monitor any progress your team is making.

As a project manager, you must also maintain effective communication and collaboration between the various stakeholders of the project. Having all parties communicating effectively with each other allows for a seamless workflow between all relevant components of the project.

If collaboration and communication are issues, looking into various pieces of software and collaboration tools is recommended.

There are many platforms that allow team members to communicate, share files, and more in one easy place. This, in combination with brainstorming tools, can help teams collaborate more effectively. Through effective communication and collaboration, any issues that may arise during the execution phase can be dealt with in a timely manner.

Step 4: Project Monitoring and Controlling

Although the project monitoring and controlling phase is technically listed as step four, it’s important to note that phases three and four are not mutually exclusive. During the project management process, project execution, project monitoring, and control run hand in hand with each other.

By continuously monitoring and controlling a project as it is in the execution phase, project managers can ensure that all goals and deliverables are being met on time without issue.

A visual management platform such as Kanban Zone can help make project monitoring and controlling a lot easier, helping the whole team keep an eye out on the progress of every task as it flows from one column to the next. You can leverage the power of this virtual Kanban board to make project management more efficient for you and your team.

To monitor the progress of a project and all of your team members, using key performance indicators or KPIs and critical success factors or CSF is recommended. These are two metrics that will allow you to effectively gauge the progress of a project.

One of the most important aspects for any manager to examine during the monitoring phase is the effort being put into a project in relation to how much it is costing. This helps to ensure that the current project does not go over budget.

Step 5: Project Closing

The final step of the project management process is closing the project. This is the stage once the final delivery has already occurred. In some cases, external parties may have been hired to complete specific projects.

Completing all necessary paperwork and terminating contracts of any such parties is one of the many responsibilities of a project manager after the completion of a project.

To discuss both the successes and failures of a project, it is important for teams to have a reflection meeting once a project is completed. This helps ensure that teams can continuously improve the project management process, and therefore the overall results of any project.

This fifth and final stage also involves a good deal of work, as this is when a detailed report of every aspect of the project is created. Any and all relevant information is detailed and stored in a place that is easily accessible by project managers.

Having access to such information allows project managers to look back on past projects, particularly the biggest successes and failures, to determine what needs and needs not be done in subsequent projects.

Final Thoughts on the Steps of the Project Management Process

By following these five steps of effective project management, maintaining precise control over a project of any scope is made easy. By first creating a project charter, you can outline what your project is on a grand scale.

CLEAR or SMART goals can then be used during the planning phase to create a set of clear and attainable goals, while also creating strategies to achieve those goals.

Once the project roadmap has been created, the execution phase takes place. This is where you use all of the tools at your disposal to achieve the goals as set out in your roadmap.

Simultaneously with the execution phase, the project has to be monitored and controlled at all times. By using various metrics, you can track the progress of your project and make changes as needed.

Albeit the final stage, project closing is just as important as the other stages, as this is when teams get the time to reflect on the project as a whole. Using this valuable reflection time to your advantage is crucial for gleaning valuable insights that will help make your next project flow just that much smoother. 

If you are having trouble visualizing all of the steps required for an effective project management process, there are systems and tools that can make this process much easier.

For instance, the Kanban method is known for streamlining project management through visual aids. The Kanban method sees all stages and items of a project clearly represented on a board, known as a Kanban board.

This allows all team members to see the state of every piece of work at all times. If this sounds like something that could help make your project management process simpler, we invite you to try Kanban Zone.

Our platform is equipped with powerful tools for simplifying and streamlining project management like visual management boards, process analytics, tool integration, and automation capabilities so you can see and focus on the important aspects of your business! Try Kanban Zone for free!