1.4 Project Life Cycle

Now that we understand what projects are and know their characteristics, categories, and types, let us look at project life cycles. A project’s life cycle measures project completion as a function of either resources (cost or budget) or schedule (time or percent to completion). You may use many of these respective terms interchangeably for the purpose of representing the project life cycle. Projects are unique, and the life cycles are customized to each project. That said, there are common patterns to note: J-shape and S-shape.

Project Completion Life Cycle

In Figure 1.5, the J-shaped project life cycle curve is represented, with time running from left to right along the horizontal x-axis. The vertical y-axis represents the percent (%) of the project that is completed, with zero completion at the bottom to 100% completed towards the top. This project is characterized by a slow start and a fast finish. Weddings, seasonal theatre performances, or annual tradeshows may fit this curve. These are projects that start slowly, progressively develop at a measured rate during most of the project, and then accelerate to completion toward the end.

The S-shaped project life cycle curve (in Figure 1.6) starts out at a moderate pace, accelerates during the Executing phase of the project until the project is 90% completed, and then slows down its progress and takes a relatively long time to finish. Many projects fit this life cycle curve, for example, building an apartment building. After the initial building phase, the structure looks complete because the roof, exterior, and even landscaping are finished. However, it takes more time to complete the finishing work and final details, pass inspections, and obtain an occupancy permit. Even after occupancy, issues will invariably arise that need to be fixed before the project can be closed out.

Enterprise software may also follow this curve because there are often bug fixes and configuration adjustments that take many months to resolve completely, so closing out the project can take a long time. For large organizations, the software application may roll out by department, and this can take months or years to complete.

Project Resources Life Cycle

Figure 1.7 shows the S-shaped curve again, except this time, the y-axis represents cost (budget or resources). Resources (people, equipment, and tools) are what projects spend money on and what projects create budgets for.

In the project cost life cycle representation in Figure 1.7, it is clear that most of the costs of a project are incurred in the Executing phase of the project. It is also worth noting that for larger projects, expenses are still incurred after the project output or outcome has successfully been delivered to and accepted by the customer. Topic 10 will address the Closing phase in more detail.