In the world of project management, many project managers follow the Project Management Body of Knowledge, or PMBOK.
PMBOK is a structured approach to project management, developed by the Project Management Institute, which includes five phases:
In this article, we'll look at the Execution phase.
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Phase three in PMBOK's phases of project management is the Execution phase
(although, this phase may also be referred to as the Implementation phase). The name of the phase isn't nearly as important as what happens during this phase.
During the Execution phase, your best-laid plan from Phase 2 - Planning is put to work. This is also a great time to use your project management tracking software to it's fullest extent. Project management software is a must during this time. It doesn’t have to be fancy, or even expensive, but it does need to keep you on top of everything you thought would happen during this project and whether or not it is actually happening.
While the Planning phase can take a considerable amount of time, depending upon the project deliverables, the Execution phase can take as long or longer than the Planning phase. This is also the time when you'll spend the bulk of your money and keep your resources busy "executing" the project plan.
During the Execution phase, the project manager spends a considerable amount of time in communication making sure the resources (or people, equipment and materials) are available to do their work and know what work needs to be completed.
There's quite a bit to this phase as a project manager as you work to juggle many aspects of your project. During this phase, you'll use all of your management skills to implement and manage cost and quality, risks and change, and several other factors.
This is also a great time to work to keep the project stakeholders informed of the project's progress.
