PMBOK – Project Management Processes for a project

 Project process

1. Project management process
2. Product oriented processes:  specify and create the project’s product. Typically defined by project lifecycle and application area.

• Pick Process – Project Manager along with team is responsible for picking what processes are appropriate.
• Concept of interaction among PM processes  - (By Deming) – PLAN (Planning) – DO(executing)  – CHECK & ACT  (Monitoring and Control)

Process Groups – Are not project phases. Process groups are usually repeated for each phase/sub project.

1. Initiating Process Group- Defines and authorizes the project.
   1. Are often done external to the project’s scope of control.
   2. Facilitate formal authorization to start a new project.
   3. Inputs: requirements, SOW
   4. Output: Prelim Starts the project or its phase, Scope statement, Authorized Project Charter
   5. Project manager assigned
   6. Funding and approval happens external to project boundaries
   7. Many large or complex projects are divided into phases, and repeating it for each subsequent phases.
2. Planning Process Group: Defines and refines the objectives and plan the course of action required to attain the objective and scope that the project was undertaken to address.
   1. Develops project management plan and also refines project scope, project cost and schedule.
   2. It is updated and refines through out execution process group thru rolling wave planning.
   3. All necessary stakeholders are involved in this process
   4. Includes following processes

i.     Develop project management plan, Scope planning, Create WBS, Activity definition, Activity Sequencing, Activity Resource Estimating, Activity Duration Estimating, Schedule Development, Cost Estimating, Cost Budgeting, all sub plans and all risk process except Risk Monitoring and Control.

1. Executing Process Group– Majority of the project budget will be spent in performing Executing process group. Integrates people and other resources to carry out the project management plan for the project.
   1. Includes Direct and Manage Project Execution, Perform Quality Assurance, Acquire Project Team, Develop Project team, Request Seller Responses, Information Distribution, and Select Sellers.
2. Monitoring and Controlling Process Group – Group not only monitors and controls the work being done within a process group but also monitors and controls the entire project effort say all process areas so that timely corrective action can be taken.
   1. a.     Monitoring and Control Project Work, ICC, Scope Verification, all control process, Manage Project Team, Performance Reporting, Manage Stakeholders, Contract Administrator.
   2. Monitoring the ongoing project against PMP and baselines, Control and Approve Changes, Preventive Action, Defect Repair and Manage Changes.
3. Closing Process Group: formalizes acceptance of the project deliverable.
   1. Close Project, Contract Closure

• Project Charter – Approval and funding are handled external to the project boundaries. Charter is primarily concerned with authorizing the project /phase. It links project to the ongoing work of the organization.
• Preliminary Scope Statement – contains project and deliverables requirements, product requirements, boundaries of the project, methods of acceptance and high level scope control. In multi phase project the process validates the project scope for each phase.
• Rolling Wave Planning – Progressive detailing of the project management plan is called rolling wave planning, indicating plan is an interactive and ongoing process.
• Core processes – Are performed in same order & may be iterated several times during any one phase
• Facilitating processes- Performed intermittently and as needed during project planning, they are not optional.

Related posts:

1. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
2. PMBOK Project Life Cycle and organisation
3. PRINCE2 Processes, Components and Techniques
4. PMBOK Project Management Framework
5. Are you an amateur vs professional project managers ? – some warning signs