Project Management Processes

 What is Project Management 

The application of

1. Knowledge
2. Skills
3. Tools and techniques

to project activities to meet the project requirements

 What is Process 

A Process is a set of interrelated actions and activities performed to create pre

specified product, service or end result.

 Each process is characterized by

1. Inputs
2. Tools and technologies
3. Outputs

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Remember 

 EEF & OPA should be taken into consideration FOR EVERY PROCESS, even if
they are not explicitly listed as Inputs to specific processes.

 OPA provides  Guidelines and criteria for tailoring / customizing

organization’s processes to specific project needs of the project.

(Because OPA has policies, procedures, knowledge base etc)

 EEF  May constrain the project management options.

 For project to be successful, the project team should

 Select appropriate processes required to meet the project objectives

 Use a defined approach that can be adapted to meet requirements
 Establish and maintain appropriate communication and engagement with SH
 Comply with requirements to meet SH needs and expectations
 Balance the competing constraints of Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Risk to
produce product

 The project processes performed by project team fall into two categories

 Project Management Processes

 Ensure that effective flow of the project throughout its life cycle

 Product oriented processes

 These processes specify and create the project’s product.

 Product oriented processes are typically defined by project life cycle

 Product oriented processes vary based on application area & phases

of product life cycle

 Scope of the project cannot be defined without understanding of how to

create specified Product.

(If you don’t know how to create Android apps (specific product) you
cannot define Project scope (Develop android apps))

(Various construction tools and techniques to be considered while

determining overall complexity of the house to be built)

PM processes and Product oriented processes overlap and interact throughout

the life cycle of a project.
Project Management processes apply globally and across the industry groups.

 Good practice 

General agreement that

The application of project management processes has been shown

To enhance the chances of success

Over a wide range of projects

Remember  Good practice does not mean that knowledge, skills and processes
described should always be applied uniformly on all projects. It depends on the different
projects.

For every project the PM with Project team is responsible for determining which
processes are appropriate and the appropriate degree of each process.

 What is Tailoring 

PMBOK guide may be used as a resource in managing a project while

considering the overall approach and methodology to be followed for the
project.

 Project Management is an integrative undertaking

Explanation  Each project and product process to be appropriately aligned and

connected with other processes to create coordination.

 Actions taken during one process affect that process & other related
processes as well.
E.g. Scope changes affect Project cost and schedule but not affect to communication
management

 These process interactions require trade offs / balance among project requirements
and objectives.

 This performance trade offs / balance will vary from project to project and
organization to organization.

 What is Successful Project Management 

Actively managing these process interactions (as explained earlier) to meet

sponsor, customer and other stakeholder requirements.

Sometimes a process or set of processes need to be performed several times in

order to achieve required outcome. (Iterative)

 Remember  Projects exist within an organization and do not operate as a

closed system.

 Why  Because Projects require Input data from organization as well as

beyond organization and deliver capabilities back to the organization therefore
project is not operated as a closed system.

 Remember  The project processes generate information to improve the

management of future projects and OPA.

Example  SMC GIS Project processes generated information (lessons learned,

methodologies, Risk information etc) which will be used to improve PMC project
There are mainly 5 Project Management Process Groups

1. Initiating

Performed to define a new project or new phase of the existing project by

obtaining authorization to start the project or phase of the existing project

2. Planning

Required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, define
the course of action required to get objectives to be achieved.

3. Executing

Performed to complete the work defined in project management plan to

satisfy the project specification.

4. Monitoring & Controlling

To track, review and regulate the progress and performance of the project.
Identify area where changes required.

5. Closing

To finalize all activities across all Process groups to formally close the project.

Planning process group provides Project Management plan and project documents to
Executing process group and it gets updated as the project progresses.
Common Project Management Process Interaction

 The Project Management processes are presented as discrete elements with well
defined interfaces.

 The integrative nature of the Project Management requires Monitoring &

Controlling process group to interact with ALL other process groups.

 Monitoring and controlling processes occur at the same time processes contained
within other process groups.

 M&C processes act as a “Background” process group for all other processes
I.e. Initiating, Planning, Executing & Closing processes.

 Project Management process groups are linked by the outputs which are
produced.

 Outputs of one process becomes input for other process or is a deliverable of

project, sub project or project phase.

 Process groups are overlapping activities that occur throughout the project

 Incremental Deliverables  Deliverables at the sub project or project level

 Remember  multiphase projects, processes are repeated with each phase until
the criteria for phase completion have been satisfied.
 Remember  Only Initiating & Closing processes are not overlapped

Otherwise all process groups are overlapped with each other.

