49 Processes of PMP - The Complete List

The archetypal project manager has a PMP certification. I, for one, have been at it for more than a decade, and have come to realize how mastering the 49 processes of project management works can considerably help your career. I remember coming across this list for the first time and feeling pretty terrified. In today's world, getting to know the mastery of these processes has greatly enhanced my project management toolkit. Now, I feel it's time to let everyone in on all that I know about the 49 processes of PMP to help you calmly navigate this rather challenging aspect of project management.

In case you are preparing for the PMP exam or aim to improve your skills as a project manager, this guide captures all processes, how they relate to one another, and offers proactive measures to implement them within the real world. Consider this an interim PMP 49 processes cheat sheet, for that is precisely what it aims to achieve – accuracy a guide for excellence on project management.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) took it upon itself to to devise the 49 processes within the scope of project management, in an attempt to create one singular methodology which can be used across borders and industries. These processes are a product of years of hard work and continuous refinement of project management techniques.

The framework's strength lies in how it simplifies and organizes complex problems into smaller, manageable parts. Through the 49 processes of PMP, there is a shared language and methodology that allows project managers from different parts of the globe to achieve results consistently. Learning these processes is not about rote learning per se. Rather, it is about embracing a systematic approach towards achieving objectives through meticulous planning, execution, and control.

A proper understanding of the 49 processes of PMP starts by understanding the five process groups. These groups are meant to represent the sequential stages that most projects go through, but in reality, there is often a lot of overlap between stages and iteration among them.

Initiating Process Group

The first steps for getting a project off the ground are covered by the Initiating processes. Here, you outline the purpose as well as scope of the project, get necessary preliminary funding, and define the fundamental participants. This group includes only 2 processes out of the 49, but these two processes are very important. They create the framework for the rest of the program.

Planning Process Group

Planning Process Group is almost half of the entire 49 as it contains 24 processes. This clearly reinforces a point I make with almost all my mentees: no matter how straightforward the project goals are, success can only come with extensive planning. In this phase, all plans ranging from detailed schedules, budgets, quality measurements, responses to risks, and so on will be created.

Executing Process Group

In the 10 guiding processes which planning documents have executed work at four levels; deployment of resources, activity completion, creation of work packages, and distribution of communications. This is the stage where your plans actually come to life.

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group

Controlling and monitoring is an execution parallel process, having 12 defined processes. These processes monitor, track, and control progress and performance with respect to the defined plan. They determine any possible deviation that requires alteration to the established routine and implement appropriate alterations.

Closing Process Group

The single closing process consolidates the acceptance and authorization of the product/service/result and systematically closes the project as phase. Proper closure, while often underestimated, is vital in capturing and documenting all lessons learned alongside fulfilling any remaining contract stipulations.
 

In considering the chronological order of a given project, these represent the entire blueprint of a project. In contrast, knowledge areas represent the organizing of the 49 processes of PMP into categories. Thus, every process is grouped into different process areas which makes it possible to look at project management from different angles.

Integration Management

Integration Management is the pianist of project management; acting as the focal point for the harmonization and orchestration of all activities and disciplines together in unison in a project. It is unique in that its 7 processes cut across all the 5 process groups, which is why it is the only knowledge area that does so. These processes help you solve issues where trade-offs must be made between competing objectives and alternatives in fulfilling stakeholder requirements.

Scope Management

The 6 processes of Scope Management guarantees that your project includes every task, but only the tasks that are required to Completing the project. Scope creep is listed as one of the reasons most common why projects report a failure, which is why these processes are vital for ensuring project success.

Schedule Management

The duration of a project is very frequently its most flexible constraint. The 6 processes of Schedule Management aid you in constructing, measuring, and managing the project timeline. From the definition of activities to the preparation and oversight of the schedule, these processes establish the temporal structure for the advancement of your project.

Cost Management

Every individual project has constraints regarding financial resources. The 4 processes of Cost Management assists you with planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, and controlling so that you can accomplish the project within the sanctioned budget.

Quality Management

The three processes associated with Quality Management make sure that the project will be able to meet at least the basic requirements for which it has been initiated. They put emphasis on product quality as well as the quality of the processes associated with project management.

Resource Management

The six processes associated with Resource Management help in pinpointing, acquiring, and controlling the resources necessary to successfully complete the project. These include personnel, tools, supplies, and other assets.

