The PMBOK describes five process groups that represent the phases every project moves through, often iteratively rather than strictly once. The Initiating process group is where the project is formally authorized and the project charter is created, with high-level risks, milestones, and stakeholders identified. The Planning process group then develops the project management plan, a master document that bundles subsidiary plans covering scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholder engagement. Once planning is sufficiently advanced, the Executing process group takes over, coordinating people and resources to deliver the project outputs through activities such as directing work, acquiring and developing the team, managing communications, engaging stakeholders, and procuring goods and services.
Running in parallel with execution, the Monitoring and Controlling process group tracks, reviews, and regulates progress and performance. It is responsible for controlling changes, scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risks, comparing actual results against the plan and triggering corrective action when needed. Finally, the Closing process group formalizes completion by obtaining stakeholder acceptance, releasing resources, archiving documents, and capturing lessons learned so that future projects benefit from what this one revealed.
These process groups draw on ten knowledge areas that describe the subject matter to be managed. Integration Management ties all the other areas together, coordinating activities such as developing the charter, producing the management plan, directing work, managing knowledge, and closing the project. Scope Management ensures that what is and is not included in the project is clearly defined and protected from uncontrolled expansion. Schedule Management, often called Time Management, covers defining activities, sequencing them, estimating durations, building the schedule, and controlling it. Cost Management plans, estimates, budgets, and controls costs to keep the project within its approved budget.
The remaining knowledge areas address the human, informational, and external dimensions of a project. Quality Management plans, manages, and controls quality so that deliverables meet stakeholder expectations, using tools such as Pareto charts and cause-and-effect diagrams. Resource Management covers identifying, acquiring, developing, and managing both the team and physical resources. Communications Management ensures that information is generated, collected, distributed, stored, retrieved, and disposed of in a timely and appropriate way. Risk Management plans responses, identifies, analyzes, prioritizes, implements, and monitors risks, recognizing that risks can be either threats or opportunities. Procurement Management handles the purchase of products, services, or results from outside the organization, including make-or-buy analysis and contract administration. Stakeholder Management identifies and plans engagement with the people and groups whose interests are affected by the project, using tools such as a stakeholder register and an engagement assessment matrix.