Page 74 -

3 - PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES

The PMBOK Guide describes only the project management processes. Although product-oriented processes
®
are outside the scope of this document, they should not be ignored by the project manager and project team. Project
management processes and product-oriented processes overlap and interact throughout the life of a project.

Project management processes apply globally and across industry groups. Good practice means there is general
agreement that the application of project management processes has been shown to enhance the chances of
success over a wide range of projects. Good practice does not mean that the knowledge, skills, and processes
described should always be applied uniformly on all projects. For any given project, the project manager, in
collaboration with the project team, is always responsible for determining which processes are appropriate, and
the appropriate degree of rigor for each process.

Project managers and their teams should carefully address each process and its inputs and outputs and
determine which are applicable to the project they are working on. The PMBOK Guide may be used as a resource
®
in managing a project while considering the overall approach and methodology to be followed for the project. This
effort is known as tailoring.

Project management is an integrative undertaking that requires each project and product process to be
appropriately aligned and connected with the other processes to facilitate coordination. Actions taken during one
process typically affect that process and other related processes. For example, a scope change typically affects
project cost, but it may not affect the communications management plan or level of risk. These process interactions
often require tradeoffs among project requirements and objectives, and the specific performance tradeoffs will vary
from project to project and organization to organization. Successful project management includes actively managing
these interactions to meet sponsor, customer, and other stakeholder requirements. In some circumstances, a
process or set of processes will need to be iterated several times in order to achieve the required outcome.

Projects exist within an organization and do not operate as a closed system. They require input data from the
organization and beyond, and deliver capabilities back to the organization. The project processes may generate
information to improve the management of future projects and organizational process assets.

The PMBOK Guide describes the nature of project management processes in terms of the integration between
®
the processes, their interactions, and the purposes they serve. Project management processes are grouped into five
categories known as Project Management Process Groups (or Process Groups):

48 ©2013 Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) – Fifth Edition
®

Licensed To: Jorge Diego Fuentes Sanchez PMI MemberID: 2399412
This copy is a PMI Member benefit, not for distribution, sale, or reproduction.