The 5 PMBOK Project Management Process Groups

In 1969 the Project Management Institute (PMI) was founded by five volunteers, with the aim of improving and setting new standards for the way in which projects were managed. The PMI has since become recognised as an accredited standards developer, and has developed the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). It was first published in 1996 as an attempt to standardize the practices and information of project management.

The PMBOK project management life-cycle

PMBOK project management organises the life-cycle of a project into five process groups containing the 47 total processes and 10 areas of knowledge that typically make up al projects. The five process groups are:

Initiate
Plan
Executing
Controlling
Closing

Initiate:

The processes contained within the PMBOK initiate phase are used to recognise when a phase or project should begin, and is geared towards gaining the requirements needed to get a project or phase started.

Main elements include:

Authorizing the project
Committing to a project or phase
Setting up the overall direction of a project
Defining the top-level objectives of the project
Securing the necessary resources and approvals
Identify the stakeholders
Assign project manager

Planning:

The PMBOK planning phase involves setting out and maintaining the tasks and resources needed to address the business needs the project is addressing. Processes within this group deals with the setting up of the plans and resources required for that schedule.

Main elements include:

Defining the scope of the project
Refining the objectives of the project
Defining all of the required deliverables
Creating a framework for the project schedule
Define and sequencing all of the required activities
Estimating the work effort and identifying all the skills and resources required
Setting up a communication plan

Executing:

Once a workable project plan has been drawn up, the plan needs to be set into action. Processes within the executing PMBOK process group deals with the methods in which the resources and people executing the tasks within this plan are handled.

Main elements include:

Coordinating the team development as well as the resources at your disposal
Identifying and approaching subcontractors if needed
Distributing the information required for the project

Controlling:

As anyone in project management knows, there are almost without exception challenges and hurdles that need to be addresses within a project. Dealing with these hurdles and keeping the promises made project are vital to the success of the project. The processes within this group deal with measuring and monitoring the processes within the project to ensure the project objectives stay on track.

Main elements include:

Managing your team and any subcontractors, as well as the stakeholders,
Measuring the progress that is being made and monitoring your team’s performance
Resolving any issues that might arise and taking corrective actions where needed
Performance reports on the project, as well as communicating with all relative parties througout

Closing:

The last set of processes deals with ensuring that all the objectives of the project has been met, and that the project is successfully brought to an ordered end.

Main elements include:

Finalizing all activities
Gathering, distributing and archive the information needed to formalize the project’s completion, appraising the performance of the participants, evaluating the project overall and documenting the lessons that were learned
Resolving all open items on the contract, as well as completing the final formal acceptance.

Sciforma’s templates and processes are based on PMBOK, ensuring that your processes are in line an on track with its guidelines.