The project management life cycle describes each stage you move through as you create and execute a project. Starting with the project initiation phase, a project management life cycle moves through stages of planning, execution, control, and close.
It allows you to break your project into distinct parts that you can monitor, manage, and adjust as needed, such as planning which tasks need to be carried out by whom and when.
When you define your project management life cycle, project execution and task management becomes more streamlined because you're able to set targets and see how effectively your time, resources, and budget are being used.
But without establishing a clear project life cycle, you could experience ‘scope creep’ — in which uncontrolled, unexpected variables creep into your project development and execution process.
The lifecycle takes place in 5 phases: initiation, planning, controlling, execution, and closeout. Each phase includes steps that upon completion will feed into the next.