Project Management Process Groups

By
BURYAGUMAHO MARK
2020/BIT/004/F
KANYESIGYE SIMON
2020/BIT/006/F

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Project Management Process Groups
A process is a set of interrelated actions and activities
performed to create a pre-specified product, service, or
result.
Each process is characterized by its inputs, the tools and
techniques that can be applied, and the resulting
outputs.

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 Project management processes

These processes ensure the effective flow of the project

throughout its life cycle. These processes encompass the
tools and techniques involved in applying the skills and
capabilities described in the Knowledge Areas.

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Project management processes are grouped into five categories known as Project
Management Process Groups (or Process Groups) as explained below;

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 1. Initiating Phase
Initiation is a process that sets the direction of the project.
The initiation stage includes procedures like organizing teams, acquiring approvals,
and laying down the initial work orders in place.
It is the project manager’s responsibility at this stage to identify risks and keep track
of the resources needed dependencies required, and project objectives, timelines,
scope, and deliverables of the undertaken project.

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 2. Planning Phase
The second phase of the Process group is planning.
Some project managers are of the opinion that the scope is accomplished to its
fullest in the initiation stage, but on the contrary, in the planning stage, the scope is
further elaborated and developed at a much more detailed level through a process
called progressive elaboration.
It’s a common fact that failing to plan is planning to fail. Usually, organizations
commence a project with only minimal planning assuming that everything will
gradually fall into place as the project progresses. But later they realize that, without
any real or sufficient planning, disaster strikes in the project.

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 Activities Done under the Planning Phase

•Defining and detailing the project scope

•Selecting project teams and leaders
•Setting proper plans for maximum productivity
•Developing project schedule
•Providing infrastructure to achieve objectives
•Establishing effective communication among the project team and
stakeholders
•Focusing on the project timeline and budget allocation

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 3. Executing 
The immediate step after the planning phase is the phase of execution.
Execution is the phase where the project teams carry out their respective
individual tasks which were assigned to them during the planning stage.
Every team member works in tandem to achieve the set deliverables,
and the project manager keeps track of the resources and budget
restraints. As the execution phase is the place where most of the budget is
spent, stakeholders of the project get involved during this stage to make
desired changes or requests.

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The project execution phase has no time limit; it depends on
the project. It could take days, months, or years for the
completion of a project. But just the execution phase is not
enough to ensure that the project is on track and gets
completed, rather it also requires further detailed attention. By
detailed attention we mean, Monitoring and Controlling
Process which we are going to discuss in further topics.

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 4. Monitoring and Controlling Phase
The fourth in the list of Project Management process groups is ‘Monitoring and controlling.’ This
particular stage inspects all the tasks and their performance to ensure that the approved and
authorized project is within the scope of the Project Management plan.
The project at all times must be within the allocated budget limit and must be completed within
the fixed time frame. Monitoring and controlling is the stage where the project’s actual
performance is compared with the planned performance so that effective measures can be taken to
alter any significant differences.
Monitoring and the controlling process are continuously performed throughout the 
project life-cycle. The core skills and competencies involved in this process are addressing the
ongoing budget considerations and reducing unforeseen situations which could hamper the team’s
ability to meet the project deliverables that are set within the Project Management plan. Project
managers keep the momentum going forward and protect the project from being interrupted by
actively monitoring progress and using foresight and quick response to address project
challenges.

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 5. Closing Phase
As every other Project Management process group has its objective, even the
closing phase has its particular objectives. The closing process group consists of
processes performed to conclude all the activities related to the entire project to
ensure that the project is formally completed.
During the project’s last phase, i.e., project closure, everything should be detailed in
order to measure to see if the project was executed as planned and if the outcome is
in alignment with the customer’s needs.
At last, the project manager should properly close the project by archiving records,
conducting lessons learned sessions, finalizing payments, completing contract
closure procedures, releasing the existing resources, and handing off the completed
product. The project manager has to ensure that lessons are learned mainly.

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