According to the PMBOK Guide, there are five process groups for every project life cycle: the initiating process group, planning process group, executing process group, monitoring and controlling process group, and lastly, the closing process group. All project management processes belong to these process groups. Until recently, the PMP exam also focused on these five process groups only. There are also 10 project management knowledge areas, known as PMP knowledge areas or PMBOK knowledge areas. These areas have a combined total of 49 processes, and we are going to learn everything about 49 processes of PMP in some detail in this article. If you are looking to get PMP certified, it’s best that you enroll in PMP course online or at an office setup. Online courses give you the comfort and safety of your own home, and if you opt for an on-demand course, you can learn at your own pace.
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5 Phases or Process Groups of Project Management
Here’s what you need to know about the five process groups of Project Management:
- Initiating the Project: The first process of PMP aims at defining the mission and objectives of the project. The Project Charter is issued by the Sponsor to the Project Manager. The project manager then identifies all the stakeholders who would be working on the project.
- Planning for Execution: The second process lays out all activities that need to be executed before execution, such as risk analysis, cost-benefit analysis and more, i.e., a project management plan is developed.
- Executing the Project: The third process of PMP deals with all project activities that need to be executed during the project i.e., the project management plan is implemented, and the deliverables are produced by the project team members.
- Monitoring and Controlling the Project: The fourth process is concerned with monitoring and controlling the project, identifying changes and issues and corresponding actions to deal with it.
- Closing or Implementing the Project: The fifth PMP process is concerned with the implementation of the project and documenting the lessons learned. After assembling all the deliverables, the final product is handed over either to the customer or sponsor or operation or made live on production.
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10 Knowledge Areas of Project Management
1. Project Integration Management
This PMP knowledge area bears the distinction of having a process in each of the five process groups. This is where all the stakeholders of the project come together to develop the project charter. Project integration management is a process which establishes and sustains the project team’s direction, goals, and scope management. It ensures that project changes are developed and implemented in alignment with the original objectives and goals of the project.
The process of integration management is undertaken by a Project Integration Manager (PIM). He coordinates communications to ensure clear understanding of project objectives between organizational groups. He also ensures that project objectives, priorities and timeframes are established and maintained.
Of the 49 PMP processes involved, this knowledge area has six of them, spread across all five process groups.
2. Project Scope Management
The project scope must be well-defined and defended throughout the duration of the project. It is the responsibility of the project manager to define, measure, monitor, and control the scope. Simply put, it means that you cannot go over budget or create something that was not previously agreed upon. Project scope management ensures that any changes are brought up early enough in the project to be put into effect with minimal disruption. To be successful, the project scope should be as clear and complete as possible. If you do not know what it is, you probably cannot manage it.
The Project Scope Statement defines the goals of a specific project, the deliverables and any constraints that will apply to these deliverables. It also describes the environment in which this work will take place. The Project Scope Statement is used to outline the project's objectives, requirements, and constraints (timing and budget).
As for the 49 PMP processes involved, this knowledge area has six of them, of which four processes fall under the planning process group and two fall under the monitoring and controlling process group.
3. Project Schedule Management
Project Managers who want to achieve great results need to focus on the project schedule. Schedule management is a crucial element of project management because it can optimize resources, reduce costs, and improve the success of the project. This PMP knowledge area teaches you how to create, update, monitor, and analyze schedules. You will also learn about integrating time into schedules which are often overlooked by novice Project Managers. You will find out what goes into calculating work durations and applying constraints - which are essential for an accurate schedule.
As for the 49 PMP processes involved, this knowledge area has seven of them, of which six processes fall under the planning process group and one falls under the monitoring and controlling process group.
4. Project Cost Management
As is the case with any organization, each project has an allotted budget. Whether you are looking to advance your project management career within your current company or thinking about pursuing project management as a new career path, one of the most important things to understand about project management is how costs fit into the equation.
Project Cost Management is all about making sure that both stakeholders and team members are aware of how much money is available for a specific project and what it entails. This includes budgeting, cost estimation, and tracking the actual expenditures. It is also about being informed on the financial status of other projects that you may be working on or have successfully completed. This will allow you to see if your organization can afford any additional projects that may arise.
