1. Process Groups and Knowledge Areas
Loren Karl Schwappach
Colorado Technical University
30 August 2011
Process Groups and Knowledge Areas
Introduction
Hello, my name is Loren Karl Schwappach. I am the new project manager for
the 2011 Billing System Upgrade Project (BSUP). I have been asked to create this briefing to
enlighten the customer service and billing departments about project management process
groups and the knowledge areas of project management. I hope this briefing is informative
and helps to open eyes to the upcoming challenges ahead. It is my goal to see this project to
success and as base line users you will play a large role in determining the quality and
performance of the final project.
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2. Overview
Today I will talk to you about the five project management process groups to
include: initiating, planning, executing, monitor and controlling and closing. I will also
introduce the nine knowledge areas of project management to include: integration
management, scope management, time management, cost management, quality management,
human Resources management, communications management, risk management, and
procurement management. I will end the briefing with a project management case study. If
you have any questions as I proceed during this briefing please feel free to speak them during
the briefing.
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3. Project Management Process Groups
Before the customer service and billing department’s legacy billing system
web-based upgrade project can be initiated, it is imperative for the project manager, project
team, and project stakeholders to recognize what is to pass once the project is started and the
undertakings they will be required to participate in. This briefing was designed to provide an
understanding of project management process groups and the nine knowledge areas of project
management so that IRTC employees can observe how to properly work with and structure the
project to ensure this projects success. Although, there is no way to completely anticipate and
prevent all problems, having a clear understanding of the processes will help increase the
effectiveness in managing this large upgrade project.
Group #1: Initiating
The initial phase of project management involves obtaining the necessary
permissions and approvals required to begin the project. Usually, a document outlining the
necessity for the project is created in order to reason to the project’s sponsor how the needs of
the organization will be met, and approximately how much the project will cost and how long
the project is expected to take (Babou, 2008).
The initiating process group contains the processes designed to describe the
project, subproject, or phase of an existing project and obtain authorization to begin each
project phase. The main processes of the initiating group as defined by the PMBOK are to
develop the project charter and identify stakeholders (Global Standard, 2008).
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4. Group #2: Planning
This project group is about planning out the project and defining project goals.
Large portions of the project need to be stripped down and deadlines will be scheduled.
Stakeholders will play a large role in authorizing and planning out resources (Babou, 2008).
This is also the phase in which the project team is put together and begins to identify tasks and
roles. Project costs are estimated to provide the groundwork for a project budget. The IRTC
project team will utilize MS Project to aid in the scheduling of costs and resources and will
utilize your departments in streamlining these plans.
The planning process group contains processes needed to establish the
projects scope, smooth and refine objectives and identify courses of action necessary to
complete project objectives. This group contains the following processes: develop project
management plan, collect requirements, define scope, create WBS, define activities, sequence
activities, estimate activity resources, estimate activity durations, develop schedule, estimate
costs, determine budget, plan quality, develop human resource plan, plan communications,
plan risk management, identify risks, perform quantitative risk analysis, plan risk responses,
and plan procurements (Global Standard, 2008).
Group #3: Executing
Now that the project team has everything in place and goals well-defined, it is
time to begin developing the end product results. Contracts are administered as needed, and
the project’s team members make periodic reports on their status. Everything that goes into
making the plan a reality takes place during the project’s execution group (Babou, 2008).
This process group contains the processes used to perform and complete work
as outlined by the project management plan and needed to satisfy project specifications. This
group contains the following processes: direct and manage project execution, perform quality
assurance, acquire project team, develop project team, manage project team, distribute
information, manage stakeholder expectations, and conduct procurements (Global Standard,
2008).
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5. Group #4: Monitoring and controlling
After the execution stage is under way the project team should begin
monitoring to ensure everything goes according to the project plan. As products and stages are
completed, each is submitted to the project sponsor (IRTC CIO) for approval. If adjustments
are required they are made during this stage. The project team and stakeholders should keep
an ongoing list of valuable lessons learned during the project to help in evaluating the projects
performance (Babou, 2008).
This process group contains the processes utilized in tracking, reviewing, and
regulating the performance and progress of the project, identifying areas for change, and
initiating changes. The group contains the following processes: monitor and control project
work, perform integrated change control, verify scope, control scope, control schedule, control
costs, perform quality control, report performance, monitor and control risks, and administer
procurements (Global Standard, 2008).
