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5 Real Project Management Examples for Your Team

Leila Cruz
Content Partnership Specialist

October 4, 2022 Max 13min read

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Whether it’s a home or a business project, simple or complex by nature, the secret sauce to
delivering successful projects is starting strong with the right strategy and execution plan.

You can do this (and do it well) with a go-getter mindset, proper project management approaches,
and the right tools.

In this article, you’ll learn about the building blocks of project management, including the key
success factors and phases, as well as how project management tools can keep them together.
Then we’ll show you how it all works in practice with five real project management examples!  👌

The 4 Phases of the Project Management Life Cycle

Managing projects from start to finish can come with long and complex processes. So, to help
make everyone’s job easier, the concept of the project life cycle was introduced. 
 via ClickUp

The project life cycle, or project management process, consists of four phases: initiating, planning,
executing, and closing. It’s a structured path your projects go through to help move them from
conception to completion and ensure project objectives are delivered in each phase.

Let’s take a look at what the project manager is responsible for in each phase:

1. The initiation phase

Get everyone onboard. The project manager defines the organization, client, or customer’s goal,
identifies key stakeholders, the project team, and the scope of work of the project, and determines
measurable objectives for the team.

2. The planning phase

Strategically prepare and map out the project. The project manager is responsible for creating a
detailed project plan and outlining the project schedule that includes the major project milestones
and describes what tasks or deliverables make up each milestone. This is important because the
project plan provides a strategy and project checklist to help properly manage resources, budget,
and timeline along the project life cycle.

3. The execution phase 

It’s go time. In this phase, the project manager’s main job is to oversee the team’s efforts and
ensure everyone understands what’s expected of them, what tasks need to be done, and how and
when to complete those tasks to ensure everything is done within the project schedule. 

4. The closing phase

Time to wrap up the project. The project manager must identify that their team has completed all of
the requested outcomes, then present the final product to the stakeholders to sign off and officially
close the project.

📌 Key takeaway:
By following the project life cycle, you’re ensuring that you are: 

Capturing the expectations of your customer

Setting your project up for success with a plan
Executing project tasks and addressing any issues or project risks that arise
Closing out your project to capture any lessons learned and improve the next projects

Key Factors for Successful Project Management 

Critical factors for successful project management can vary from one project to another, but here
are a few factors that should remain constant no matter the type of project or what industry you’re
in:

✅ Set SMART goals 

✅ Understand the project scope and prevent scope creep
✅ Identify project risks and create a risk management plan
✅ Clearly defined roles and responsibilities
✅ Effective team communication
✅ Maintain a high level of project visibility
How project management software gives teams flexibility 
With so many factors that can impact project success, using project management software can
help to keep everyone and everything on track and ahead of curveballs.

A good project management app can take so much of the burden of managing projects off your
shoulders by providing teams with the tools they need to get a high-level overview of their work,
streamline business processes, create efficient workflows, communicate more effectively, and
make collaboration seamless and more enjoyable. 

ClickUp, for one, helps project managers and teams plan, manage, track projects, and collaborate
with each other—all in one place. Its fully customizable platform gives teams the flexibility and the
advanced tools they need to create the most efficient workflow that best suits their project needs
and preferences. 

And because the platform is fully customizable, teams in ClickUp are fully equipped to handle any
type of project and support any type of project management methodology, including the most
common approaches such as Waterfall, Agile (Scrum and Kanban), Lean, Six Sigma, and more. 

Monitor project updates, manage risks, and work with the team, all from your
ClickUp Workspace
Key ClickUp features for effective project management include:

