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Project Management Process Groups
Project Management Knowledge in Action
Geree Streun, PMP, CSQE, PMI-ACP, CSSGB, CSM
The project management profession’s standard, A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), sixth edition, consists of ten knowledge areas. This updated
edition now includes a discussion describing techniques used by the project manager to integrate
the processes within the knowledge areas to apply that knowledge appropriately.1
The ten knowledge areas can be effectively arranged in logical groups for ease of consistent
application. These process groups are initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling,
and closing. They describe activities a project manager integrates across the various knowledge
areas as a project moves through a product’s life cycle. So, while the knowledge areas within the
standard describe what a project manager needs to know, the process groups describe what steps
the project managers must take and the approximate order of those steps.2 Historically, defining
the processes that make up the project management body of knowledge was a tremendous
milestone in the evolution of project management as a profession. Understanding the knowledge
areas and processes as described in the PMBOK® Guide is a first step in mastering project
management.
However, as the practice of this profession matures, our understanding of its processes has also
matured and evolved. This is reflected in the additions and changes made to successive editions
of the Guide over the years. The current edition now provides information on tailoring to
incorporate different methodologies and development practices.3
In the PMBOK® Guide, 2000 edition, processes were divided into two classifications that were
essentially virtual groupings of the project management knowledge areas; these were classified
as the Core and Facilitating Processes.4 This classification attempted to provide a focus to guide
the project manager through the application of the knowledge areas to help in implementing the
appropriate ones for their projects. However, a clear differentiation between the Core and
Facilitating processes was not provided. The project manager also needed information about
when and how to use the processes in those classifications. Subsequently, many inexperienced
project managers focused only on the Core processes, while they addressed the Facilitating
processes only if time permitted. After all, they could justify, those processes were merely
“Facilitating” processes, not Core processes.
Therefore a key change was made in 2004 in the PMBOK® Guide, third edition. The artificial
focus on the classifications of Core processes and Facilitating processes was removed, and since
then all of the processes within the knowledge areas are treated equally in the subsequent
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editions.5 In order to understand this, it is important to know that a process is a set of activities
performed to achieve defined objectives. All project management processes are equally
important for every project; there are no unimportant processes. A project manager uses
knowledge and skills to evaluate every process and to tailor each one as needed for each project.
This tailoring is required because there has never been a “one-size-fits-all” project management
approach. This is especially important when integrating Agile techniques into a project
management process; the sixth edition now stresses the required tailoring.6 Every company and
organization faces different constraints and requirements on every project. Therefore, tailoring
must be performed to ensure that the competing demands of scope, time and cost, and quality are
addressed to fulfill those constraints and requirements. Some projects can require a stronger
focus on quality and time while attempting to minimize cost, which is an interesting project
management challenge.
The odds of a project being successful are much higher if a defined approach is used when
planning and executing it. The project manager chooses an approach for the project’s specific
constraints after the tailoring effort is completed. This approach must cover all processes needed
to adapt, capture, and analyze customer interests, plan and manage any technology evolution,
define product specifications, produce a plan, and manage all the activities planned to develop
the required product.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS GROUPS
The Project Management Process Groups are a logical way to categorize and implement the
knowledge areas. The PMBOK® Guide, sixth edition, recommends addressing every process
group for every project. However, the tailoring and rigor applied to implementing each process
group is based on the complexity and risk for the specific project.7 The project manager uses the
process groups to address the interactions and required trade-offs among specified product
requirements to achieve the project’s final product objective. These process groups may appear
to be defined as a strict linear model. However, a skilled project manager knows that projects are
iterative in nature. Furthermore, artifacts like the business case statement, preliminary plan, or
scope statements are rarely complete in their first drafts. Therefore, in most projects, the project
manager must iterate through the various processes as many times as needed to define the
requirements and then to refine the project management plan that is used to produce a product
that meets its requirements. This iteration activity can be done as a series of sprints or iterations
to drive to the final deliverable. The sixth edition now includes that information.8
The project manager will iteratively perform the activities within the process groups on their
projects as shown in Figure 4.1. This figure illustrates how the output of one process group
provides one or more inputs for another process group, or even how an output may be the key
deliverable for the overall project.