Communications Management

Every project is defined by its objectives, therefore communication pertaining to a project is its pulse. The 3 processes associated with communication management deal with the creation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and disposal of information related to the project in an organized manner and within set timeframes.

Risk Management

The seven processes under Risk Management enable you to take advantage of and build on positive outcomes while mitigating adverse outcomes. Effective proactive risk management can drastically improve results.

Procurement Management

The three processes under procurement management have to deal with the obtaining of goods and services from an external supplier not part of the executing organization. From planning about what needs to be procured to closing contracts, these processes help manage relations with vendors.

Stakeholder Management

The four processes of Stakeholder Management deal with A to Z of finding an individual, organization or a group that might potentially influence and be influenced by the project, analyzing the expectations of the stakeholders and coming up with a plan on how to best manage them.
 

This table gives the best integration example of the 49 processes in project management for PMP certification by associating each one with the relevant knowledge area and process group. Consider it your primary resource for the 49 processes in Project Management (PMP).

This table provides a phenomenal PMP 49 processes breakdown diagram to grasp visually how all processes interrelate.

Let's take a deeper look into each of the 49 processes. This section walks you through an intricate PMP 49 processes explained narrative that deepens every participant's comprehension of each fragment.

Initiating Process Group (2 processes)

1. Develop Project Charter

The Project Charter officially authorizes a project and delegates a project manager the ability to use organizational resources on project activities. The Project charter must contain the following elements:

• Project rationale and justification for commencement
• Objectives of the project and criteria to ascertain its success
• Summary of requirements and risks
• Milestones and associated expenditures
• Stakeholders
• List of the project manager indicating the power assigned and decision-making rights granted.

The charter remains a constant for reference during the project lifecycle. Having worked with a number of technology companies, I have witnessed projects tend to drift toward problematic regions without a well-defined charter.

2. Identify Stakeholders

This process identifies all potential individuals or organizations that are associated with the project and captures pertinent data critical to their interests, roles, and impact on the success of the project.

Key outputs include:

• Registers of stakeholders.
• Stakeholder analysis.
• Stakeholder engagement assessment matrix.

One approach that I have found extremely useful is stakeholder mapping on a power/interest grid. This diagram assists in determining the strategic engagement approaches to stakeholders by level of power and concern of project results.

Planning Process Group (24 processes)

3. Develop Project Management Plan

This process creates an all-inclusive, integrated document which serves as the foundation for all project work and the methods for executing the work. It merges all subsidiary management plans and baselines from other planning processes into one document.

Components typically include:

• Scope, schedule, and cost baselines.
• All subsidiary management plans.
• Description of life cycle approach and key decision points in the project.
• How project changes will be monitored and controlled.
• Compliance.
• Configuration management requirements.
• Communication requirements among stakeholders.
• Scope description and detailed instructions for carrying out works.
• Life-cycle description.
• Tracking/reporting requirements.

4. Plan Scope Management

This is the process of creating a Scope Management Plan which specifies how the project scope in terms of scope definition, scope validation, and scope control. It offers a plan for how scope will be controlled during the life cycle of the project.

The plan normally focuses on:

• Procedures for the submission of detailed project scope statements.
• Procedures for the submission of the WBS from the scope statement.
• Procedures for the acceptance and maintenance of the WBS.
• Procedures for the submission of formal project deliverables.
• Procedures for controlling modification requests for changes to the project scope.

5. Collect Requirements

The overall project objectives have to be achieved and therefore stakeholder needs and requirements need to be documented managed. These requirements, alongside other documents in conjunction become the foundational elements of the WBS, costs, schedule, quality and procurement.

Techniques that can be useful include, but are not limited to:

• Interviews and focus groups.
• Facilitated workshops.
• Group creativity techniques.
• Questionnaires and surveys.
• Prototypes.
• Observation.
   

It's important to understand every process in isolation, however their combination will work wonders. There are 49 processes of PMP and every process is integrated within the other, meaning outputs of one process provide an input to the other.

For instance, the scope baseline created in planning becomes a fundamental requirement for executing and monitoring processes. During monitoring, identifying changes can set a chain reaction into planning document revisions, creating a loop that persists through the project lifecycle.

