Project Lifecycles: The Structure Behind Successful Delivery
Experience the railway story, understand three lifecycle models, and learn to adapt approaches to your reality.
Welcome to Your Lifecycle Journey
Early in my career, I thought a project lifecycle was one-size-fits-all. But it wasn't until I worked on a critical railway upgrade that I discovered something deeper: you can adapt best practices from both waterfall and agile, and be creative in how you deliver.
In this interactive experience, you'll:
- Experience the railway project story through real stakeholder conversations
- Understand three lifecycle models: Linear (Waterfall), Iterative (Agile), and Hybrid
- Practice borrowing tools across different approaches
- Assess your current reality and get personalised recommendations
The core insight
Project lifecycles aren't rigid rules - they're frameworks you adapt to your reality.
Ready? Let's begin with the railway story that changed how I think about delivery.
🚂 The Railway Story
This project involved upgrading a unique train which was responsible for inspecting the safety of London Underground tracks. The problem? We couldn't take it out of service for an extended period, as it had a special schedule to inspect the condition of the tracks. The safety of the railway depended on it.
We were working in a tight, waterfall environment. Standard practice said: plan everything upfront, execute in sequence, deliver at the end. But that wouldn't work here.
So we adapted. We borrowed from agile thinking, created a backlog of upgrades, and planned "pit stops" between inspection runs. These were short bursts of focused work where we tackled what we could based on priority. What didn't get done rolled into the next window.
It wasn't textbook anything. But it worked. We kept the train running, delivered the upgrades, and kept everyone safe.
Experience the Constraint
Step into three key moments from the railway project. Navigate stakeholder conversations and experience how constraints force creativity.
📐 What Is a Project Lifecycle?
The Association for Project Management (APM) defines a project lifecycle as:
"A framework comprising a set of distinct high-level stages required to transform an idea or concept into reality in an orderly and efficient manner."
— Association for Project Management (APM)
Let me translate that: a project lifecycle is the series of stages your project goes through from the initial idea to final closure. Every project, regardless of size or type, follows some kind of journey.
Why Lifecycles Matter
More than just a step-by-step guide, a lifecycle gives you:
- Structure: Everyone knows which stage you're in and what comes next. This shared understanding prevents confusion and missed handoffs.
- Visibility: You can anticipate typical risks and decisions for each stage. No nasty surprises.
- Control: Natural checkpoints let you assess progress and adjust course before small issues become big problems.
- Reflection: Stage transitions create moments to capture what worked and what didn't. This is how teams improve.
Here's what I learnt on that railway project: when pressure hits, a clear lifecycle stops you drowning in complexity. You focus on what the current stage needs rather than juggling everything at once.
The Four Universal Stages
All projects typically move through these stages (click each to explore):
1️⃣ Initiation: Getting Started
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What happens: You identify the need, secure approval, and establish the project's legitimacy. The project is formally authorised to proceed.
Example: Developer identifies need for office block, secures funding, gets initial planning permission.
2️⃣ Planning: Working Out How
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What happens: You define scope, create schedules, allocate resources, and identify risks. How much detail you plan depends on your lifecycle model.
Example: Architects design building, engineers calculate loads, contractors price the work.
3️⃣ Execution: Doing the Work
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What happens: You deliver the project's outputs, manage the team, and coordinate activities. This is where the actual work gets done.
Example: Foundations go in, structure rises, systems get installed.
4️⃣ Closure: Wrapping Up
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What happens: You complete final deliverables, hand over to the client, settle accounts, and capture lessons learnt.
Example: Building tested and certified, handover to client, lessons documented.
The key difference
These four stages are universal. What varies is HOW you move through them - whether that's in a straight line, in repeated cycles, or as a hybrid approach. That's what we call your lifecycle model.
🌊 Linear (Waterfall) Lifecycle
Structured, step-by-step, and sequenced. You finish one stage before starting the next.
It's called "waterfall" because work flows in one direction, like water flowing down steps. You complete one stage fully before moving to the next, and you don't go backwards. It's a straightforward, sequential approach.
