Explore the Four Different Project Life Cycles

Depending on the nature of the project and organisation, a project will go through one of four life cycles by the time it’s completed. The predictive, iterative, incremental, and agile life cycles are all effective project management strategies comprising different phases and outcomes based on the objectives and complexity of the scope.

Find out more about the trajectory of project life cycles from Ulrike Rivett, Course Convenor on the Agile Project Management online short course from the University of Cape Town.

Transcript

The life cycle refers to the process that a project goes through from start to finish. There are four main life cycles in project management: predictive, iterative, incremental, and agile.

The predictive life cycle is made up of five phases: initiate, plan, execute, control, and close. The project team moves through these phases in a linear progression, performing each phase once, and only moving on to the next phase once the previous one has been completed. A single product or service is delivered to the client. Most of the planning for this life cycle is done upfront.

The iterative life cycle is also made up of five phases, delivering a single product or service at the end of the cycle. Instead of moving through each phase in a linear progression, however, the phases in an iterative life cycle are performed as many times as necessary, best suited to projects that have an unpredictable scope, and where the central priority is to achieve the best possible solution for the client. Most of the planning will occur throughout the process, as the customer feedback informs the next phase.

In the incremental life cycle, the project team will move through each phase performing it only once and in order, several times in one life cycle, producing a finished product at the end of each set. The feedback on each increment will inform the next. This life cycle is also well-suited to projects with unpredictable scopes, especially those where speed of delivery is the highest priority.

The Agile life cycle is a combination of the iterative and incremental life cycles. The initiation phase will occur once at the start of the project, after which the planning, executing, and control phases will occur in iterations as many times as necessary. After each iteration, a finished product is presented to the customer. The feedback from this product will then inform the next increment. This will continue for as many iterations as necessary until the client is completely satisfied, after which the closing phase will commence.

The Agile life cycle works best for projects where the scope is unpredictable, and where the highest priority is regular feedback and delivery.

It is important to bear in mind that not all projects will fit neatly into the standard life cycle models. Depending on the nature of the project or organization, a combination of life cycles or a hybrid is often an effective strategy.