Processes of Project Management

Project Management Processes :

Most management models identify three basic management processes that serve to organize the ongoing activity of the enterprise:

• Planning-devising a workable scheme to accomplish an objective

• Executing-carrying out the plan

 •Controlling—measuring progress and taking corrective action when necessary

These processes occur at all levels of the enterprise, in many different forms, and under many different names. Projects thus include two additional basic management processes:

• Initiating—setting overall project direction and defining project objectives

• Closing—formalizing acceptance of the product of the project and bringing the project itself to an end.

These additional processes also occur at all levels of the project, in many different forms, and under many different names.

THE FIVE BASIC PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• Initiating—a description of the product of the project, initial documentation of project objectives, and assignment of a project manager

• Planning—a documented project plan and documented updates to the plan as the project progresses • Executing—verifiably completed project deliverables

• Controlling—periodic measurements of progress vs. plan, corrective action when needed, and identification of when the project is done.

• Closing-documented acceptance of the results of the project.

These outcomes provide a direct link between the processes—the output from one becomes an input to another. Each project management process can then be described in terms of its:

• Inputs—documents (e.g., a scope statement) or documentable items (e.g., task depen dencies) that will be acted upon

•Tools and techniques—mechanisms (e.g., earned value computations) applied to the inputs (e.g., task results) to create the outputs (e.g., a progress report)

• Outputs—documents or documentable items that are the result of the process In addition, these processes are not discrete, one-time events; they are iterative and repetitive and occur at varying levels of intensity throughout the project.

DETAILED PROCESS INTERACTIONS:

INITIATING:

This basic process includes only one detail process: • Concept development—describing the product of the project, documenting initial project objectives, and assigning a project manager.

PLANNING:

Planning is of major importance on a project—you are doing something unique and you only get one chance to get it right. As a result, there are relatively more detail processes in this section. The dependent planning processes include:

• Scope definition-developing a written scope statement that includes the project justification, the major deliverables, and the project objectives

• Project definition—decomposing the major deliverables into more granular deliverables to provide better control (the top levels of the Work Breakdown Structure)

• Task definition—identifying the tasks that will be performed in order to produce the project's deliverables (the lower levels of the WBS).

• Task sequencing—identifying dependencies among tasks.

• Duration estimating—estimating the probable duration of individually scheduleable tasks and activities.

• Schedule development—determining and documenting specific dates for tasks.

• Cost estimating—developing initial estimates of the overall project cost.

• Cost budgeting—developing detail estimates of the cost of individual tasks.

• Plan integration—creating and documenting a coherent project plan from the outputs of the other planning processes.

Quality planning—determining how to ensure that the project quality objectives will be met.

• Role and responsibility definition—determining the broad outlines of project responsibilities.

• Organization planning—deciding how the project will be organized, establishing reporting relationships.

• Project staffing—deciding who will fill what positions and assume which roles and responsibilities over time.

• Communications planning—determinng who needs what information, when they will need it, and how it will be given to them.

• Risk identification—determining which risks are likely to affect the project.

• Risk assessment—quantifying and evaluating the probability of risk occurrence and risk impact.

• Solution development—defining deflection and mitigation steps for downside risk and enhancement steps for opportunities.

• Procurement planning—deciding what items will be obtained under contract and how such contracts will be defined and awarded.

• Solicitation—identifying possible sources for contractual services and obtaining responses from them.

• Procurement—negotiating and contracting for outside products and services.

EXECUTING:

This basic process includes the following detail processes:

• Plan execution—carrying out the project plan by performing the tasks identified therein and managing the various technical and organizational interfaces

• Contract administration—managing the contractual aspects of the procured products and services  Progress measurement and reporting—collecting and disseminating progress information

CONTROLLING:

• Scope change management—documenting and controlling changes to project scope

• Quality control—measuring project deliverables and activities to assess whether quality objectives are being met

• Quality improvement—evaluating project performance on a regular basis to determine how to improve project quality

• Time/schedule control—controlling and responding to schedule changes • Cost control—controlling and responding to cost changes

• Risk control—responding to changes in risk over the course of the project

CLOSING:

This basic process includes the following detail processes:

• Scope verification-ensuring that the project deliverables have been completed satisfactorily

• Contract close-out—resolution of any outstanding administrative matters and archiving of contract documentation

• Project closure—gathering and disseminating information to formalize project completion