How It Flows
Click image to zoom • Each stage has clear outputs before the next can begin
Example: Building an Office Block
Let's see waterfall in action with a construction project (click each stage to explore):
🏗️ Initiation
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What happens: Developer identifies need, secures funding, gets initial planning permission. The project is approved to proceed.
Why waterfall fits: You can't pour concrete without approval and funding. Clear go/no-go decision needed.
📐 Planning
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What happens: Architects design the building, structural engineers calculate loads, planners create schedules, contractors price the work. Everything is mapped out before construction begins.
Why waterfall fits: You can't pour concrete before designs are approved. Physical dependencies require detailed upfront planning.
🔨 Execution & Monitoring
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What happens: Ground breaks, foundations go in, structure rises floor by floor, systems get installed. Progress is tracked against the plan, but the sequence is fixed. You can't fit windows before the walls exist.
Why waterfall fits: Physical constraints dictate the sequence. Foundation → Structure → Walls → Windows → Fit-out. No shortcuts.
✅ Closure
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What happens: Final fit-out completed, building tested and certified, snagging issues resolved, handover to client. Accounts settled, lessons documented, maintenance contracts begin.
Why waterfall fits: Clear completion criteria. Either the building is certified safe or it's not. No partial handover.
Best for:
- Fixed requirements that won't change
- Physical builds with dependencies
- Regulated environments where change is expensive or dangerous
- Projects where the end goal is clear and stable
🔄 Iterative (Agile) Lifecycle
Iterative approaches, commonly called agile, break work into small, repeatable cycles called sprints. Instead of planning everything upfront, you deliver working pieces quickly, get feedback, and adjust as you go.
How It Cycles
Click image to zoom • Each cycle delivers something usable and learns from real users
Example: Developing a Banking App
Let's see agile in action with a digital product (click each sprint to explore):
📱 Initiation
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What happens: Business case approved, initial user research completed, development team assembled. High-level vision defined.
Key difference: You don't plan all features upfront. Just enough to start the first sprint.
📋 Planning (Backlog)
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What happens: Create a product backlog of features, prioritise what matters most to users, plan the first sprint.
Key difference: Unlike waterfall, you only plan in detail for the immediate future. The backlog evolves based on learning.
🔁 Execution via Sprints
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- Sprint 1: Basic login and account view. Release to test users.
- Sprint 2: Add balance checking based on feedback. Release again.
- Sprint 3: Include payment functionality. Test and refine.
- Sprint 4: Add budgeting features users requested.
- Continue: Each two-week sprint adds value, responds to feedback.
The magic: There's no "big bang" release. Each cycle delivers something usable, learns from real users, and adapts the plan based on what you discover.
✅ Closure
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What happens: When the product meets its goals or the budget runs out. Final handover to support teams, documentation completed, team retrospective held.
Key difference: Closure isn't a single moment. Features have been going live throughout. You're closing the project, not launching the product.
Best for:
- Fast-moving environments where speed matters
- Digital products where you can iterate safely
- Evolving requirements where user feedback shapes direction
- Projects where learning by doing beats planning everything upfront
⚖️ Hybrid Lifecycle
The hybrid lifecycle recognises that some projects need different approaches for different parts. It combines the predictability of waterfall where you need it with the flexibility of agile where that works better.
How It Combines
Click image to zoom • Different speeds for different needs, coordinated through integration
Example: Implementing a Hospital System
Let's see hybrid in action with a complex, regulated project (click each element to explore):
🏥 Initiation
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What happens: Hospital board approves digital transformation, budget secured, regulatory requirements identified. Clear boundaries set for what must be fixed versus what can flex.
Hybrid thinking: Identify which parts need waterfall (safety, compliance) and which can be agile (user experience) from the start.
📋 Planning (Two-Track Approach)
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What happens: Two-track approach designed. Critical infrastructure and compliance elements follow strict waterfall planning. User-facing elements planned for iterative development. Both tracks coordinated through integrated schedule.
Hybrid thinking: You're not choosing waterfall OR agile. You're using both where they fit best, with clear integration points.
⚙️ Execution (Parallel Tracks)
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Waterfall track: Infrastructure setup, security compliance, data migration follow strict sequential phases. Can't compromise on patient safety or data protection.
