Swiftlight specifically supports and facilitates all stages of a project’s lifecycle, with views / outputs that are well suited to different stages of a project and to different occasions / audiences.
Furthermore, Swiftlight supports the communication that is so central to a project’s success, through providing high quality graphics and clear structure that focuses people on the fundamentals.
The graphic below illustrates the use of Swiftlight through the project lifecycle:
Examples of the views shown in this graphic are given below under the following four sections:
Project Initiation and Planning / Re-planning
At this stage of a project, the Objectives and Scope, Timeline and Activity Group Summary Views can be used alone or in combination to define the plan at a high level. These outputs can be used in a project charter document or project proposal, in a kick-off or review meeting, or simply for use by you or your team. Examples are shown below:
Objectives and Scope view
Timeline view
Activity Group Summary view
When in the midst of project implementation, the Activity Group Detail, the Action List and the Action List over Time views help to define, communicate and monitor the project "to-do list” – i.e. who has to do what by when. Examples are shown below:
Activity Group Detail view
Action List over Time view (sorted by Activity Group)
Action List over Time view (sorted by Contact)
Action List view
Managing, Reviewing and Reporting
While all of the views in Swiftlight can be used to review and report progress, there are three views / areas of functionality that are particularly worth highlighting.
The in-built status reporting functionality, which provides a standard template for regular reporting on overall progress and on the progress of specific Activity Groups and milestones.
The Timeline View in review mode, which shows the position of Activity Groups and milestones relative to the project baseline.
The Activity Group Summary, which can be formatted to highlight activity status and performance and thereby facilitate the communication and discussion of progress for each Activity Group.
Project Status Report
Timeline view (Review mode)
Activity Group Summary (formatted for Review)
When it comes to closing out a project or to a post-project review, all the views in Swiftlight can be useful. However, the most important are likely to be the “big picture views”: Objectives and Scope, Timeline (in review mode), and the Activity Group Summary view.
Examples of the Timeline in review mode, and the Activity Group Summary are given in the section on Managing, Reviewing and Reporting.
An example of the Objectives and Scope view, formatted to show “status balls” (used to communicate progress and achievement against each bullet point) and how the objectives of a project have been met, is shown below:
For more detail about using Swiftlight in the Project Lifecycle: