There is 4 basic phase in every project and every phase of every project. Those are Initiation, planning, execution, and closing.
Initiation: when you starting a project of even before you assemble the team. You got to get the business case together in the feasibility study. You are taking to the board to try and convince them that this actual project is going to have sufficient return on investment to invest in dollars.
Planning: After the board approve your business case and an award your level of funding. You then go into a little bit more detailed planning. In the planning phase you are doing a thing like your typical schedule, resource plan, budget and cash flow plan for the project. Also, try to gather a team( right people for the project).
Execution: once you did with planning then you can begin with execution. In this phase, you are doing a lot of activates of the project and as a project manager, you actually implementing quite a lot of controlling process. Basically, you are doing risk management, issue management, change control management and communication management etc..
Closing: In this phase, you short of packaging up those deliverables.