Project Life Cycle Application: Theories, Tools, and Documentation

This project delves into the application of the project life cycle (PLC) within the context of Primark, an Irish fast-fashion retailer, focusing on improving operations management. It examines the PLC phases: initiation, planning, execution, and closure, detailing activities within each phase, including business case development and feasibility studies. The project incorporates theories and practices of project management, such as agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban), project management tools (task management, Gantt charts), and the role of project leadership. Key project documentation, including the project initiation document, project plan, cost-benefit analysis, and work breakdown structure, are thoroughly discussed. The project differentiates between large and small-scale projects, as well as those in public and private sectors, providing a comprehensive overview of project management principles and their practical application.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Task 2: Application of the project life cycle to a given context................................................2
2.1 Project life cycle that includes phases and activities of the PLC.....................................2
2.2 Development of business case and feasibility study........................................................3
2.3 Theories and practice of project management.................................................................3
2.3.1 Agile methodologies.................................................................................................3
2.3.2 Project management tools.........................................................................................4
2.3.3 Project leadership within the PLC.............................................................................4
2.4 Project documentation......................................................................................................5
2.4.1 Project initiation document.......................................................................................5
2.4.2 Project plan................................................................................................................5
2.4.3 Cost benefit analysis.................................................................................................6
2.4.4 Work breakdown structure........................................................................................7
2.5 Differentiating large and small scale projects and those used in public and private profit
sectors.....................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9

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Task 2: Application of the project life cycle to a given context
2.1 Project life cycle that includes phases and activities of the PLC
The paper mainly reflects on the implementation of operations management principles
in Primake which is one of the Irish fast fashion retailer that is headquartered in Dublin. The
project life cycle that needs to be followed in order to complete the work of the project
mainly comprises of project initiation, planning, execution as well as closure phase of the
project (Andersen 2016). The project life cycle helps in elaborating the high level processes
for delivering a successful project. It is found that implementation of operation management
principles is generally broken down into four different phases including initiation, planning,
execution as well as closure of the project (Conforto et al. 2016).
Initiation phase: It is found that in the initiation phase of the project, one can be able
to determine a business related problem as well as opportunities that is generally met by team
in order to resolve the problem as well as issues of the project.
Planning phase: Once the entire project is approved for moving forward, it is very
much necessary to move into the planning phase. It is found that in the planning phase of the
project, one needs to create a project plan, create workflow documents as well as also helps in
estimating budget for creating a financial plan as well as also assists in gathering various
types of project resources (Hornstein 2015).
Execution phase: After the business approval, one needs to develop a plan for
executing the entire project quite successfully. In addition to this, the project team members
are briefed, proper communication plan is developed as well as the quality of work for the
project is monitored.

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Closure phase: Once the work of the project gets completed, the entire project gets
into the closure phase of the project. In the project closure phase, one needs to provide final
deliverables, release the resources of the project as well as helps in determining the success of
the project effectively (Badewi 2016).
2.2 Development of business case and feasibility study
The paper mainly focuses on the organization “Primark” which is one of the Irish fast
retailer that has it’s headquarter in Irish, Dublin. It is found that the organization faces
number of issues that are related with operations and management. In order to resolve the
issues, it is quite necessary to implement suitable theories of operations management. The
implementation of operations management principles helps in making proper as well as
effective decisions related with the business those are generally integrated with the local as
well as regional automatize market conditions.
The project that was undertaken was found to be financially, technologically as well
as operationally very much feasible. It is found that the money that is needed for the project is
sponsored by the CEO of the company and the equipment’s as well as other needs of the
project are generally available in the market and thus no difficulty is generally faced.
2.3 Theories and practice of project management
2.3.1 Agile methodologies
Agile methodologies like agile Scrum methodology, lean and Kanban software
development, extreme programming, crystal, dynamic system development method as well as
feature driven development that helps in sharing much of the same overarching philosophy as
well as different types of characteristics as well as practices (Meng and Boyd 2017). It is
found that testing is integrated in agile development that reflects that if any changes is needed
then the team will remain aware about various types of challenges and issues. Furthermore,

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the agile methodology helps in increasing the project control and helps in reducing the risks
that are associated with the project.
2.3.2 Project management tools
The project management tools are primarily utilized for managing the project costs as
well as risks for sharing documents in real time. In order to execute the project successfully,
it is quite necessary to select the right project management tool. The different types of project
management tools that are present include:
 Task management
 Project plans
 Creating instant reports
 Task list
 Timesheets
 Resource management
 Gantt charts
 Scheduling
2.3.3 Project leadership within the PLC
Leadership is considered to be very much important for the success of the entire
project as leadership generally helps in motivating the people. It is very much clear that
project leaders must interact over the life cycle of the project in order to know about the trust
and confidence that further helps in playing an important role (Svejvig and Andersen 2015).
The ability of adapting as the team grows as well as moves through all the stages of the
project will general helps in motivating the project team thus it is identified that project
leadership is quite important within the life cycle of the project.