Hence this is why skilled project managers are able to determine project health by looking at a few documents, because they appreciate the impact each process has on the other.

WBS drives both scope management and activity definition in schedule management while simultaneously balancing resource requirements from schedule management to cost estimating.

PMP exam preparation ultimately integrates stakeholder identification with communication planning alternately influencing one another.
 

There's no doubt they sound like a lot of work, but the 49 processes of PMP exam are best approached through consideration of work breakdown structure. Here are some of the standout approaches that I have suggested to candidates which helped them dramatically enhance their presentation success:

• Memorizing the 49 processes from the PMP exam
• Do the ITTO - Learn Inputs, Tools, Techniques, and Outputs and their relation with each process.
• Diagram It – Create visual representations of how the different processes interlace.
• Mnemonic devices are another good way to memorize- deviate from the norm and equip each area with a malleable memory.
• Developing and Testing knowledge base with Quizlet or Flashcards: These are known tools we use to test retention before the exam.
• Teach someone else – encourage candidates along with improving their memory and mental agility, they are enhancing their retention power.

A large number of candidates use my example of creating their own list of 49 processes in PDF form. By using Flashcards, which explain each process in a pictorial form, my retention improved tenfold.

The value attained from passing the exam lies in practical application - understanding the 49 processes of PMP is core for passing the exam, but engaging with real world projects and their frameworks is where the value ultimately lies. In my experience, the most successful project managers customize and refine these processes to fit their surroundings.

Applications Based on Industrial Domains

Different focus areas prevail in different industries:

• Construction projects usually place high focus on the procurement and resources management processes.
• IT projects usually place the most attention on scope management and change control processes.
• Healthcare projects tend to focus on risk management and quality processes.
• Research projects may focus on planning processes such as progressive elaboration.

Process Customization

Not every aspect of every project will require the same processes. One's maturity in project management comes with knowing when to scale processes up or down depending on project needs:

• Project size - Smaller completed or ongoing projects may involve less complex work breakdown structures.
• Project complexity - More complex projects ordinarily require more robust application of risks and integration processes.
• Team distribution - Cross functional teams located in different geographical regions require more sophisticated communication processes.
• Organizational maturity - An organization that lacks adequate project management expertise maturity will require more formal processes.

Process streamlining

Use of automation with contemporary project management tools can optimize many aspects of procedures:

• Critical path analysis (CPA) and its scheduling software.
• Dashboard software dedicated to monitoring or control processes.
• Businesses use management systems dedicated to keeping track of requirements and maintaining history for monitoring and traceability.
• Equally essential is the use of risk register databases for ongoing monitoring of identified risks.
   

Even with the knowledge of all 49 processes of PMP, a project manager will run into the most common obstacles when applying them:

Obstacles: Excessive processes and overload

Newly appointed project managers tend to implement every single procedure with the same rigor resulting in effortless documentation and excess bureaucracy.

Solution: Strive to ensure the processes completed on a project are the ones that add the most value. Begin with the fundamental set of processes and incorporate others depending on the project's risks and complexity.

Challenge 2: Stakeholder Resistance

Stakeholders and team members tend to resist supporting some processes because they consider them as derivations from the core work rather than administrative necessities.

Solution: Value each process and communicate the goals clearly and concisely. Demonstrate the problems that are avoided through the proper application of processes. Allow the group to customize the processes so that the ideal compromise is achieved.

Challenge 3: Balancing Process and Progress

In certain cases, following processes to the letter can become a reason for slowing down project momentum.

Solution: Pursue the possibility of conducting processes simultaneously as well as the reduction of documentation. Strive to shift from compliance with processes and instead focus on the rationale for each process.

For an aspiring project manager, professionally mastering these 49 processes and gaining proficiency in utilizing them flexibly becomes a noteworthy achievement in their career path. These steps serve as the structure for initializing, planning and executing, measuring and controlling, as well as closing projects irrespective of their size or level of complexity.

In my career, I have witnessed firsthand how these processes create a shared vocabulary and method that brings order to chaotic project environments and additionally, turns them into well-oiled machines that systematically achieve results. Understanding these processes will certainly help you with passing the PMP exam, but their true beauty lies in the value of their careful application in everyday work.

Which processes do you consider to add the most value to your work? Kindly share your stories with me through the comments section below; I would greatly appreciate it.