This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Project Process Interactions
When processes have been developed and organized within a project structure, these processes might not always be independent of each other or other elements of daily operations within an organization. The Project Management Institute, in its publication of Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Fifth Edition, lists specific processes that project managers can use in managing project work activities to completion. In many cases, we find that there are interactions between processes that need to be managed at the project level, as well as these processes interacting with operations within the organization. Process interactions can be in several different forms, and in this book we cover various forms of how processes can interact with each other and what effects these processes can have on an organization at the tactical level.
Process interactions can be in several different forms in which the basic project management processes, such as the initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and controlling, as well as closing, can interact with each other during the course of conducting project activities. For example, processes associated with monitoring and controlling can affect the executing process. Items associated with the initiating process can affect planning. In some cases, items associated with the execution process can have drastic effects on the closing process. This book covers several interactions between these different project management processes, as well as the influence of knowledge areas within each process. The Project Management Institute, in PMBOK, Fifth Edition, has also outlined knowledge areas that represent the responsibilities of a project manager for tasks carried out throughout the project life cycle. It is interesting to contrast how these knowledge areas correspond to and interact with the five process groups. In some cases, interactions of certain knowledge areas with other knowledge areas can actually produce what are called compound interactions. This book goes into the details of how project managers can use certain knowledge areas to influence other knowledge areas, creating these compound interactions. As project managers come to understand the use of project management process groups and how knowledge areas can be used to manage various aspects of project activities, this gives the project managers tools and techniques to effectively and efficiently manage projects to completion.