VIEWPOINTS

Project Management Life Span and Life Cycle Processes

Constructs and Facts

Muhamed Abdomerovic, D. Eng., Civil

Kentucky, USA

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Re: ‘Some notes on program life-cycles/processes’ byAlan Stretton, PhD, in the PM World Toda, November 2011, Vol. XIII, Issue XI.) – A contribution

I read with considerable interest the article written byAlan Stretton. The article brings to readership very important issues and here is my understanding of this subject.

About terms, constructs and facts

The term ‘project life span’ better describes a temporary nature of project than ‘project life-cycle’. (Wideman, R. M., 2004, p.27-31, 49-52). In this paper we will use the term ‘project life span’.

There are process groups within a project life span that work in “a true cycle because the same cycle is repeated over and over throughout the project life span” …  (Wideman, R. M., 2004, p.137). But, there are different terms for the process groups, e.g., ‘project control cycle’ (plan, monitor/report, analyze, redirect/control, modify plan), (Wideman, R. M., 2004, p.138); ‘management life-cycle’ (planning, organizing, implementing, controlling), (Turner, J. R., 2006a, p.94); ‘central process groups’ (planning, executing, controlling), (PMI, 2000, p.30). The term ‘management life-cycle’ describes well the feedback nature of processesinvolved in project life span. In this paper we will use Turner’s term ‘management life cycle’ and the PMI’s contents for feedback processes (planning, executing, controlling).

I would like now to draw your attention to Max’s Figure 5-2: The PLS hierarchy. (Wideman, R. M., 2004, p.50-51). The figure shows order of views for project contents and attributes for each view:

1. Plan/Produce, (Abstract Principle), Generic.

2. Phases, (Concept, Definition, Execution, Finish), Generic.

3. Stages, (Five to ten), Industry-specific.

4. Activities/Tasks (Many), Project-specific.

 

Obviously, if we speak about a program then we can add new view, the I’ that is the Projects (Phases identified for projects), Program specific. From here, we can understand that a program must have the same phases as identified for the projects.

One more thing, for this paper we will use different wordings for the view I. We will call the ‘Plan’ as ‘Development of project management plan’ and the ‘Produce’ as ‘Implementation of project management plan’. The view I is important because management life span, management lifecycle, relationships, iterations, phasing and overlaps cannot be considered independent from understanding the meaning of the view I.

Now we can start our journey to prove a proposition that the views I. & IV are facts of our profession…

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About the Author Muhamed Abdomerovic Author Muhamed Abdomerovic, Dipl. Eng., PMP is a civil engineer specialized in project management. He has more than thirty years of experience in the application of scientific principles to project management. In working on variety of projects in information technology, construction, the process industry, the energy sector, and the material handling industry, he gained broad insights into standards for the project management profession. Mr. Abdomerovic is currently independent consultant. He was previously Project Planner with Vanderlande Industries, Master Scheduler with FKI Logistex, and Program Manager with Luckett & Farley. Prior to these positions he worked with Energoinvest and was responsible for the design and implementation of systems for the management of large-scale development projects. He began his project management career in Vranica as a construction manager.  Mr. Abdomerovic has been an active participant in the development of the project management profession and has published more than thirty professional journal articles on project scope, time, cost and integration management. He has also published articles in six proceedings of Project Management World Congresses and is the author of three published books. His current research activities cover several aspects of project management including system configuration, process relationships and information systems.  Mr. Abdomerovic joined The International Project Management Association in 1972. He is currently a member of the Project Management Institute and several of its professional interest groups. Mr. Abdomerovic graduated from the University of Sarajevo with Diploma of Civil Engineer. He also holds the title of Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute. Muhamed Abdomerovic can be contacted at mabdomerovic@insightbb.com