Customizable views: View your projects your way; choose from 15+ views, including Gantt
Chart, Timeline, and Workload view
Custom automation: Save time, keep your processes consistent, and streamline your workflow
Custom task statuses: Add and assign different stages to your tasks to improve project
visibility 
Custom Fields: Add more context to your tasks and display important information 
Goals: Stay on track to hit your SMART goals with clear timelines, measurable targets, and
automatic progress tracking 
Project milestones: Easily set milestones to help you stay on top of important deadlines and
track your team’s progress against major checkpoints
Dependencies: Add “blocking” or “waiting on” dependencies between tasks to set a clear order
of operations, so your team always knows what to work on first
Task checklist: Create a to-do list within each task to ensure all steps are completed before
moving the task forward
Dashboards: Build a mission control center for each project, team member, and more to 
ensure every project stakeholder has the information they need to control any project risk and
keep the project delivery within its timeline
Global time tracking: Track time spent on tasks, set estimates, add notes, and view reports of
your time from anywhere
Assigned comments: Create and assign action items directly within a comment 
Mobile app: Keep your projects accessible wherever you go with the ClickUp mobile app
Integration: Connect ClickUp to over 1,000 of your favorite work tools to streamline your
workflow  

View the Full List of ClickUp Features

Now, let’s take a look at a few real-life project management examples and learn how other industry
experts have successfully delivered projects using the right methodology and tools!
5 Project Management Examples and Tips for
Successful Project Delivery

1. Marketing project example: Creating a cross-functional

workflow

Jakub Grajcar, a Marketing Manager at STX Next, leads a team of content and social media
specialists, spearheads the Marketing department’s lead generation and brand recognition strategy
and works with multiple departments to deliver projects. A typical day for the team includes
executing upwards of five content deliverables, with Jakub often reviewing 10+ different projects at
a time.

The problem?

Working with our Product Design department was a chaotic process. Our teams
struggled with communication because we lacked project visbility—we often didn’t
have clear information about whether tasks were still under review or needed more
work. 

We absolutely needed a system that would allow me and the Head of Product Design
to get an overview of the entire process and come to grips with all the work in
progress and upcoming tasks.

Jakub Grajcar, 
Marketing Manager at STX Next
The goal?

To help improve global collaboration across departments, and content marketing processes, speed
up project completion and delivery, and keep the teams aligned on goals, project timelines, and so
on by creating a cross-functional workflow and standardizing processes in ClickUp.

Here’s how Jakub and his team carried out this initiative: 

Initiation phase

Identify the project: To create Marketing Sprints templates and team Dashboards 
Define the desired outcome: Manage multiple projects, streamline partner outreach, and
speed up the content production process

Planning phase

Project management methodology: Agile 

Execution phase

Task checklist:

Set up a Hierarchy in ClickUp

Create Folders for each department and set up Lists within each Folder
Within each List, create tasks and subtasks to breakdown the work even further 
Save tasks as a template that can be reused as many times as needed
Set up Custom Task Statuses to give each stage of the project a designated name 
Add Custom Fields to each List to display and keep key information easily accessible
Added custom automation to automatically trigger an action and push the project to the next
step 
Save the Folder as a template to be reused for the next Sprint and to keep processes
consistent 
Build a custom Dashboard with real-time reporting to display key data and improve task
visibility

Closing phase
 At the end of the project, Jakub and the teams within STX Next tested the new Marketing
Sprints template and Dashboard to ensure the process was smooth for everyone involved in
the project and all of the custom automation in ClickUp was set up properly.

📌 Use this Marketing Sprint Folder template to help with project planning, keep project activities
visible and organized, and streamline your processes. Hit the ground running with pre-set Board and
List views, task estimation capabilities, and customizable automation!

Download Jakub’s Marketing Sprints Folder Template

2. SEO project example: Scaling content production

Adele Payant, ClickUp’s SEO Specialist, is responsible for researching opportunities and creating
content briefs for the writers to use as a guide when drafting articles for the blog page. And to write
compelling content briefs, she has to perform keyword research, competitive analysis, and other
important related tasks, and ensure the content brief is detailed and easy to follow for the writers. 

The problem?

The biggest challenge in our SEO blog workflow was focusing on scaling our content
production without impacting the quality of each blog.

Adele Payant, 
SEO Specialist at ClickUp
The goal? 

To create a clear and repeatable system to help our SEO team ramp up the volume of briefs without
compromising the quality of the brief and reduce unnecessary back-and-forth communication.