Project Management Process Groups

 The process Groups are not Project life cycle Phases. It is possible that all process
groups are conduct within one phase of the project.

Example  Suppose feasibility analysis is one phase and Initiation, Planning,

Execution, M&C process groups will be part within one phase only.

 Five process groups have dependencies and are highly interact with each
other

 The iterative nature of Project Management means that processes from any
group may be reused throughout the project life cycle

If a Risk response plan is executed it may be possible that further analysis is

required which required leads another iteration of identify Risks process and Perform
Quantitative & Qualitative risk analysis to know impact of Risks
 Individual Process Groups and individual processes are often iterated before
completing the project.

i.e. planning can be done multiple times within a project. Also individual processes
let’s say identify stakeholder can also be performed multiple times within same
project with different phases.

 They can have interactions within Process Groups and among Process groups.

 Nature of these interactions varies from project to project and may not be performed
in a particular order.

 Five process groups are independent of application areas or industry focus.

i.e. Irrespective of application areas five process groups will be performed

 Process Management processes are linked by specific inputs and outputs where the
outputs of one process become input of other process but remember that NOT
necessarily in the same group.

i.e. Let’s say identify Risks is a process. Output of this process – No of risks. Now
these Risks will be used as input to Develop schedule

Remember  PROCESS GROUPS ARE NOT THE PROJECT PHASES

 It is possible that all Process groups can be conducted within a phase. (as explained
earlier)

 The process that normally takes place in the planning phase is put into Planning
Process Group.

When this process is updated in Execution process group ; it is not considered a

new process but it is still part of Planning process group only.
Initiating Process Group

 Why to perform Initiating Process group 

 To define a new project or new phase of the existing project by

obtaining authorization to start the project.

 Other key purpose of Initiating Process Group

OR
Why perform Identify stakeholder every time we start a new phase 

(In order to satisfy below 3 purposes)

 Give stakeholders visibility about Scope & Objectives

 Show how their participation can be useful in achieving expectations

 Align stakeholders’ expectations with the project’s purpose

Hence we perform Identify stakeholder every time we start a new phase

 Why perform Create Project charter every time we start a new phase 

 To keep the project focused on the business needs that the project was
undertaken to address.

 Initiating Process groups performed before every phase to 

 Verify success criteria

 Review influence of SH
 Review objectives of SH

Then decision is taken whether to continue or delayed or discontinue the project

 Initiating processes help to set the vision of the Project

 What work is done in Initiating Process Group 

 Initial scope is defined

 Initial financial resources are committed
 Internal or external stakeholders are identified
 Sometimes Project manager is selected (if not selected earlier)

 This information (Above 4 points) is captured in Project charter and Stakeholder

register.

 PM team helps to create Project Charter.

 Project Boundary 

 The Point in time from a project or phase is authorized to its completion

 Business case assessment, approval & funding are handled externally to

Project Boundaries.

 Large complex projects should be divided into separate phases.

 In such multiphase projects Initiating processes are carried out during sub
sequent phases as well specially to validate the decisions made during original
Develop Project charter and Identify SH processes.

 Involving sponsors, customers, and other SH during initiating creates

 Shared understanding of success criteria

 Reduces overhead of involvement
 Improves deliverable acceptance
 Customer & other SH satisfaction

 Initiating processes may be performed at the organizational, program or portfolio

level and therefore it is outside of project’s level of control.

 As a part of initiating process the PM is authorized to apply organizational resources

to subsequent project activities.
Planning Process Group

 Why to perform Planning Process group 

 Establish total scope of the work / effort

 Define / Refine objectives

 Develop course of actions / plan of actions to achieve those objectives

 Key benefit of Planning process group 

 Delineate / describe the strategy

 Tactics & course of action to successfully complete the project

 Output of Planning process group 

 Project management plan

 Other project documents that will be used to carry out the project

 As more Project information is available additional planning will be required.

 The progressive detailing of the PMP is called Progressive elaboration 

Indicating that planning and documentation are iterative and ongoing activities.

 The project team seeks input and encourages involving all stakeholders when
planning the project and developing the Project Management plan and documents.

(PM or Project team alone cannot do project planning and hence involvement of
related stakeholders is required)
 When planning process group is well managed, it is easier to get stakeholder buy-in
& engagement.

 Updates received from approved changes during the project specifically during
Monitoring & Controlling processes & specifically during Direct & Manage project
work Process) impacts Project Management plan & Project documents.

i.e. Suppose a project is in progress and Monitor & Control it has been found some
changes in the Project schedule and then it will change Project Management plan
including Project Schedule.

 Updates to these documents will provide greater precision to schedule, cost &
resource requirements to meet the defined project scope.

