The project lifecycle: from initiation to closure

Every project follows a lifecycle, regardless of methodology or industry. While terminology varies, most projects move through recognizable phases: starting the work, delivering the work, and closing the work. Understanding the project lifecycle provides structure, clarity, and control across the full span of delivery.

This hub brings together practical guidance on each phase of the project lifecycle. Whether you are launching a new initiative, managing active execution, or preparing for handover, these resources help you navigate each stage with confidence and discipline.

Starting a project

If you’re starting out, start here! The starting phase sets the foundation for everything that follows. This is where ideas are translated into defined objectives, scope boundaries, governance structures, and delivery plans. Poor initiation leads to unclear expectations, uncontrolled scope, and stakeholder confusion later in the lifecycle.

Starting a project typically involves developing a business case, defining success criteria, identifying stakeholders, and establishing roles and responsibilities. Clear documentation at this stage creates alignment and reduces ambiguity. The goal is not excessive paperwork, but shared understanding.

Strong initiation improves delivery performance by clarifying why the project exists and what success looks like. When objectives are explicit and risks are identified early, teams are better positioned to manage change effectively.

Across the website you’ll find guidance on building effective project timelines, kicking off the work, involving others, estimating and more. Get started with some of the most-read articles below.

Delivering a project — the execution phase

The execution phase is where plans become reality, and your work continues. If you thought kicking off the work was time-consuming, your role now changes to focus on dealing with issues, keeping everyone aligned, updating the schedule and sorting out the worries of stakeholders who heard something weird on the grapevine!

During this phase, work packages are completed, tasks are ticked off the Kanban board, resources are coordinated, risks are managed, and progress is tracked against baselines. This stage often consumes the majority of the project timeline and requires consistent leadership and oversight. But every day gets you closer to the end, and part of your role is to make progress visible.

Effective execution depends on disciplined monitoring and control, but you can do that in a nice way rather than wielding a big stick. Schedule performance, cost management, quality assurance, and stakeholder communication are managed in parallel. You’ll inevitably make adjustments, and change control processes help the team maintain focus while allowing flexibility for those important stakeholder requests.

Execution is not simply about completing tasks, although most of the time it feels like it is! It is about maintaining alignment with the business case and ensuring that outputs are fit for purpose. Strong communication and structured reporting keep stakeholders informed and engaged throughout delivery, so they can support you — and back off to let you get on with the work as well.

Closing a project

Closing a project is more than announcing completion (if you hadn’t guessed already!). It’s a structured transition from project work into operational ownership. Formal closure ensures deliverables are accepted, documentation is finalized, lessons learned are captured, and benefits tracking is handed over appropriately. Then you can step away and work on another project, safe in the knowledge that the team have somewhere else to go for questions instead of bugging you, long after you’ve moved on to something else.

So effective closure protects long-term value — in other words, being able to realize the benefits that the organization was expecting from this delivery. Without a proper handover, operational teams may struggle to maintain new systems or processes, and go back to old ways of working. Without lessons learned, future projects repeat avoidable mistakes. Both of these undermine the value creation and basically mean your work risks being a waste of time.

A disciplined closing phase allows the organization to confirm outcomes and get them signed off by everyone, archive documentation, release resources, and formally conclude the initiative. It creates a clear endpoint and enables teams to move forward without lingering obligations. And suppliers get paid at this point, and all the finances are shut down too. No more time tracking or invoices! At least, not for this project!

Explore the resources below to get started!

Project lifecycle tips on YouTube!

If you prefer a visual walkthrough of the project lifecycle, this playlist explains more about the topic in practical terms. On YouTube, you’ll find videos that break down key activities, decision points, and common pitfalls across initiation, execution, and closure.

Here’s a collection of videos from me and some of my favorite creators on the topic of managing the project lifecycle, so have a browse through.

FAQ about managing the project lifecycle

Here are the questions I get asked the most often! From technology to task lists, these things come up in my mentoring sessions time and time again.

What are the phases of the project lifecycle?

The project lifecycle typically includes initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closure. While terminology may vary by framework, most projects follow a structured progression from defining objectives to delivering outputs and formally closing the work.

Why is the project lifecycle important in project management?

The project lifecycle provides structure and control across a project’s duration. It ensures that objectives are defined, risks are managed, progress is tracked, and deliverables are formally accepted. A clear lifecycle reduces ambiguity and improves governance.

What happens during the execution phase of a project?

During the execution phase, project teams complete planned work, coordinate resources, manage risks, and report progress. It’s the ‘doing’ stage of the project, whether you are using agile methods or a more traditional predictive approach to delivering the work.

Monitoring and controlling activities (like performance management and reporting) happen at the same time, in parallel, to ensure the project remains aligned with scope, schedule, and budget baselines. You can course-correct if you notice the work is drifting from what you agreed.

What is project closure in the project lifecycle?

Project closure is the formal process of completing and transitioning a project. It includes obtaining acceptance of deliverables, documenting lessons learned, finalizing contracts, archiving documentation, and handing over outputs to operational teams. And don’t forget a team celebration to mark what you have achieved!

Can the project lifecycle vary by methodology?

Yes, the project lifecycle can vary depending on the framework or approach used. Predictive methodologies often follow defined sequential phases, while Agile approaches use iterative cycles. However, all projects move through some form of start, deliver, and close structure.

Other project lifecycle articles

Below you’ll find the full collection of articles related to managing projects across the lifecycle. These resources explore initiation documents, scheduling, monitoring and controlling techniques, governance, reporting, handover, and lessons learned. Phew!

The archive connects strategic planning with day-to-day delivery practice. Whether you are refining your initiation process, strengthening execution controls, or formalizing closure procedures, this content supports structured and repeatable project management.