Project Management: Process Groups

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

In order for a project to be successful, a project team, lead by the project management, must:

• Select appropriate processes required to meet the project objectives
• Use a defined approach that can be adopted to meet the requirements
• Meet stakeholder needs and expectations
• Balance competing triple constraint demands to produce the specified product, service or result

The project processes that are performed by the project team generally fall into 2 categories:

1. Product oriented processes – specifies and creates the projects product, service or result (i.e. how the physical characteristics of the product/service are put together to make it a useable product/service) 
2. Project management processes – specifies the effective execution, implementation and management of the project (i.e. how the various resources – time, money, human capital – are managed to achieve the desired result) 

Project management processes apply globally and across industry groups. They can and should be used regardless of the resulting product of the project. For any given project, the project manager is always responsible in determining which of the following processes are appropriate for the specific project they are managing.

• The Initiating Process Group – this group defines those process that are performed at the start of a project and are used to obtain the authorization to start the project
• The Planning Process Group – this group defines those processes used to establish the scope of the project and define the course of action required to attain the objectives of the project 
• The Executing Process Group - this group defines those processes used to complete the work of the project (i.e. deliver the projects product, service or result) 
• The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group – this group defines those processes used to track, review and regulate the progress and performance of the project 
• The Closing Process Group – this group defines those processes used to finalize all activities and formally close the project 

In future posts I’ll delve into the specific sub-process used by each major process group.