It is important that you know how much each aspect of the project costs so that you can budget appropriately for other upcoming projects. Each project will have a different level of expense based on the size, duration, and complexity. Of the 49 PMP processes, this PMP knowledge area has four processes, split into two process groups. Three of them fall under the planning process group and one falls under the monitoring and controlling process group.
5. Project Quality Management
Here, you perform all the activities necessary to ensure project quality. Thus, you might be responsible for conducting formal and informal meetings; developing quality plans; managing project documents; and establishing inter-project controls. The most important project management principle behind this category is that a project can only meet its goals if it is properly managed. Therefore, the quality of the project itself is dependent on this quality management process.
Project Quality Management (or Quality Control) is the process of measuring, analyzing, and improving the quality of a project, product, or service. Quality Management focuses on implementing processes to meet customer requirements and expectations, reduce waste and improve overall performance. Project Quality Management is typically implemented on targeted projects that require or can benefit from meeting specific quality standards or objectives. Of the 49 PMP processes, this knowledge area has three processes. There’s one each in the planning, executing, and monitoring and controlling process groups.
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6. Project Resource Management
In this stage, you ensure the proper allocation of these resources to each project activity. This includes making sure all the resources needed for each project activity are available, integrating them into the project plan, and ensuring they are managed and monitored properly.
Scope exercise and related tools are used to develop a formal plan for resource allocation within each project. The purpose of this exercise is to ensure that the project boundaries are clearly defined, especially when, in the initial planning stage, resources had been allocated within a project without much attention to their specific roles in the overall scope of the project. Of the 49 PMP processes, there are six of them in this stage. They fall under three process groups – planning, execution, and monitoring and controlling.
7. Project Communications Management
The goal of this process is to minimize the potential negative impacts on the project. As a project manager, you need to maintain control of all communications, both internal and external, related to your project. Project managers take responsibility for managing stakeholder expectations and requirements based on their levels of knowledge about the current status of the project. This can mean managing communication from both internal and external stakeholders. These stakeholders include the client, sponsors, change management team, employees, customers, business partners, subcontractors, and members of the public.
You need to be aware of the communications channels you will use such as email or verbal communications to ensure that all communications are consistent with your communication objectives. PMPs also focus on preparing for communication activities such as planning and facilitating meetings with managers or stakeholders to discuss issues that arise during a project. Of the 49 PMP processes, there are three – one each for the planning, execution, and monitoring and controlling process groups.
8. Project Risk Management
This knowledge area deals with everything that must be done to control risk. It is about identifying and assessing risks, developing contingency plans to mitigate or avoid them, and then managing the resulting risks. This includes issues that could affect the project completion date, cost, quality, staffing levels, resource allocation, outside factors such as financial stability of suppliers or customer satisfaction with a service. Of the 49 PMP processes, there are seven of them spread across the planning, executing, and monitoring and controlling process groups.
9. Project Procurement Management
In this knowledge area, you deal with obtaining goods and services, and make decisions about who will be your vendor for the same. You also manage the contracts. As a project manager, you are responsible to ensure that the various components of your project are integrated into one unified entity. This is achieved by ensuring that your team members are aligned with the project’s objectives.
The Project Procurement Management knowledge area deals with obtaining goods and services for projects, coordinating procurement activities, managing contractual issues related to supplies and agreements with vendors, and ensuring compliance with company policies. This knowledge area is essential to project managers, and it is one of the most difficult areas to address, as there are several variables involved in procurement. As far as the 49 PMP processes go, there are three of them spread across planning, executing, monitoring, and controlling.
10. Project Stakeholder Management
Ultimately, the success or failure of a project depends on the delivery of your project to the stakeholders.
Stakeholder management is the process of developing an organizational environment in which stakeholders are met with an understanding that their interests are paramount to project success. The Organization Project Management Plan defines stakeholders as anyone who has a vested interest in the project, including customers, business partners, managers, sponsors, and all other people who will be using or otherwise affected by the result of the project.
