Applying Project Life Cycle Simulation Paper

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Introduction
Like living creatures, projects progress through a "life cycle." The stages of the project life cycle provide control mechanisms for project managers and help those involved understand where a project is and where it is going.
Method123.com (2003) provides the following visual:

The University of Phoenix Simulation (2003) defines each phase:
"Initiation/Definition: To begin with, the objectives of the project are defined, specifications are set out, teams are formed, and major responsibilities are assigned."
"Planning: In this stage, plans are developed to determine the scope of the project, the schedule, the quality level to be maintained, and the budget."
"Execution: This is the phase in which the physical product is produced. Time, cost, and specification measures are used for control. This phase includes activities that coordinate people and other resources to carry out the project plan. Activities are monitored regularly and progress is measured to identify variances from plan, and to take requisite corrective action to ensure that the project objectives are met."
"Delivery/Closure: This stage usually includes two activities: delivering the product to the customer and redeploying project resources. Delivery of the project might include customer training and transferring documents. Redeployment usually involves releasing project equipment/materials to other projects and finding new assignments for team members."
Communications Plan
As shown in the visual above, communications is critical to the project life cycle and a communications plan is necessary to keep project sponsors and other critical stakeholders informed. It is to be used by project managers and project teams to track and communicate all major project variables - cost, time, scope, and quality of deliverables. Additionally, a communications plan will provide those outside the project team a view of the progress being made.
According to Resolutions Enterprises (2003), a project communications plan must be structured such that the following critical elements, among others, are addressed and that sufficient information is provided to all affected users:
1. Audience Identification
2. Division of the Plan into Project Phases
3. Communications Plan Objectives
4. Message Structure
5. Message Delivery Times
The objectives of the communications plan will be to inform all affected parties and provide a mechanism for those affected individuals to communicate back to the implementation team.
Messages will coincide with project milestones being reached and will generally be delivered via email by the client contact.
Another type of communications that can be used are status meetings, whether formal or informal, with the project manager and key client contacts. These meetings generally take place every morning at the beginning of the workday and before the end of the day -- sometimes these meetings take a few minutes, sometimes more - but their purpose is simply to keep the implementation team ...