Agile track: User interface developed in sprints with feedback from doctors, nurses, admin staff, and technicians. Training materials evolve based on each department's needs. Quick adjustments based on real use.
Hybrid thinking: The backbone follows waterfall for safety. The user elements iterate based on feedback. Different speeds, carefully coordinated.
✅ Closure (Phased)
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What happens: System goes live in phases. Infrastructure signed off through formal testing. User elements refined until adoption targets met. Full handover includes both technical documentation and evolved training materials.
Hybrid thinking: Closure isn't the same moment for both tracks. Infrastructure closes with certification. User experience closes when adoption goals are met.
Best for:
- Complex projects with both rigid and flexible components
- Regulated environments that still need user feedback
- Projects where compliance meets user experience
- Situations where pure waterfall or pure agile would fail
🛠️ Mixing & Matching Without Chaos
Here's what the textbooks don't always tell you: You might not get to choose your lifecycle. In most organisations, the delivery model is set at strategic level. As a PM, you inherit it.
But that doesn't mean you're powerless. Even in structured environments, you can bring in tools from other lifecycles to create clarity and maintain momentum.
The Tools You Can Borrow
- Daily stand-ups: Surface blockers early, even in waterfall
- Retrospectives: Not just for agile - pause at milestones to ask "what did we learn?"
- Backlogs: When scope inevitably expands, keep a visible, prioritised list
- Stage gates: Checkpoint reviews keep fast-moving work aligned with strategy
- Kanban boards: Visualise progress and bottlenecks in any lifecycle
- User story mapping: Helps teams understand the "why" behind features
- Timeboxing: Prevents analysis paralysis and forces decisions
The trick isn't to follow fashion. It's to pick tools that create clarity, maintain momentum, and deliver outcomes.
Practice: The Tool Borrowing Lab
Three struggling projects need your help. Select tools that fit each situation (click tools to see if they help):
Scenario 1: Waterfall Project Stuck
Problem: Infrastructure project experiencing blockers that take days to surface. Team feels disconnected from progress. Issues discovered late in the week when it's too late to fix them.
Select tools that could help:
Scenario 2: Agile Project Drifting
Problem: Product team iterating well but losing alignment with business strategy. Leadership frustrated that sprints aren't delivering what they expected. No connection between sprints and bigger goals.
Select tools that could help:
Scenario 3: Hybrid Project Chaos
Problem: Waterfall and agile teams not talking. Backend team (waterfall) building infrastructure with no input from frontend team (agile). Handoffs failing. Integration nightmares.
Select tools that could help:
The Key Insight
The best PMs don't rigidly follow one approach. They borrow tools that fit their context. A daily stand-up in a waterfall project isn't "doing agile" - it's using a smart communication tool. A stage gate in an agile project isn't abandoning flexibility - it's maintaining strategic alignment.
Your job: Make the lifecycle work for you, not against you.
✅ Knowledge Check
Test your understanding of project lifecycles. Select the best answer for each question.
Question 1:
A company is building a suspension bridge over a river. The design must be approved before construction begins, and physical dependencies dictate the sequence (foundations before pillars, pillars before deck). Which lifecycle fits best?
Question 2:
A startup is developing a social media app for teenagers. User preferences are changing rapidly, and they need to test features with real users quickly. Which lifecycle fits best?
Question 3:
A hospital needs to implement electronic health records. The data migration and security compliance must follow strict regulations, but the user interface needs to evolve based on feedback from doctors and nurses. Which lifecycle fits best?
Question 4:
True or False: As a PM, you always get to choose which project lifecycle to use.
Question 5:
What's the most important factor when borrowing tools from different lifecycle approaches?
🌟 Your Reality
Answer these questions about your current project reality. Be honest - this isn't about what should be, it's about what is.
Assess Your Current Lifecycle
Move each slider to reflect your reality:
Your Lifecycle Position
Your Action Commitment
Reflect on your reality and plan how you'll mix and match approaches:
Question 1:
How does your current reality fit, and what parts of your project could benefit from learning from a new approach?
Question 2:
How can you mix and match tools from different lifecycles?