What are the phases of a project lifecycle?

Question

Accepted Answer

A **project lifecycle** is the set of phases a project moves through from start to finish. The names vary, but the classic five-phase model gives a clear mental map of where a project is and what should be happening.

## The five phases

```text
1. INITIATION → why are we doing this? Define goal, scope, who's involved.
               Output: a charter / agreed objective.
2. PLANNING   → how will we do it? Tasks, schedule, resources, risks, budget.
               Output: a plan everyone agrees on.
3. EXECUTION  → do the work. Build, coordinate, communicate.
4. MONITORING → track progress vs. plan; manage changes and risks.
               (runs in parallel with execution)
5. CLOSURE    → deliver, get sign-off, review what went well/badly, wrap up.
```

## A concrete example

Migrating to a new email provider: **initiation** agrees the goal and budget; **planning** lists tasks and a timeline; **execution** does the migration; **monitoring** catches that DNS changes are slow and adjusts; **closure** confirms everything works, documents it, and runs a retrospective.

## Closure is often skipped — don't

Teams rush to the next thing and skip the retrospective. That's where the lessons live. A quick "what went well / what didn't" review compounds into a better team over time.

## Why it matters

Knowing the phases helps you sense when a project is unhealthy — jumping into execution with no planning, or never properly closing — and gives you shared vocabulary with PMs.

Even on agile teams that iterate, the same logic applies in miniature: define, plan, build, check, learn.