Group #5: Closing
The last project management group marks the end of the project. The project
manager arranges for the final acceptance of the product, and the sponsor accepts. Everything
is carefully documented in writing, and records of contracts, transactions, and other
agreements are completed. Project debriefing and plans for necessary follow up are made at
this time (Babou, 2008).
The closing process group contains the processes for finalizing activities
across all process groups. This group contains the following processes: close project or phase,
and close procurements (Global Standard, 2008).
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6. Project Management Knowledge Areas
Managing projects involves applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques
to project activities in order to meet project objectives. IRTC’s project team will accomplish
this by performing processes at various stages of the project, as I discussed in the project phase
slides. Each aspect of a project is managed by using the corresponding knowledge area.
Each process belongs to one of the nine knowledge areas: scope management,
time management, cost management, human resource management, procurement management,
risk management, quality management, integration management, and communication
management (Kerzner, 2003).
Project Integration Management
The project is initiated, planned, and executed in pieces, and all those need to
fit together. That is where project integration management is utilized. Project integration
management includes developing the project charter (the document that authorizes the project
and identifies initial project requirements), developing the project management plan (defines
how the project is executed, monitored, and controlled), directing and managing project
execution (creating deliverables, training staff and team members, obtaining resources,
performing risk management, managing sellers and suppliers, issuing change requests),
monitoring and controlling project work (tracking, reviewing, and regulating the progress to
meet performance objectives), performing integrated change control (reviewing, approving,
and managing project changes), and closing the project or a phase of a project (review and
finalizing all activities) (Global Standard, 2008).
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7. Project Scope Management
Project scope management includes collecting requirements (defining and
documenting stakeholder’s needs, customer service will play a large part here), defining the
scope (develop detailed description of the project), creating a Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS) (subdivides deliverables into smaller manageable components), verifying the scope
(formalizing acceptance of deliverables), and controlling the scope (monitoring the status of
the project and scope and managing changes). Initially our project team will collect the
requirements for the project based on the stakeholders’ needs, which will determine the project
scope. Next our project team will develop the description for the project and its products,
which is the basis for the project scope. Customer service and billing departments will play a
large role in identifying the features need for this project and thus will play a large part in
defining the projects scope and deliverables. Our project team will then create the project’s
work breakdown structure (WBS). Next our project team will verify the scope and plan how
the completed deliverables of the project will be accepted. Finally in order to control the
scope, only the approved changes to the scope should be implemented. Obviously, these
components are performed by using the corresponding processes (Global Standard, 2008).
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8. Project Time Management
Project time management is accomplished by defining activities, sequencing
activities, estimating activity resources, estimating activity durations, developing a schedule,
and controlling the schedule. Define activities includes identifying all the work activities that
need to be scheduled to produce the project deliverables. Sequencing activities involves
identifying the dependencies among the activities that need to be scheduled so that they can be
scheduled in the correct order. Estimating activity resources includes estimate the types of
resources needed and the quantity for each type for each schedule activity. Estimating activity
durations involves estimating the time needed to complete each schedule activity. Developing
the schedule includes analyzing the data created in the previous steps to develop the schedule.
Control of the schedule involves controlling the changes to the project schedule (Global
Standard, 2008).
Project Cost Management
Cost management includes estimating the cost, determining the project
budget, and controlling the cost. Estimate cost involves developing the cost of the resources
needed to complete the project, which includes schedule activities and outsourced/procured
work. Determining the budget requires aggregating the costs of individual activities to
establish a cost baseline that includes timing. Control the cost involves monitoring and
controlling the cost variance in the project execution (Global Standard, 2008).
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9. Project Quality Management
Project quality management includes planning the quality, performing quality
assurance, and performing quality control. Planning quality involves determining the quality
requirements and standards that are relevant to the project at hand and how to apply them.
Performing quality assurance involves ensuring the planned quality requirements and
standards are applied. Performing quality control involves monitoring the quality activities
and recording the results of these activities in order to assess performance and make necessary
recommendations for corrective actions and changes (Global Standard, 2008).
Project Human Resource Management
Project human resource management includes developing a human resource
plan, acquiring the project team, developing the project team, and managing the project team.
Developing a human resources plan involves identifying project roles, responsibilities for each
role, and reporting relationships among the roles. The staff management plan describes when
and how the resource requirements will be met. Acquiring the project team involves obtaining
the human resources needed to work on the project. Developing the project team involves
improving the competencies of the team members and the interaction among members to
optimize the team performance. Managing the project team involves tracking the performance
of team members, provide team members with feedback, and resolve issues and conflicts
(Global Standard, 2008).