Here’s how Adele executed this project:

Initiation phase 

Identify the project: Create a detailed and structured SEO content brief template
Define the desired outcome: Create a structured and consistent workflow for researching and
creating content briefs, and speed up the approval process

Planning phase 

Project management methodology: Agile 

Execution phase

Task checklist:

Connect with the writing team to capture feedback about the current process 
Create an SEO blog checklist in ClickUp Docs
Start a new Doc and use the rich-editing tools to structure your page
Add headers to define the sections in your Doc clearly
Embed links to example articles and other key data from keyword research
Add nested pages to capture notes for the assigned writer to review before drafting the
article
Save the Doc as a template 

Closing phase 

To ensure the content blog brief is up to par, the Sr. SEO Manager, Sr. SEO Specialist, and Sr.
Content Managers reviewed the Doc and presented the template to the content writers to
 review for readability and to gather feedback. The project is officially closed after all
stakeholders have approved it.

📌 Use this SEO Content Brief template to clearly state your goals and objectives, and share it with
your writers to improve content delivery.

Download ClickUp’s SEO Content Brief Template

For more SEO project management tips, check out ClickUp’s Sr. SEO Manager’s article: Tips to
Optimize Your Workflow. 

3. Customer enablement project: Launching a new program

Robin Wisner, ClickUp’s LMS Administrator, is responsible for delivering a new initiative to give
ClickUp customers a fun and interactive way to learn how to use ClickUp and maximize the features
within the platform.

The Customer Enablement team, of which Robin is a member, launched ClickUp University (CUU) in
November 2021. The new program received an overwhelmingly positive response from ClickUp
users and ultimately gave the team the green light to launch another option to help further enhance
user experience.

To accomplish this, she led the initiative to launch CUU Certificates—a program intended to
recognize the ClickUp users’ product knowledge and reward them for completing the course exams.

The problem?

The biggest challenge for a project of this scale was managing across so many
teams with competing priorities.
 Robin Wisner, 
LMS Administrator, Customer Enablement at ClickUp

The goal?

To delegate work effectively and launch the new certification program on time to provide a
measurable process for customers to successfully onboard and enhance their experience as a
ClickUp user.

Here’s how Robin and the project team members made it happen:

Initiation phase

Identify the project: Launch and promote the new certification program 
Define the desired outcome: To collaborate with different teams to design and launch the new
certification program.

Planning phase 

Project management methodology: Waterfall

Execution phase

Task checklist:

Outline objectives for each certification level and course in ClickUp Docs
Develop beta test group and SOP for testing in ClickUp Docs
Outline the diagram taxonomy and customer journey in ClickUp Whiteboards
 Create ClickUp Tasks for content development and assign them to the designated team
members 
Use the ClickUp Form to submit a design request for the certificates
Submit a request to create a new help center overview article
Collaborate with the Dev Ops team to code and manage website design
Run tests with the beta test group and collect feedback 
Create internal and external enablement materials
Submit a request for marketing promotional materials 

Closing phase 

To finalize and close this project, the project stakeholders reviewed the creative designs and
tested the website’s performance and user experience. The approval was given once project
requirements are met. 

📌 Use this Feedback Form template to customize your feedback collection, view all your feedback
in one place, and improve your products and services.

Download ClickUp’s Feedback Form Template

Bonus: Project Management Software for Freelancers

4. Education project example: Building company-wide data

reporting dashboards

Morey Graham, the Director of Alumni and Donor Services (ADS) at Wake Forest University, leads
and manages fundraising campaigns, alumni relationships, brand identity, and publications within
the Wake Forest community. 

The problem?
 Because teams worked on separate platforms, it created work silos that led to
duplicated efforts and poor team communication. We also lacked visibility into our
data which impacted our ability to make strong business decisions for the
organization.

Morey Graham, 
Director of Alumni and Donor Services (ADS) at Wake Forest University

The goal?

To find a new project management tool that is user-friendly for all the departments and to create a
business dashboard that displays and updates data in real-time to help improve project visibility
across the organization.

