A project management plan is developed comprehensively of individual plans for – cost, scope, duration, quality, communication, risk and resources. Some of the important activities that mark this phase are -making WBS, development of schedule, milestone charts, GANTT charts, estimating and reserving resources, planning dates and modes of communication with stakeholders based on milestones, deadlines and important deliveries. A plan for managing identified and unidentified risks is determined as this may affect aspects of a project later on. Risk management planning includes: risk identification and analysis, risk mitigation approaches, and risk response planning.

A project deliverable is developed and completed, adhering to a mapped-out plan. A lot of tasks during this phase capture project metrics through tasks like status meetings and project status updates, other status reports, human resource needs and performance reports. An important phase as it will help you understand whether your project will be a success or failure.

Occurring at the same time as the execution phase, this one mostly deals with measuring the project performance and progression in accordance to the project plan. Scope verification and control occur to check and monitor for scope creep, change control to track and manage changes to project requirement. Calculating key performance indicators for cost and time are done to measure the degree of variation, if any, and in which case corrective measures are determined and suggested to keep a project on track. To prevent project failure, consider why projects are likely to fail and the ways to prevent failure.

A project is formally closed. It includes a series of important tasks such as delivering the product, relieving resources, reward and recognition to the team members and formal termination of contractors in case they were employed on the project.