A shared project lifecycle

Illustrative Northstar practice, not a configured workflow

This example lifecycle helps teams agree on the need, plan the work, deliver in manageable steps, and learn from the outcome. It is a discussion guide—not an automated process or an approved company policy. Confirm that the approach fits your project type and location.

Project leads coordinate project-specific plans, collaboration, and delivery in Workspace. The accountable roles and review cadence shown here are fictional sample content.

Example stages

Teams can adapt the sequence to the work and its confirmed governance.

  1. 1

    Define the need

    Describe the problem or opportunity, who is affected, the intended outcome, and how the team will recognize improvement.

  2. 2

    Assess and agree

    Identify the accountable sponsor and affected teams. Discuss dependencies, delivery risks, and whether the work needs a governance decision before planning.

  3. 3

    Plan the work

    Set a realistic scope, milestones, owners, and review points with the people doing and receiving the work. Record the project plan in Workspace.

  4. 4

    Deliver and adapt

    Coordinate tasks and decisions in Workspace. Review progress with the agreed roles and raise changes or blockers through the confirmed escalation route.

  5. 5

    Review and hand over

    Confirm the outcome with the receiving team, assign any open actions, and record lessons that will help the next project.

Ready to discuss a project?

Start by gathering the information that will help the right people assess the need.

Use the Starting a Project page to prepare an example intake summary.

Then continue project planning and delivery in Workspace, using your organization's confirmed project destination.