![](https://images.deso.org/ac1c720285076a10b4ec2d46f232f6af06f021ed2fdffb2cade8291f2f712268.webp)
Have you ever been involved in a big project that seemed to spiral out of control? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, there’s an age-old parody of the traditional process groups in a project lifecycle that is reprinted in many project management books as a cautionary tale. This parody gives us six phases that many projects tend to follow - unbounded enthusiasm, total disillusionment, panic, hysteria and overtime, frantic search for the guilty, punishment of the innocent, and reward for the uninvolved. Let’s explore each one in more detail.