Stakeholder management is especially important in project management in that the project manager's responsibilities begin with the selection of stakeholders. If this process has not been completed thorough and accurate, it is unlikely that the right people will be identified for the project. Of the pmp 49 processes, there are four processes that come under this knowledge area.
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49 Processes: PMP
Now that you know all about the ten knowledge areas under project management, let’s see how they all come together with this pmp 49 processes chart.
| Process Groups | Initiating | Planning | Monitoring and Controlling | Closing | Knowledge Areas |
|---|
| Project Integration Management | Developing Project charter | Developing Project Management Plan | Directing and Managing project work | - Monitoring and controlling project work
- Performing integrated change control
| Closing the project |
| Project Scope Management |
| - Planning Scope Management
- Collecting Requirements
- Defining Scope
- Creating the WBS
- Validating Scope
|
| Controlling Scope |
|
| Project Schedule Management |
| - planning Schedule Management
- Defining Project Activities
- Sequencing Activities
- Estimating Resources and Duration
- Developing a Schedule
|
| Controlling the Schedule |
|
| Project Cost Management |
| - Planning Cost Management
- Estimating Costs
- Determining a Budget
|
| Controlling Costs |
|
| Project Quality Management |
| Planning Quality | Managing Quality | Controlling Quality |
|
| Project Resource Management |
| - Planning Resource Management
- Estimating Activity Resources
| - Acquiring Resources
- Developing the Team
- Managing the Team
| Controlling the Resources |
|
| Project Communications Management |
| Planning Communications Management | Managing Communications | Monitoring Communications |
|
| Project Risk Management |
| - Planning Risk Management
- Identifying Risks
- Performing Qualitative Risk Analysis
- Performing Quantitative Risk Analysis
- Planning Risk Responses
| Implementing Risk Responses | Monitoring Risk |
|
Project Procurement Management
|
| Planning Procurement Management | Conducting Procurement | Controlling Procurement | Closing Procurement |
Project Stakeholder Management
|
| Identifying Stakeholders | Planning Stakeholder Management
| Managing Stakeholder Engagement
| Controlling Stakeholder Management |
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Focus on Value, not the Number
The PMP processes may appear daunting, but they are crucial to a project’s success, and having a fair understanding of the PMP processes can ensure your own success when appearing for a PMP exam. For getting your PMP training, you can choose for a suitable course at KnowledgeHut – a global training solutions provider, having trained 3,50,000+ professionals in various disciplines. KnowledgeHut is also a Premier Authorized Training Partner of PMI. KnowledgeHut’s PMP course online will give you everything you need to pass the PMP exam on your first try! This includes expert instructors, the latest course curriculum, and practical exercises including auto-graded assessments, quizzes, real-world assignments and capstone projects.
Now that you know what goes into managing a project, you’re better prepared. I know that forty-nine processes can be a little intimidating. The key is to focus on what you can get out of these processes instead of the number of processes. It will drastically reduce the chances of crises occurring in your project.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How do you memorize 49 PMP processes?
The easiest way to memorize the 49 PMP processes is by making a matrix of the 10 PMP knowledge areas and 5 PMP process groups. This matrix shows that the bulk of the PMP processes come under Planning. Remembering the processes group makes it easier to memorize what comes under it. An ITTO approach is also popular to memorize the processes, as it divides the processes into groups of Inputs, Tools, Techniques, and Output. However, we believe that understanding where a process is applied makes sense as you won’t risk forgetting it.
2. What are the 47 processes of project management?
There are 49 and not 47 processes of project management, they range from Developing a project charter to Managing Quality, Controlling Scope, to Closing the Project. For details on all the processes, refer to the matrix in the article above.
3. How many PMP processes are there?
As we saw in the article above, there are a total of 49 PMP processes that are a part of the five process groups.
4. How do I remember ITTOs PMP?
ITTO stands for Inputs, Tools, Techniques, and Output, and is a popular way to memorize the 49 PMP processes. A better way to approach this is to understand where each of the processes are used and for what purpose. This ensures that you will remember the processes, and not just for a short duration or the purpose of clearing an exam.