 Other interactions among the processes within the Planning Process Group are
dependent on the nature of the project.

i.e. Quality planning can be done only after Scope is defined properly.

Example  For some projects there will be little or no identifiable Risks until after a
significant amount of planning has been completed.
Executing Process Group

 Why to perform Execution Process group 

 To complete the work defined in project management plan to satisfy the

project specification.

 What work is done during Execution Process group involves

 Coordinating people and resources

 Managing stakeholder expectations

 Integrating & performing activities to execute the Project management

plan

 Output of Execution Process group  Planning updates and re base-lining

 A large part of Project’s budget will be spent / expended in performing

Executing process group processes.
Monitoring & Controlling Process Group

Why to perform Monitor & Control process 

 To track, review and regulate the progress and performance of the project

 Identify area where changes required

 Initiate corresponding changes

 The key benefit of Monitor & Control Process 

 Project performance is measured and analyzed at regular intervals, appropriate

events to find variance from the project management plan

 What work is done during Monitoring & Controlling Process group involves 

 Controlling changes

 Recommending corrective or preventive actions

 Monitoring ongoing project activities against the PMP & performance

baseline

 Influence the factors that could avoid integrated change control management
so only approved changes are implemented

 Monitoring & Controlling is a continuous process from start point to end point of
project

 Continuous monitoring provides Project team

 Insight into the health of the project

 Finds any areas requiring additional attention

 Important part is M&C does not only monitor and controls the work being done within
the process group but the entire project effort.

(E.g. While monitor scope also monitor cost, Schedule, Risk etc)

 In a multiphase projects, M&C process group coordinates project phases in order to

implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with
Project Management plan.
Closing Process Group

 Why to perform Closing Process 

 To finalize / conclude all activities across all Project Management Process

groups to formally close the project or phase or contractual obligation

 Closing process also formally establishes the premature closure of project

 Prematurely closed project include

 Aborted project
 Cancelled projects
 Projects having critical situations
 When some contracts cannot be formally closed - i.e. Termination clauses

What work is done during Closing processes 

 Verifies that defined processes are completed within all the process groups
to close the project or project phase

 Formally establishes that the project or project phase is complete.

In such cases when contracts cannot be formally closed or some activities are to
be transferred to other SBU.

1. Obtain acceptance by the customer to formally close the project

2. Conduct post project or phase end review

3. Records impacts of tailoring to any process

4. Document lessons learned

5. Update OPA
 6. Archive all project related documents into PMIS

7. Close out all procurement activities ensuring terminating all relevant

agreements

8. Perform team members’ assessment

9. Release project resources

Remember  Releasing of project resources is the last step in Closing Process

Project Information

 Throughout the life cycle of the project significant amount of data and information is
collected, analyzed, transformed and distributed in various formats to project team
and other related stakeholders.

 Project data are collected as a result of various Executing processes and shared
with the project team.

 Then this project data is analyzed contextually, aggregated and transformed into
Project information during Monitoring and Controlling processes.

 Then this information is communicated and distributed as Reports in various

formats.
Work Performance Data

 The raw observations and measurements identified during Project activities

performed to carry out the project work.

 Work Performance Data is the raw data of the project’s status.

 In other words, it is the current (“as of now”) status of various project

parameters such as:

 How much work is completed

 How much time has elapsed
 The cost incurred so far etc

 Once you get this WPD, you can go ahead and create the Work Performance
Information.

 WPD is collected throughout the Execution phase of the project and sent to
various Control process to analyze further.

 Example of WPD

 Percentage of physically completed work

20 out of the 50 work packages have been completed

 Quality & technical performance measures

 Start & finish dates
 Number of Change requests
 Numbers of issues
 Number of defects
 Actual costs
 Actual duration
  Scope

 Compliance of requirements
 Non-conformities
 Number of change requests received versus accepted or rejected, etc.

8 new change requests were raised last month and out of which 3 were rejected

 Time

 Actual Duration

 How many activities have been started

 How many activities have been finished

 Status of current ongoing activities, etc.

 Activity Start date

 Activity End date

 Cost

The cost parameter of the project 

 Actual Cost
 How much work has been completed
 How much money has been spent to date, etc.

Till date $233,942 have been spent on the project

 Quality

Here you will measure Technical & Quality performance 

 Characteristics of the product (physical properties)

 Quality metrics
 Number of defects
 The rejection rate, etc.

The website loads in 2.3 seconds; the application passed 95% of the test cases
5 defects were found in the first round of functional testing
Communications

 Which communications report has been distributed

 Feedback on this communication report, etc.

