Part 14: Project Management Process Groups

  • There are 5 Project Management Process Groups, we mentioned them earlier
  • All projects require the 5 Project Management Process Groups
  • As we mentioned earlier, they are not Project Life Cycle Phases; all Process Groups could be part of a single phase, and a Process can be reused in many phases
  • The Five Groups
    • Initiating Process Group
      • Get permission to start a new project or new phase in an existing project
      • Results in the Project Charter, which gives the project manager authority to start the project.  The Project Charter is very important.
    • Planning Process Group
      • Figure out exactly what the project will do and how
      • That means defining the scope
      • That also means defining the schedule, budget, and risks
      • Results in the Project Management Plan, which includes the Scope, HR, Cost, Schedule, and Risk Management Plans
    • Executing Process Group
      • Do the work
    • Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
      • This group tells you if the project is going according to plan
      • Data is collected and analyzed
      • If the project is not going according to plan, then corrective action is taken
      • Monitoring and Controlling happens in the background during all the other processes
    • Closing Process Group
      • Finalize all activities
      • Close contracts
      • The lessons learned from the project, and the project documents are archived, so that the organization can use the data to plan future projects
      • If the project was successful, that also means celebrating with your team
      • This group is also used to shut down projects early (an organization may shut down a project if it is failing or if it does not meet the Organization’s Strategy)