Q. What is a project life cycle?

If a project is well prearranged it will progress logically through several phases. There are four standard stages to a typical project. The first two "development" and "concept" involve planning that is to say identifying the concept and then developing this concept and the plan to accomplish it as we have discussed. This typically initiate a formal submission of the plan (project brief) at which a go or no-go decision is given on the basis of the plan. If accepted this initiate the second two phases which are the accomplishment phases of implementing and finishing. As the names mean this means translating ideas on paper to reality and getting the job finished and turned over to the customer.

Obviously different people in different project environments utilize different names but the principles are the same. As well projects in different fields may need the four standard phases to be broken down further into stages such as separate feasibility studies detailed design and working drawings procurement construction training commissioning and transfer.