Introduction
Innovation, creativity, and design, are some of the terms that are finding prominence in today’s world of business. Most managers believe that playing around with these cards well will automatically result in a successful organization. The innovation process is the process through which innovation is facilitated. It is usually designed strategically to achieve the best coordination and success of a particular project in an organization.
The method undertaken, ensure that there is a complete balance of resources, budget, and time while managing risks that can occur in the future stages. To attain this goal, the innovation process is broken down into various levels in which different undertakings take place. The planning process is the most complex of all levels in project management. It is normally analyzed in phases. This paper will try to identify and discuss the phases of the phased project planning process.
Initiation Phase
This phase involves coming up with the structure of the overall necessities to start planning the project. The phase starts where the project manager has designated the assignment and ends when the project team starts formulating an elaborate schedule. This phase involves a selection of a project team, the convention of meetings, and gathering resources needed to develop the plan. The project team may realign the processes involved in order to come up with a clear scope. These realignments may include goals, scheduled timelines, budget, and other critical variables.
Planning Phase
The whole process involves organization and preparation. It involves carrying out extensive research to dig out the information available on the project. This includes an in-depth look at the necessary equipment and developing a more detailed budget. The phase aims at brainstorming the project and cutting across the plans of the project execution as well as the acquisition of the necessary resources to implement it. Though planning is vested in this phase, adjustments are normally done where necessary in later phases. It is therefore important to note that the planning process lives in the entire project life.
Execution Phase
In this particular phase, the work of the preceding phase is put into action. The phase entails the major undertakings to accomplish the project. The project manager keeps the workforce on their toes while providing them with the required resources. He also keeps updating the employees and all stakeholders on the performance of the project. This is the phase where the project manager needs to use her managerial skills in order to implement the project, manage risks, costs, and several variables that are going to be involved. For instance, the entire training would have been offered at this stage, if it was a training project.
Closing
The project finally comes to a close at this stage. The project manager convenes a meeting with his team to review the overall performance of the project. The process also involves looking at the failures and successes and their impact on the result. In addition, the manager makes a report for each stakeholder, stressing his observations and any relevant recommendations. At this stage, the project is transferred and documents archived. The project team finishes its work, and the product of the project shifts to the client.
The complexity measure of the project determines the skills and the resources needed to implement each phase. The higher the profile of the project, the more the resources required in all areas.