Risks

 A Missed milestone

 Cost overrun

 Delay in schedule

 How many identified and unidentified risks

 How many new risks are identified, the effectiveness of risk response plan

 How much contingency or management reserve has been utilized

 The impact of risks on project constraints such as schedule, cost, and scope, etc.

Procurement

 Quality standards met by seller

 Invoices that have been paid

 Cost incurred on procurement

 Seller’s performance, etc

Work Performance Information

 All Work Performance Data has been sent to various Control processes.

 The performance data collected from various controlling processes are

analyzed in context and integrated based on relationship across areas.

 Here, you will analyze the work performance data.

 You will compare the planned performance with actual performance and convert
into context based Work Information

WPI is the output of various Control processes and input to Monitor & Control Project
work where it is used to generate the Work Performance Reports

 Examples of WPI 

 Status of deliverables
 Implementation status of Change Requests
 Forecast estimates

Scope

 Project’s progress
(From Actual & Planned data of Schedule, Cost etc)

 Status of deliverables
(From No of deliverables completed, pending, In process etc)

 Whether the deliverable is accepted

 How the project scope is performing against the scope baseline, etc.
(From no of CR, no of non conformities etc)
Time

Here you will compare the planned schedule with the actual schedule.

 Schedule Variance

 Schedule Performance Index

(Calculated from Actual Earned Values & Planned Values)

Cost

Here you will compare planned cost with the actual cost

 Performance Indicators like

CV, CPI, TCPI

 Forecasted estimates like

ETC, EAC

(Calculated from Planned cost, Earned Value, Actual cost spent)

Quality

Here you will analyze the planned technical performance versus actual technical
performance

 Actual vs Planned threshold

 How much rework is required

 Causes of rejections

 Need for process adjustments

Communications

Here you can find the status and progress information of the project.
Risk

 The efficiency of risk response plan

 What is the balance of the contingency or management reserve, etc.

Procurement

 Here you will review the seller’s performance

 Compliance to contracts
Work Performance Reports

 The physical or electronic representation of work performance information

compiled in project documents which can be used for decision making or issue
raising or awareness.

 In other words, that the Performance reports organize and summarize the
information collected through work performance data and work performance
information, and represent it to the stakeholders in such a way that they can
understand the direction the project is going

 Performance reports show the stakeholders the current status of the project
and its performance against the planned baselines

 If the stakeholders see that the project is not progressing as planned, they may
decide to take corrective action, such as if any extra funds or resources are
required, or any time extension is needed to complete the project, etc.

 Performance reports can be given to stakeholders in a format desired by them

and decided in the communication management plan. They can be a detailed
report or just a summary.

Examples of WPR 

 Status Reports
 Memos
 Justification
 Information notes
 Electronic dashboards
 The content of the performance reports includes, but is not limited to:

 Percentage of the work completed during the reporting period

 Balance of the work to be completed
 Cost incurred during the reporting period
 Balance of funds available
 Balance of time available
 Major risks that have occurred, or passed without occurring
 Major remaining identified risks
 Results of variance analysis: e.g. schedule variance and cost variance
 Performance indexes: e.g. schedule performance index and cost performance
index
 Forecasted fund required to complete the remaining work (if the project cost is
overrun or under run)
 Forecasted time required to complete the remaining work (if the project is
delayed or ahead of schedule)
 Summary of major approved change requests during the reporting period etc.
 Direct &
Manage
Project work

Execution

Generates

Work Performance Monitor & Control Work Performance

Data Project Processes Information

No of Change Validate Scope

Implementation status of CR
Requests Control Scope
Status of deliverables
No of defects Control Schedule
Schedule variance
No of issues Inputs to Control Cost Cost variance, SPI, CPI,
Actual Cost Control Quality How much rework
Actual Schedule Control Comm How much reserve spent
Quality metric Control SH Engagemt Generates Efficiency of risk response
Rejection Rate Control Risk
No of Risks
Contingency & mgmt Analyzed, integrated,
reserves contextual, relationships

Monitor & Control

Project Processes

Generates

Work Performance
Reports
Perform Integrated
Change Control
Status Reports
Inputs to Corrective actions
Preventive actions
Control Risk
Memos
Justifications
Forecasting data
Control
Earned value data
Procurement
Role of Knowledge Areas

 Knowledge Area 

A complete set of

a. Activities
b. Concepts
c. Terms

That make up a professional field, Project management field or area of

specialization

 There are total 10 Knowledge areas

 These 10 knowledge areas are used in most projects most of the time.

 Project team should use these 10 knowledge areas as appropriate for specific
projects

 Knowledge areas provide detailed information about processes their inputs, outputs
and tools & techniques