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2.4 Project documentation
2.4.1 Project initiation document
A project initiation document is considered as one of the important component of
project management that generally helps in forming the foundation of the entire project. It is
generally considered as one of the reference point during the entire project, for the project
clients as well as for the entire team of the project.
2.4.2 Project plan
The project plan that is developed for the implementation of operation management
principles generally reflects that around 62 days are needed for successful completion of the
project.
Figure 1: Schedule
(Source: Created by Author)

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2.4.3 Cost benefit analysis
Project
Cost-
Benefit
Analysis
Analysis
Variables:
Discount
Rate Used
10.00
%
Annual
Benefits
$
1,08,0
00.00
Annual
Operationa
l Costs
$
20,20
0.00
One-Time
Developme
nt Cost
$
2,75,0
00.00
Year of
Project
0 1 2 3 4 5
TOTA
LS
Economic
Benefit $0.00
$
1,08,000
.00
$
1,08,000
.00
$
1,08,000.
00
$
1,08,000
.00
$
1,08,00
0.00
Discount
Rate 1.0000 0.9091 0.8264 0.7513 0.6830 0.6209
PV of
Benefits $0.00
$98,181.
82
$89,256.
20
$81,142.
00
$73,765.
45
$67,059
.50
NPV of all
BENEFITS $0.00
$
98,181.8
2
$
1,87,438
.02
$
2,68,580.
02
$
3,42,345
.47
$
4,09,40
4.97
$
4,09,40
4.97
One-Time
COSTS
$
(2,75,0
00.00)
Recurring
Costs $0.00
$
(20,200.
00)
$
(20,200.
00)
$
(20,200.0
0)
$
(20,200.
00)
$
(20,200.
00)
Discount
Rate 1.0000 0.9091 0.8264 0.7513 0.6830 0.6209
PV of
Recurring
Costs $0.00
$
(18,363.
64)
$
(16,694.
21)
$
(15,176.5
6)
$
(13,796.
87)
$
(12,542.
61)
NPV of all
COSTS
$
(2,75,0
00.00)
$
(2,93,36
3.64)
$
(3,10,05
7.85)
$
(3,25,234
.41)
$
(3,39,03
1.28)
$
(3,51,57
3.89)
$
(3,51,5
73.89)

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Overall
NPV
$
57,831.
08
Overall
ROI
0.1645
2.4.4 Work breakdown structure
Implementation of
operation management
principle
Initiation phase
Business case
development
Feasiability testing
Project charter
estabilishment
Team members
appointment
Performing phase
review
Milestone 1:
Completion of
initiation phase
Planning phase
Project plan
development
Resource plan
development
Financial plan
development
Quality plan
development
Acceptance plan
development
Milestone 2:
Completion of
planning phase of
the project
Execution phase
Planning and
designing
Installing and
configuring system
components and
data providers
Installing integrations
as well as configure
Populating the
system with data
Validating data
Checking the system
components for
system performance
Securing the system
and roll out to tenants
Milestone 3:
Completion of
execution phase
Closure phase
Post project review
Stakeholder sign off
Post project review
Milestone 4:
Completion of
closure phase
Figure 2: Work breakdown structure
(Source: Created by Author)

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2.5 Differentiating large and small scale projects and those used in public and private
profit sectors
Large scale project generally needs a group of members in order to execute the work
of the project and the time that is generally needed will be more than one month. In addition
to this, maintenance also plays a significant role because the software life cycle is long in
duration On the other hand, it is found that small scale project does not needs large group of
people and therefore the work of the project will be completed by an individual or a project
team. Moreover, it is found that the time that is generally needed for the development of the
project will be around hours to weeks.
Public sector projects are generally owned as well as controlled by an individual of
the company who mainly engages within the project for earning profit. On the other hand, it
is found that the projects that are undertaken by the public sector are generally controlled by
the government and the project is generally undertaken for serving the citizens of the country.

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References
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management?. International Journal of Project Management, 34(1), pp.58-65.
Badewi, A., 2016. The impact of project management (PM) and benefits management (BM)
practices on project success: Towards developing a project benefits governance
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Conforto, E.C., Amaral, D.C., da Silva, S.L., Di Felippo, A. and Kamikawachi, D.S.L., 2016.
The agility construct on project management theory. International Journal of Project
Management, 34(4), pp.660-674.
De Carvalho, M.M., Patah, L.A. and de Souza Bido, D., 2015. Project management and its
effects on project success: Cross-country and cross-industry comparisons. International
Journal of Project Management, 33(7), pp.1509-1522.
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management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 291-
298.
Kaiser, M.G., El Arbi, F. and Ahlemann, F., 2015. Successful project portfolio management
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Kivilä, J., Martinsuo, M. and Vuorinen, L., 2017. Sustainable project management through
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Meng, X. and Boyd, P., 2017. The role of the project manager in relationship
management. International Journal of Project Management, 35(5), pp.717-728.

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Papke-Shields, K.E. and Boyer-Wright, K.M., 2017. Strategic planning characteristics
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