Project management process consists of five major groups, which include commencing, planning, implementing, observing and control as well as closing process groups. This report paper summarizes and gives opinions on all the areas of knowledge involved in the entire stages of the planning process groups. In all the process groups, project integration together with project stakeholder management are the areas of knowledge involved. Planning, monitoring and control stages include project scope, time, cost, and risk management as the areas of knowledge. Project HRM and communication management area of knowledge is paramount in planning and execution process. Procurement management as a field of expertise covers the entire process from planning through the closing process of a project.
Initiation group process is the genesis of any project that involves giving definition to a project or new phase of a project. It includes authorization acquisition that is defining the scope of the project and the resources needed. Several stakeholders are consulted so that the project can start and run smoothly. It is at the initial stage that care should be taken because it forms the basis on how the project might look like in the end. It helps align the various stakeholders with purpose and objectives of the project. It clarifies what role various stakeholders would undertake to make the project a success. Bringing various stakeholders on board at this stage ensures there is a clear understanding of the route a project would undertake towards success. It is throughout this step that the project manager can say the level of acceptance of the project idea through the commitment of various stakeholders. During the initiation stage, the various stakeholders play a vital role in offering their thoughts towards a project. This allows the project manager to change or add some sections in the project for increased deliveries from the project. Therefore, the major interactions at the initial process group involve various stakeholders coming together to develop a project charter. Any project targets to bring improvement or change in the way of doing things.
The project manager is having everything set at the initial stage; they have a critical role in planning, executing, monitoring and controlling the entire project. Having the inputs without these steps will not yield the anticipated results. Planning involves the course of actions to undertake so that the project achieves its goals and objectives. The various aspects that the planning process covers include scope, costs, time, communication, quality, risks, human resource, stakeholder, and procurement management (Project Management Institute, 2013). The scope is the project boundaries where various stakeholders would limit the project to work within set limits for the attainment of desired results. In the range, the risks that are involved are identified, and the managing team develops possible mitigation strategies to ensure the risks are minimized. Teams are also drawn up with leaders who aid in communication so that everything works as the project manager has planned. A time frame is critical because it sets the period that is needed to execute the project. Planning ensures that every resource is put in place to ensure the project is successful. The entire team to aid in project implementation is given roles to undertake.
Execution process group implements the project given the entire plan. The primary mandate of this group is coordination of various resources towards the achievement of the project goals and objectives. As the project proceed, several changes are made so that the project remain relevant all the time. The process may lead to change in the project plan based on observations made by the executing group. The process identifies any gaps that the project plan did not integrate into the project and bridge them for better outputs. Quality assurance is essential in this process because it aims at improving the particular process in the society. Communication remains paramount at this stage because it brings efficiency in the project implementation. It ensures constant updates on the project progress to the stakeholders.
Monitoring and control process keeps track on the project implementation progress. This provides areas that need improvement identified, and a change initiated in alignment with the project purpose. Insight on the health of the project is brought forward with the monitoring process. The process is critical in identifying gaps and initiating change or preventing an action for the sake of project success. The process ensures various stakeholders are informed about progress so that they can understand the current state of a project. It ensures the project scope is validated at every stage of implementation for the desired change that the project aims to bring into the society. The control scope in this process ensures change is managed as per the project scope baseline. This ensures the project works on the set schedule to yield anticipated results.
The final stage of any project is the closing process where all the activities of the project are geared towards a conclusion. It seeks to identify if the other groups in the project played their role as illustrated in the project plan. If the process is completed within set time, the results of the project must be evident where the project manager can compare the anticipated results against the actual output. The closing process will bring various stakeholders on board to discuss the lessons and results of the project. The experience throughout the entire process is considered for a recommendation on future improvement at this stage. Finalization and summation of the main outputs are the primary activity when closing a project.
Opinion
Any project has anticipated results, which depend entirely on input efforts. Therefore, the management and execution define the project success or failure. These processes need the right people for data capturing and decision-making. I tend to comment on the entire project management process for being concerned about effectiveness rather than efficiency. Morris et al. (2012) stated that project managers are concerned with project outcome to present to the employer and sponsors. Project managers align project objectives with customer needs to gain insights from interactions rather than seeking to understand how the company can be more efficient to its clients. To bring efficiency in project management, the customers should be the one used to judge the quality standards of a firm because they are the people enjoying the services and products for that particular business. Thus, projects should always seek to add some value to the customers. The only good thing about the process is the organization of the process because following the steps keenly; the project manager would obtain outcome from the inputs in the most effective way.
References
Morris, P. W., Crawford, L., Hodgson, D., Shepherd, M. M., & Thomas, J. (2012). Exploring the role of formal bodies of knowledge in defining a profession–The case of project management. International Journal of Project Management, 24(8), 710-721.
Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.