Here’s how Morey and the ADS department delivered this project:

Initiation phase 

Identify the project: Create an accurate and reliable project dashboard for leadership and
team members
Define the desired outcome: Improve data reporting and task visibility across departments,
and align team goals

Planning phase 

Project management methodology: Agile 

Execution phase

Task checklist

Consolidate work tools and integrate apps together to streamline the data reporting process
Set an all-hands meeting with the department to collect feedback about the current process
and document meetings notes in a Doc or Notepad
Set up your Workspace and establish a dedicated home for each department
Create a Space for each department to organize work by departments
Within each Space, create a Folder for each project
Within each Folder, create a List for each team member 
Customize your project views and add key information to each task
Create Custom Statuses for every stage of the project
Set up and add tags to tasks to categorize and link related tasks together 
Establish goals and document targets for each in ClickUp Goals 
Build a custom Dashboard for the entire organization, and each department and project
Define your Dashboard audience and data story
Choose the right KPIs to support the data story
Select the widget that matches your reporting requirements

Closing phase 

Present the project to the department head and key stakeholders for review and approval to
close the project. 

📌 Create custom Dashboards in ClickUp to get a high-level overview of all your initiatives, highlight
KPIs, project status, and progress, to keep everyone on track and aligned at all times.

Try ClickUp’s Dashboard Feature

5. Product launch project example: Launching a new product

feature
To further expand ClickUp’s list of features for project management, the company set out a huge
initiative to build and successfully launch a new product feature, ClickUp Whiteboards.
Spearheading the project is ClickUp’s Group Product Manager, Zach Blodgett.

The company’s vision was to create a powerful yet easy-to-use digital collaboration tool that project
managers, executives, and team members could use to level up their brainstorming, planning, and
execution processes.

The problem? 

The biggest challenge was team size and a rapidly approaching deadline. The
deadline was immovable and we had a ton of stakeholders from GTM, sales, pricing &
packaging, growth, support, CSMs, EPD. We had to ensure they knew what was going
out, what was next, and how to talk about Whiteboards.

Zach Blodgett, 
Group Product Manager, Work Management at ClickUp

The goal? 

To use a project management tool to help manage tasks, communicate with stakeholders across
the globe, and minimize risks and bottlenecks to deliver the new and highly-anticipated product
feature within the agreed-upon timeline.

Here’s how Zach and the company launched a successful project launch:
Initiation phase 

Identify the project: New feature rollout 

Define the desired outcome: To successfully deliver a responsive and functional new feature
and create GTM campaigns for launch day

Planning phase

Project management methodology: Lean

Execution phase

Task checklist:

Delegate tasks to the respective team members within the Product and Engineering team
Use the ClickUp-Github integration to preview branches populated in the tasks
Create Clip videos to report bugs in development and to easily relay complex issues to other
teams
Connect with the Creative team to shoot promotional videos and ads
Connect with the entire company to run beta testing and collect feedback
Run tests with the Security team
Collaborate with Sales to determine the pricing model
Work with the Product Marketing GTM team to create a marketing campaign plan for the
launch
Set important milestones and schedule for beta release

Closing Phase 

The CEO, Sr. VP of Engineering, and other key project stakeholders reviewed the product
feature, and approved the final product before launch day.

Here’s the final look—check it out!

 ClickUp | Whiteboard | Trailer

📌 Create a step-by-step approach to how your organization will bring a product to the market, and
use this Go to Market Strategy template to help you ship faster!

Download ClickUp’s Go to Market Strategy Template

Handle Any Project With Confidence By Using ClickUp

Successful project management starts with understanding what the ultimate goal of the project is,
understanding the key elements that go into an intelligent project plan, and creating a smooth and
actionable strategy to get there—refer to the project management examples above to help spark
ideas.
You’ll also need to ensure to implement the appropriate methodology to guide you through the
entire process and utilize the project lifecycle to keep you on track. 

And to make your life as a project manager as easy as humanly possible, you need to use a project
management tool like ClickUp to help keep everything in order and bring all your work to one
centralized place. Use it to track project progress, manage project risks and resources effectively,
collaborate with your entire organization, and so much more. 

With its extensive list of customizable and functional features, you’ll be fully equipped to handle any
type of project management approach, manage multiple complex projects at once, set up the most
streamlined workflow, support your remote and hybrid teams, and confidently deliver quality
projects on time, every time. 

(cue “That was easy” sound effect 😉)

Try ClickUp for Free Today
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