After you have carefully planned your project, you will be ready to start the project execution phase, the third phase of the project management life cycle. The execution phase involves putting the project plan into action. It’s here that the project manager will coordinate and direct project resources to meet the objectives of the project plan. As the project unfolds, it’s the project manager’s job to direct and manage each activity on the project, every step of the way. That’s what happens in the execution phase of the project lifecycle; you simply follow the plan you’ve put together and handle any problems that come up.
The execution phase is where you and your project team actually do the project work to produce the deliverables. The word deliverable means anything your project delivers. The deliverables for your project include all of the products or services that you and your team are performing for the client, customer or sponsor including all the project management documents that you put together.
The steps undertaken to build each deliverable will vary depending on the type of project you are undertaking, and cannot therefore be described here in any real detail. For instance engineering and telecommunications projects will focus on using equipment, resources and materials to construct each project deliverable, whereas computer software projects may require the development and implementation of software code routines to produce each project deliverable. The activities required to build each deliverable will be clearly specified within the project requirements document and project plan accordingly.
Your job as project manager is to direct the work, but you need to do more than deliver the results. You also need to keep track of how well your team performed. The executing phase keeps the project plan on track with careful monitoring and control processes to ensure the final deliverable meets the acceptance criteria set by the customer. This phase is typically where approved changes are implemented.
Most often changes are identified through looking at performance and quality control data. Routine performance and quality control measurements should be evaluated on a regular basis throughout the execution phase. Gathering reports on those measurements will help you determine where the problem is and recommend changes to fix it.
Change Control
When you find a problem, you can’t just make a change, because what if it’s too expensive, or will it take too long? You will need to look at how it affects the triple constraint (time, cost, scope) and how they impact quality. You will then have to figure out if it is worth making the change. Change control is a set of procedures that let you make changes in an organized way.
Anytime you need to make a change to your plan, you need to start with a change request (Figure 1). This is a document that either you or the person making the request needs to create. Any change to your project needs to be documented so you can figure out what needs to be done, by when, and by whom.
The execution phase is where you and your project team actually do the project work to produce the deliverables. The word deliverable means anything your project delivers. The deliverables for your project include all of the products or services that you and your team are performing for the client, customer or sponsor including all the project management documents that you put together.
The steps undertaken to build each deliverable will vary depending on the type of project you are undertaking, and cannot therefore be described here in any real detail. For instance engineering and telecommunications projects will focus on using equipment, resources and materials to construct each project deliverable, whereas computer software projects may require the development and implementation of software code routines to produce each project deliverable. The activities required to build each deliverable will be clearly specified within the project requirements document and project plan accordingly.
Your job as project manager is to direct the work, but you need to do more than deliver the results. You also need to keep track of how well your team performed. The executing phase keeps the project plan on track with careful monitoring and control processes to ensure the final deliverable meets the acceptance criteria set by the customer. This phase is typically where approved changes are implemented.
Most often changes are identified through looking at performance and quality control data. Routine performance and quality control measurements should be evaluated on a regular basis throughout the execution phase. Gathering reports on those measurements will help you determine where the problem is and recommend changes to fix it.
Change Control
When you find a problem, you can’t just make a change, because what if it’s too expensive, or will it take too long? You will need to look at how it affects the triple constraint (time, cost, scope) and how they impact quality. You will then have to figure out if it is worth making the change. Change control is a set of procedures that let you make changes in an organized way.
Anytime you need to make a change to your plan, you need to start with a change request (Figure 1). This is a document that either you or the person making the request needs to create. Any change to your project needs to be documented so you can figure out what needs to be done, by when, and by whom.
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