What is Project Cycle Management? Everything You Need to Know

Project Cycle Management (PCM) is a technique based on years of development, focused on planning and organizing projects via basic principles and defined stages. This method encloses project inception to its planning and execution.

What are the benefits of the PCM method?

• Strategic risks
• Better efficiency leading to cost and time savings
• Effective rate of timely project execution and delivery
• Precise and quantifiable objectives
• Better likelihood of meeting expectations
• Efficient resource management

In this blog, we will discuss about PCM and why it adds value to the projects.

Working of Project Cycle Management

PCM enforces a project's lifecycle by focusing on an efficient system with proven outcomes. It's organized in phases aligned for precision, objective targets and expectations, and universal practice.

Each stage works similar to a book's chapters, to begin and complete before moving on to the next step. This ensures better quality results and fulfillment of agreed project expectations.

When a level is complete, the new one begins. As a project professional leads a team through each stage, they can shift their initial point ahead until the total project completion.

PCM leverages fundamental project management principles - prioritizing project structure, a defined stage, accurate targets, transparency, identifying risks, and other elements.

A significant positive result from leveraging this technique is budget-oriented and organized with quality outcomes on time.

Why Project Cycle Management?

Various experts have experienced the mind-blogging feeling that comes with a massive project. It sometimes seems paradoxical, especially if similar projects have faced significant challenges. Several factors can twist things when dealing with a team, a stringent deadline, several partners, and myriad financial risks.

PCM is a proven technique that helps eradicate that risk and build a more effective practice. In addition, this method allows experts to manage projects throughout the complete project lifecycle confidently.

There are three significant reasons why we leverage the PCM technique, and they're:

1. Transparency

When managing a project, it can be daunting to communicate along the path. The PCM leverages accurate techniques to define each stage and where teams are along the procedure.

This provides leaders to communicate with partners, stakeholders, and interested parties related to the project. A practical and transparent communicated project makes everyone delightful, and aids promote expectations and objectives.

2. Simplicity

The PCM technique simplifies the project. Simplicity is essential in a challenging situation with several elements working simultaneously. When leaders can streamline the procedure, this develops better outcomes that lead to optimum success. PCM leverages stages that break up the process.

3. Enhanced Productivity

Effective productivity means everything when it comes to saving time and expenses and enhancing quality. Teams can perform the project successfully when the PCM stages simplify the process.

Once a project upgrades from overwhelming to possible, employee morale and proficiency enhance. In addition, a more productive project develops a healthy and prosperous workspace.

Project Cycle Management Phases

The center of PCM is its five stages, where each phase ensures successful levels that add up to one complete project performance. This technique is an effective and accurate way to meet expectations on time and foresee challenges. The five phases of PCM are:

1. Initiation

Every project begins with a simple idea. The initiation stage promotes that idea and creates a big image, scope, and project goal. Next, project professionals will review the critical project controls required and domains for enhancement before starting a project and assess what it will take for project completion.

2. Planning and Design

Similar to any good project, planning is a vital step. It's where outcomes, preparedness for hurdles, and other crucial factors occur. A good plan makes a drastic difference, and PCM focuses on developing a robust blueprint to reduce risks.

3. Execution

The most prolonged phase of a project's lifecycle is execution, where all the hard work gets done. This is the literal plan execution, where a team works on a project to deliver quality products. The previous stage clearly defines each level of the way.

4. Monitoring and Controlling

Sometimes there are worst and best-case situations, and a good plan ensures professionals can expect both. The monitoring and controlling stage is the trial-and-error process that tracks progress to ensure issues are promptly solved and the deadlines are still aligned to fulfill their target.

This stage is about balance, as too much control can consume time, and insufficient control can exceed risks.

5. Closure

If a project isn't closed professionally, it can continue to drain resources and create unexpected issues. In this phase, a project professional will lead the formal steps with their client to end and deliver the final project. The closure is thus a significant step to gaining feedback and assessing the outcome.

Conclusion

PCM has proven to be an effective and developing technique to generate successful outcomes for projects worldwide and in several sectors. When project manager decides to learn about the process in-depth, they provide themselves with a successful result and a better leadership role.