I have studied project management, and I have learned that there are five project management process groups that make up the life cycle of a typical project. According to the PMBOK® Guide (Project Management Body of Knowledge), the process groups are:

1. Initiating
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Monitoring and Controlling
5. Closing

Why am I bringing this up? Because you can apply these process groups to the projects in your personal life to help you more effectively meet your goals and to make progress on your personal projects.

1. Initiating

The initiating phase is your first foray into a new project. In this phase your project is defined and authorized. Some of the key things you do in this phase are to:

• Define project objectives.
• Identify stakeholders.
• Secure project approval.
• Develop the project charter.

For a project in your personal life, you may be the only stakeholder, or if you are taking on a project for your community group or organization, your stakeholders would be anyone impacted by that project.

A key thing to do when starting any project is to create a project charter. This is a document that defines what the project is, and it defines project scope, both what is in and out of scope. It is just as important to know what you are committed to doing (i.e. what is in scope) as it is to know what you are not going to do (what is out of scope).

A project charter also defines the project objectives. These are the goals and results you want to achieve with your project.

When initiating a new project, it is important to plan up front what you are going to do and who it is going to impact. A well initiated project will be a much more effective project in the long run because you will identify clearly what you want to achieve with your project.

2. Planning

After initiating your project, the next step is planning your project. The planning phase establishes the scope, objectives, and course of action to achieve the project’s goals. Key activities include:

• Developing a project management plan.
• Defining scope, schedule, and budget.
• Identifying risks and mitigation strategies.
• Planning resources, communication, and procurement.

For example, I am thinking of organizing a TEDx event. I will have to properly initiate this project and create a project charter to help me get started. Then I will have to plan that project.

To create a plan for this project, I will need to clearly outline the scope, schedule, and budget for my project. I will also need to identify what needs to be done and who will do the work. Planning a TEDx event also has its risks, and I will have to anticipate both the challenges and opportunities that those risks entail. I know from studying project management that you need to anticipate both positive risks (i.e. opportunities) and negative risks (i.e. challenges).

Scope, schedule, and budget are key things to account for in the planning phase. You need to know what will be done, what won’t be done, as well as what it will cost and when it will be done. You can also plan for who will do the work.

3. Executing

The executing phase is when the work of the project is carried out. In this phase, the project team performs the work defined in the project plan to meet the objectives. Key activities include:

• Managing resources and stakeholders.
• Executing tasks as per the plan.
• Ensuring quality standards are met.
• Communicating progress with stakeholders.

For a personal project, if you are working on your own and you are your only team member, you still have resources to manage, such as the tools you use to carry out your project. You also need to schedule and manage the time your work on your project.

For me, I use the Jira web application to manage my personal software projects. This is where I capture the work I want to do for my software projects. I keep track of all of the features I want to implement and any bugs I need to fix. As I complete the work on my project I update my tasks in Jira to show what I have completed.

4. Monitoring and Controlling

Another key phase in a project is the monitoring and controlling phase. This phase tracks, reviews, and regulates the project’s performance and progress. It ensures the project stays on track. Activities include:

• Measuring project performance against the baseline.
• Managing changes to the scope, schedule, or budget.
• Addressing risks and resolving issues.
• Reporting project status.

For a personal project, this could include adapting to changes over time in the life of the project and dealing with issues as they arise. For example, when working on a software project for my Toastmasters club, I had to deal with an issue where the target user for the software project had a different operating system than the one I developed the application for. This required me to work with my fellow club members to identify possible solutions to overcome this issue.

For a personal project, you may not have anyone to report to other than yourself, unless it is a project you took on for your community group or organization. For me, when I developed the software app for my Toastmasters club, I kept them up to date on my progress and planned key meetings to keep them updated on my progress. I also scheduled a final meeting to demo the new app I was creating for them.

5. Closing

The closing phase finalizes all project activities and formally closes the project. It involves:

• Delivering the final product or outcome.
• Obtaining formal project acceptance.
• Documenting lessons learned.
• Closing contracts and releasing resources.

For me, I had an official closing phase for the project where I developed the app for my Toastmasters club. This was a final meeting where I handed over the app I created. This ended the project for me and placed the end result (the new app) in the hands of the project stakeholders (my fellow club members).

Conclusion

These process groups provide a repeatable and scalable framework that can be applied to personal projects, organizational projects, and even complex programs. I encourage you to apply this structured approach to planning projects in your personal life. It will make you more effective in achieving your goals and in properly documenting and capturing what you want to achieve with your personal projects.