Fundamentals of Project Management, Third Edition

The Phases of a Project

There are many different models for the phases a project goes through during its life-cycle. One of these captures the all-too-frequent nature of projects that are not managed well, and is shown in Figure 1-2.

Figure 1-2. Life cycle of a troubled project.

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I have shown this diagram to people all over the world, and they invariably laugh and say, “Yes, that’s the way it works.” I suppose the comfort I can take is that we Americans are not the only ones who have the problem, but the bad news is that there are a lot of dysfunctional projects if everyone recognizes the model.

At the simplest level, a ...