Chapter 2 Project Management Processes

Project life cycle describes what you need to do to do the work

Project management process what you need to do to manage the project
Understanding the process of managing a project and knowing what should be done
at what times provide a framework for understanding all the inputs, tools and
techniques, and outputs involved in project management.
High-level project management process
1. Initiating the project (Start)
2. Planning the project (Plan)
3. Executing the project (Do)
4. Monitoring and Controlling the project (Check and act)
5. Closing the project (End)
With demand and business needs plus legality, project will be approved to be initiated
(initiating). As project manager, you determine the feasibility of the business and
work on some high level planning during initiating. By doing so, you will be able to
verify if the project can be completed within the given constraints of scope, time, cost
etc.
Once the project has been approved, it moves from initiating to planning, where you
plan for the ways in planning, monitoring and controlling, and closing the project.
Once planning is done, it will move into executing, in which works are to be followed
with the planned processes and procedures as planned in the project management
plan
While the work is being done, the work results (or work performance data) are fed into
monitoring and controlling, to make sure the project is on the right track.
Should there are deviances from the plan and require changes, the change requests
are evaluated during the Perform Integrated Change Control Process (which is
part of monitoring and controlling) to determine their impact on project, and
identify the best options for dealing with them, and decide whether they should be
approved or rejected. Approved changes that dont affect the baseline (such as
corrective action, preventive action, or rework) are fed back into executing to be
implemented as part of the project work. The implementation of these approved
changes should fix the deviance or variance.
For approved changes that require adjustments to the baselines and project
management plan, a re-planning effort must be completed before the team can start
working from the new updated version of the plan and baselines in executing.
The re-planning effort is also done as part of the Perform Integrated Change Control
process in controlling and monitoring
Once the changes to the baseline are identified and the plan is modified, the revised
plan is provided to the team in executing, and the project is once again executed
according to the updated plan and monitored and controlled to the revised baselines.
If the project gets so far off the baselines that it requires an analysis of whether the
project should continue at all, it may move back into initiating for that decision.
Ultimately, when the work is done, the project moves into closing.

All work of the project and project management must be monitored and controlled.
Throughout the life of the project, you will be taking measures of the project and
project management and analyzing them to help identify variance from the plan, so
that you can make proactive decisions to keep the project on track.
How the process of project management is performed will be adjusted or tailored to
the type and strategic importance of the project and the chosen life cycle.
Ritas Process Chart
Initiating
1. Select Project Manager
2. Determine the companys culture and existing systems
3. Collect procedures, process and historical information
4. Divide large project into phases
5. Understand the business case of the project e.g. the case for why the project is
being doing, because it will guide all other project management activites to ensure
the project is worthy the required investment when completed.
The initiation of a project is always backed by a reason and the results of the
project must support that reason. (Often many projects do not satisfy the business
needs when completed. E.g. they may create the project they want rather than
what was asked of them etc. )
The company should know what its strategic objectives are, and all projects should
help meet the objectives. A company manages itself well will have its strategic
objective and will be able to evaluate the various options for achieving those
objectives. Many project ideas will be proposed, and the company will conduct an
analysis to see which proposed project meet the objectives for the least cost, time,
resources, and if it is a very well-run company, the least risk. The organization will
then authorize one or more projects by issuing project charters.
6. Uncover the initial requirements, risks, constraints, assumptions, and existing
agreements
7. Access project and product feasibility within the given constraints

8. Create measurable objectives

Objectives are crucial to project manager, who should understand why the project
you are assigned to was selected, and manage the project accordingly. Is this
project being doing to enter a new market? Is it intended to meet a governance
expectation or regulatory requirement? Is it the result of a customer request? Is it
just a pet project for a company executive? Is it expected to dramatically improve
the future of the company? As the project manager, you should know what these
objectives are, including intangible objectives such as improve the companys
reputation, and keep them in mind when planning and managing the project. If
you lose sight of the objectives, the project may finish on time and on budget but
still fail because it does not achieve those objectives.
9. Develop project charter
10. Identify stakeholders and determine their expectations, influence and impact.