FIGURE 4.1. Project Management Process Groups’ Interactions
FIGURE 4.1. Project Management Process Groups’ Interactions
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These process groups are tightly coupled since they are linked by their inputs and outputs. This
coupling makes it clear the project manager must ensure that each process is aligned with the
other processes for a successful project. When managing a successful project, the process groups
and their interactions provide a specific outcome from the application of the project management
knowledge areas. A project manager skilled in applying these knowledge areas never confuses
the process group interactions with the phases in a product life cycle and is able to apply the
interactions in the process groups to drive a project life cycle to its successful completion.
Many project managers have been involved with a project that was started without appropriate
analysis and preparation then ended up costing the company a significant amount over its budget.
A case in point, a high-level manager at a customer site might mention an idea to someone in a
development company and that idea hits a spark. The company takes the idea and launches into
production. When the finished product is completed, there is surprise all around. The customer
does not remember any request for this product and the production company cannot sell it to
anyone else. The following issues are apparent in this scenario:
It is not clear whether the idea expressed a valid need.
It is not clear whether there were real or imagined requirements.
It is not clear if there was an analysis of a return on investment.
It is not clear whether there was a delivery date.
It is not clear whether needed resources were pulled from other projects or if there was an impact
to other schedules.
It is not clear that a market need was established prior to development.
The Initiating Process Group is required to answer these types of questions and to formally begin
project activities.9 The project manager uses the initiating processes to start the project by
gathering and analyzing customer interests and then addressing any issues or risks and project
specifics. The project manager must iterate through the needed initiation activities to identify the
service or product requiring the project’s effort. The organization must take a critical look at the
feasibility and technical capability of creating the product or service as the requirements become
more refined. After the appropriate analysis, a Project Charter is produced that addresses at a
minimum the following information:
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It provides formal authorization for the project.
It provides a high-level description of the product or service that will be created.
It defines the initial project requirements, constraints, and assumptions. The constraints and
assumptions typically provide the initial set of negotiating points for the project plan.
It designates the project manager and defines the project manager’s authority level.
It specifies any hard delivery dates if those dates are required by the contract.
It provides an initial view of stakeholder expectations.
It provides an indication of the project budget.
The project manager works with the customer to capture the customer’s interests and analyze
them to develop the initial scope statement. Typically, content detail varies depending on the
product’s complexity and the application area. This document provides a very high-level project
definition and should define the project boundaries and project success criteria. It should also
address project characteristics, constraints, and assumptions.
The documents developed during this series of processes are provided as input to the planning
effort. A plan is a tool like a map and, unfortunately, some project managers learn a hard lesson
about the importance of having a defined project plan. A plan is not just a way to focus on tasks;
it is a tool to focus efforts and accomplish what is required by the due date. The plan is used to
keep the project on track so a project manager and team know where the project is in relation to
the plan and can also work together to determine the next steps, especially if discovery is needed.
Attempting to run a project without a plan would be like trying to travel to a destination via an
unknown route without knowing one’s current location and having no indication of a direction to
take. In such a situation even the best map would be useless.
Another source of confusion is introduced into a project when some project managers confuse
the Gantt chart, which is defined by commercial tools as a “project plan,” with an actual project
management plan as defined in the PMBOK® Guide, sixth edition.10 A real project management
plan provides needed information about the following:
Which knowledge area processes are needed and how was each tailored for this particular
project? How rigorously will each of those processes be implemented on the project?
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How will the project team be built? Will resources be drawn from across the organization or will
they be brought in through contract, hiring of full-time employees, or outsourcing?
Which quality standards will be applied to the project? What degree of quality control will be
needed for the project to be successful?
How will risks be identified and mitigated?
Which method will be used for communicating with all of the stakeholders to facilitate the
timing of their participation? What method will be used to facilitate addressing open issues and
pending decisions?
Which configuration management requirements will be implemented and how will they be
performed on this project?
Is there a list of scheduled activities, including major deliverables and their associated milestone
dates?
What is the budget for the project, based on the projected costs?