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10. Project Communication Management
Communication management includes identifying project stakeholders,
planning communication, distributing information, managing stake holder expectations, and
reporting performance. Stakeholder identification involves identifying all individuals, groups,
and organizations that will potentially be impacted by the project and find relevant information
about them (this includes customer service and billing department staff). Planning
communications involves determining the information and communication needs of the project
at hand and the communication approach to be used. Distributing information involves
making the needed information available to the project stakeholders in a timely fashion.
Managing stakeholder expectations involves communicating and working with the
stakeholders in order to understand and meet their needs, address the issues, and manage the
expectations within the project scope and the project management plan. This maybe the most
essential process and will require a lot of brain storming between the project team and
customer service and billing departments. Finally, reporting performance involves collecting
and distributing performance information to the stakeholders to stay on the same page (Global
Standard, 2008).
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11. Project Risk Management
Project risk management includes risk management planning, identification of
risks, performing qualitative risk analysis, planning risk responses, and monitor and control of
risks. Planning risk management involves deciding how to determine and execute the risk
management tasks. Identifying risks included identifying the potential risks relevant to the
project at hand and determine the characteristics of those risks. Performing qualitative risk
analysis involves assessing the probability of occurrence and the impact for each risk in order
to prioritize risks for an action or for further analysis. Performing quantitative risk analysis
involves estimating the effects of identified risks on project objectives. Planning risk
responses involves developing action options for risks to maximize opportunities for and
minimize threats to satisfying project objectives. Monitor and control of risks involves
tracking identified risks, implement risk response plans, identify new risks, and evaluate the
effectiveness of risk management processes throughout the project (Global Standard, 2008).
Project Procurement Management
Procurement management includes planning procurements, conducting
procurements, administering procurements, and closing procurements. To plan procurements
the project team needs to identify purchasing needs (what hardware / software is needed,
materials, personnel outsourcing, etc.), specify the procurement approach, and identify
potential venders. Conducting procurements involves obtaining vender responses, selecting
venders, and issuing contracts. Administering procurements involves managing procurement
relationships, monitoring the procurement performance, and monitoring and controlling
changes in procurement. Closing procurements involves completing procurements with proper
closure, such as accepting products and closing contracts (Global Standard, 2008).
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12. Case Study
[WHY] Project management training offers advantages and clear
benefits to include reduced delivery costs, increased project efficiency, focus
advantages, prediction increases, and problem identification (Egeland, 2010). As an
example a case study of [WHO] a major investment company was completed
[WHERE] by Rosenhead (2010) of Project Agency a project management online
training agency [WHEN] in 2006 (Rosenhead, 2010). [WHAT] The investment
company studied was facing a problem where projects were not being delivered
effectively (on time or on budget). Very few staff had been involved with project
management courses and they had no overall project management approach. [HOW]
The company developed a non-standard project methodology and asked Project
Agency to benchmark their practices, and the preliminary results were poor. Project
Agency provided essential project management training to the company and projects
began being completed in record time, without breaking budget constraints, and
increased quality. The investment companies’ staff was more aware of the way to
approach change management thorough the use of and application of project
management skills. IRTC customer service employees will play a tremendous role on
the success of this project which is why an understanding of the standard processes
involved is so essential.
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13. Summary
Today I talked to you about the five project management process groups to
include: initiating, planning, executing, monitor and controlling and closing. I also introduced
the nine knowledge areas of project management to include: integration management, scope
management, time management, cost management, quality management, human Resources
management, communications management, risk management, and procurement management.
I concluded the briefing with a project management case study and explained some of the
benefits of project management. I would now like to open the floor to any additional
questions. Thank you.
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14. References
Babou, S.(2008). Project Management Processes & Process Groups. Leadership Champions,
Retrieved August 30, 2011, from
http://leadershipchamps.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/project-management-process-
groups/
Egeland, B. (2010). “Strategic Organizational Benefits of Project Management”. Project
Management Tips, Retrieved August 30, 2011, from http://pmtips.net/strategic-
organizational-benefits-project-management/
Global Standard. (2008). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (4th ed.).
Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc.
Kerzner, H. (2003). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling (8th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Rosenhead, R. (2010). Case Studies. Retrieved August 30, 2011, from Project Agency
Website: http://pmtips.net/strategic-organizational-benefits-project-management/
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15. [Illustration of PMBOK Processes]. (n.d.). Retrieved August 30, 2011, from:
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16. [Illustration of Men Fitting Together Gears]. (n.d.). Retrieved August 30, 2011, from:
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