Question

3. What is the project Life cycle? (p.166) Why are flow charts, Gantt charts and PERT networks used in project management? (p.171)

Answer 1

A project life cycle is the step by step process that a project goes through from its beginning to its delivery. The management decides the steps involved in the cycle. The project life cycle can be set and modified according to the organizational needs. The project life cycle depicts the fundamental set of actions that need to be carried out in every project, irrespective of a number of varied phases involved. There are four phases involved in the project life cycle:

a) The Initiation Phase
b) The Planning Phase
c) The Execution Phase
d) The Closing Phase

Flow Charts: Flow Chart is one of the important project management tools used in project management and it explains the step by step actions that are needed to start a project. It is also known as a guide map for the successful completion of a project.

Flowchart is essential to know the various steps involved in a project including the decision points, parallel paths and the various steps of processing required for the completion of project. By following the steps mentioned in flowchart one can clearly understand the cost involved in every step of the project. Flowchart provides the basic information to the project managers during the planning phase. It helps project managers to move from one step to another to determine, delegate and scheduling each job to the team members in a more detailed form.

Gantt Charts: Gantt charts are the visual representation of tasks against time. Gantt charts are essential for planning, scheduling and managing a project. A Gantt chart is a timeline that describes the systematic progress of the project during the project management process. It helps project managers and teams to determine the project completion time, resources needed and plan the sequence in which the project will be completed and deliver on time.

PERT Networks: PERT is a project management tool used to calculate the total time needed to finish a project. PERT charts are helpful in planning and scheduling a project. PERT is same as critical path because they both are used to represent the timeline and the steps that must be carried out for the successful completion of the project. PERT helps project managers to find out three different times for the completion of a project, i.e., the shortest possible amount of time that each task will take, the most probable amount of time and the longest time if activities do not go as planned.