How will the project management plan be executed to accomplish the project objectives? Does
the plan for execution include the required project phases, any reviews, and the documented
results from those phases or reviews?
Planning activities are the central activities the project manager continues throughout the project.
They are iteratively revisited at multiple points within the project. Every aspect of the project is
impacted by the project management plan or impacts the plan. The plan provides input to the
executing processes, to the monitoring and controlling processes, and to the closing processes. If
a problem occurs, the planning activities can even provide input back to the initiating activities,
which can cause a project to be re-scoped and have a new delivery date authorized. The project
manager integrates and iterates the executing processes until the work planned in the project
management plan has produced the required deliverables. The project manager uses the project
management plan and manages the project resources to perform the work to produce the project
deliverables. During execution, the project manager also facilitates the quality assurance
activities. The project manager also ensures that approved change requests are implemented by
the project team. This effort ensures that the product and project artifacts are modified only per
the approved changes. The project manager communicates status information so the stakeholders
will know the project status, which activities have been started or finished, and which activities
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are late. Key outputs from executing the project management plan are the deliverables for the
next phase and the final deliverables to the customer.
The project manager uses monitoring and controlling processes to observe all aspects of the
project. These processes help the project manager proactively know whether or not there are
potential problems so corrective action can be started before a crisis results. Monitoring project
execution is important, because a majority of the project’s resources are expended during this
phase. Monitoring includes collecting data, assessing the data, measuring performance, and
assessing measurements. This information is used to show trends and is communicated to show
performance against the project management plan.
Configuration management is an essential aspect of establishing project control. Therefore,
configuration management is required across the entire organization, including procedures that
ensure that versions are controlled and only approved changes are implemented. The project
implements aspects of change control necessary to continuously manage changes to project
deliverables. Some organizations implement a Change Control Board to formally address change
approval issues and to ensure the project baseline is maintained by only allowing approved
changes into the documentation or product.
Project managers must integrate their monitoring and controlling activities to provide feedback
to the executing process. Some of this information feeds back to the planning process. However,
if there is a high-impact change to the project scope or overall plan, then there will also be input
to the initiating processes.
The closing processes require the project manager to develop any procedures required to
formally close a project or a phase.11 This group of processes covers the transfer of the
completed product to the final customer and project information to the appropriate organization
within the company. The procedure will also cover the closure and transfer of an aborted project
and any reasons the project was terminated prior to completion.
The process groups described above represent the standard processes defined by the PMBOK®
Guide, sixth edition, required for every project.12 These processes indicate when and where to
integrate the many knowledge areas to produce a useful Project Management Plan. Those
processes, when executed, will produce the result defined by the project’s scope.
1
Initiating Process Group
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Student’s Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
2
Initiating Process Group
The initiating process groups are used by project managers to answer key questions at the
start of the project and to ensure that the entirety of the project runs smoothly. The initiating
process group is used to manage the initial iteration of a project (Sanghera, 2019). At this stage,
the project manager analyzes the consumer interests in a project and compares the interests to the
risks and benefits associated with producing a particular good or service. The manager must
iterate the product or service through a myriad of required iterations to effectively identify the
service or product requiring the organization’s effort. At the initiating process group, the project
manager evaluates the organization’s technical capabilities and financial feasibility in producing
a good or service to ensure that delivery is possible and within stipulated deadlines, if such is
included in the contract (Rowe, 2020). The initiating process group covers critical functional
areas of the project, such as offering formal authorization for the project, offering a detailed
description of the project or service, detailing the original project needs and requirements,
designating the formal project manager, detailing the deadlines, and offering the anticipated
budget for the entire project.
The initiating process groups also prevent certain mistakes while carrying out a project.
Suppose the initiating process group is not carried out before the start. In that case, the company
may create a product that the customer does not recognize as required and could also have
negative budgetary implications for the organization. The organization may pool resources meant
for other projects on one particular item before even analyzing the market need for the product
and the consumer's requirements. The project manager may easily avoid making such mistakes
through an initiating process group.
3
References
Rowe, S. F. (2020). Project management for small projects. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Sanghera, P. (2019). Initiating the Project. In PMP® in Depth (pp. 87-111). Apress, Berkeley,
CA.
