Project Management Fundamentals: Lifecycle, Roles and Governance

Most finance, operations and HR professionals end up running projects at some point: a system change, a process redesign, a policy rollout, a year-end improvement. Project management fundamentals come down to three questions. What is a project? What stages does it move through? Who is responsible for what? This guide answers them using public pages from two professional bodies, the Association for Project Management (APM, a UK body) and the Project Management Institute (PMI), plus Irish public-sector guidance where it exists. APM and PMI material is professional guidance, not Irish law. If you are weighing which qualification to pursue afterwards, our overview of project management qualifications in Dublin compares the main options.

What counts as a project

APM's "What is project management?" page describes a project as "a unique, transient endeavour, undertaken to achieve planned objectives". It says objectives can be framed as outputs, outcomes or benefits, and that a project is generally considered successful when it meets its acceptance criteria within the agreed time and budget. PMI's "What is a project" page puts it as "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result".

Both definitions share two features: a project has a beginning and an end, and it produces something specific. That is what separates it from ongoing management. APM makes the contrast directly: project management has a fixed start and end, while general management is ongoing.

APM defines project management as the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge and experience to achieve specific objectives within agreed parameters, and calls time, cost and quality "the building blocks of every project". Our reading: the useful habit is to ask, for any piece of work, what the end date is and what the deliverable is. If you cannot answer, it may be an operation, not a project.

The project life cycle

A life cycle is a way to break the work into stages. APM's life cycle page describes it as a framework to "transform an idea of concept into reality in an orderly and efficient manner", and says life cycles are a systematic and organised way to undertake project-based work. It names concept, definition, deployment and transition among its phases, and describes an extended model that adds adoption and benefits realisation at the end. The page does not mention formal stage gates.

PMI's page names six common phases:

• Feasibility: checks whether the business case holds up and whether the organisation can deliver the intended outcome.
• Design: planning and analysis shape the deliverables.
• Build: the deliverables are constructed, with quality assurance built in.
• Test: deliverables get a final quality review and inspection before transition, go-live or customer acceptance.
• Deploy: deliverables go into use, and transition and change management activities are completed.
• Close: the project ends, records are archived, the team is released and contracts are closed.

PMI's page also states that project management process groups are not project phases. That is a common point of confusion: phases describe the stage of the work, while process groups describe kinds of management activity that may occur throughout.

The two bodies use different labels, and neither page presents its list as the only valid one. For a first project, a practical approach is to choose one set of stage names, write down what "done" means for each stage, and use them consistently. That advice is ours. If you work in a more iterative way, see our guide to agile project management.

Roles: sponsor and project manager

Two roles matter most, and confusing them is a frequent cause of friction.

APM's competence framework guidance on the sponsor role (3rd edition, copyright 2022) says the sponsor is accountable to investors and stakeholders for delivery of the outcomes and benefits of a change initiative. Responsibilities listed include leading governance and decision-making, remaining accountable for the continuing validity of the business case (and stopping the initiative if it no longer holds), setting scope and success criteria with key stakeholders, owning the benefits realisation strategy, and acting as the first escalation point for the manager on strategic issues and change requests.

A PMI paper on the fundamentals of project sponsorship (presented at PMI Global Congress 2010, published 12 October 2010) describes the sponsor as a senior manager with the desire and authority to make the project happen, accountable for success from the host organisation's perspective, including realising the benefits. It describes the project manager as responsible for the successful delivery of the project's unique product or result. Its contrast is useful: the sponsor is accountable for the success of the project from the host organisation's perspective, including realising the benefits, while the project manager is responsible for the successful delivery of the project's unique product or result. The paper is more than fifteen years old, so treat it as background rather than current PMI guidance.

Governance: who decides what

APM's governance page (citing its Body of Knowledge, 8th edition) defines governance as the framework of authority and accountability that defines and controls the outputs, outcomes and benefits of projects, programmes and portfolios. It lists elements such as delegated limits of authority and clear escalation routes, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, reporting to keep the sponsor and senior stakeholders informed, and assurance, described as independent, objective checks proportionate to the work. It also describes governance boards, also called steering committees, steering groups or project boards.

In a small finance or HR project, you will not need a formal board. Our suggestion is still to settle four things at the start: who the sponsor is, who the project manager is, who can approve changes to scope, budget or deadline, and who decides to stop. Put them in a one-page note.

An Irish public-sector example

If you work in or with the Irish public sector, the Public Spending Code is a relevant reference. The version we opened is "Public Spending Code: A Guide to Evaluating, Planning and Managing Public Investment", published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) in December 2019. It says its arrangements apply to all public bodies and all bodies in receipt of Exchequer capital funding. It describes a project lifecycle with six stages (Strategic Assessment, Preliminary Business Case, Final Business Case, Implementation, Review and Ex-Post Evaluation), with approval at each stage constituting approval to the next stage rather than overall project approval, and says the lifecycle is not necessarily linear. It assigns responsibilities to a Sponsoring Agency, which has primary responsibility for evaluating, planning and managing projects, and an Approving Authority, which has ultimate responsibility for the project. This document is dated December 2019. This guide has not confirmed whether it has since been updated or supplemented, so check the current version on gov.ie.

Where to go next

Once the basics are clear, many people look at certification routes. The credential requirements are set by the awarding bodies and change, so read the current rules before committing; our guide to PMP eligibility and PDU requirements explains one of them. This article does not cover fees, pass rates or exam content.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a project and day-to-day operations?

APM describes a project as a unique, transient endeavour with planned objectives, and contrasts project management's fixed start and end with the ongoing nature of general management.

How many phases does a project life cycle have?

It depends on the model. PMI's page names six common phases (feasibility, design, build, test, deploy, close), while APM's page names concept, definition, deployment and transition and describes an extended model with adoption and benefits realisation.

Who is accountable for the business case?

APM's sponsor guidance says the sponsor remains accountable for the continuing validity of the business case. PMI's sponsorship paper says the sponsor is accountable for realising the desired benefits, while the project manager is responsible for delivery.

Are APM and PMI guidance legally binding in Ireland?

No. They are professional-body guidance. APM is a UK body. For public bodies in Ireland, the Public Spending Code is the relevant public-sector reference; check its current version.

Do small projects need governance?

APM describes governance in terms of authority, accountability, roles and assurance. How much of that you formalise is a judgement call; our suggestion is to at least name the sponsor, manager and approver of changes.

In short: define the project, choose consistent stages, separate the sponsor's and manager's roles, and decide who can approve change before work starts.