Option 2: A New Concept for Process GroupsInitial Thought on Adding
a Process Group Table 1-4 in the PMBOK® Guide 6th Edn. shows
that the "planning" group incorporates processes that are precursors to the planning,
in that they provide an analysis of the specific situation with respect to the
objectives of the KA. The results of an additional PG, the Analysis PG,
are therefore required before the planning can be carried out. The new definition
of an Analysis Process Group would allow it to capture a number of processes currently
rather uncomfortably in the Planning group, i.e., Collect Requirements, Identify
Risks, Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis, and Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis.
This idea may improve the use of process grouping to some extent, but it
does not solve the basic problem of confusion caused by the naming of the PGs. Changing
the Process Grouping Framework As a more radical, but much better alternative
to reworking the current set of PGs, and to provide a clear break with the past,
a set of "knowledge area steps" (KASes) should be defined to replace the PGs.
In contrast with PGs that seem to be closely related to the entire project life
cycle, KASes are designed to be meaningful only within the corresponding KA. Hence:
- A KAS is defined as a category of activities carried out for a specific
purpose within a knowledge area. The KASes are normally carried out sequentially
within a KA, and can be reiterated as required. Not all KASes are necessarily
represented by processes in each KA.
The IPECC model of PGs should
then be replaced by the SPAARC[8] KASes
defined below This change to the set of names serves additionally as a reminder
of the change of concept: each of these SPAARC categories is applicable
only within a KA. The six KASes are as follows: - Specification.
The specification processes set the rules and authority under which the KA work
should be carried out, and determine the environment for the work.
This
KAS would mainly incorporate processes from the Initiating and Analysis PGs. These
processes would normally be followed by ones from the Analysis or the Preparation
KAS. - Analysis. The analysis processes are performed
to transform raw data into action-oriented information.
These processes
would normally be followed by ones from the Preparation or the Control KAS. - Preparation.
The preparation processes are those required to define the course of action required
to attain the objectives to which the KA should contribute.
These processes
would normally be followed by ones from the Action KAS. - Action.
The action processes are performed to deliver the work defined in the corresponding
management plan for the KA.
These processes would normally be followed by
ones from the Review KAS. - Review. The review processes
are required to track, review and report the progress and performance of the KA
work. This includes identifying any significant differences between actual and
planned values.
These processes would normally be followed by ones from
the Analysis or the Control KAS. - Control. The control
processes are performed to regulate the progress and performance of the KA work,
determine any changes to the plan required to address performance issues highlighted
from reviewing, and assess the viability of corresponding changes. It should be
noted that life cycle governance processes such as managing phase transitions,
as well as initiation, and closing a project belong in the Control KAS.
The processes would normally be followed by ones from the Preparation or the Action
KAS. These interactions are shown in Figure 4. Figure
4: The Set of Potential SPAARC Interactions Within any Knowledge AreaTable
1-4 from the PMBOK® Guide 6th Edn. should be restructured based on
these definitions. The hierarchical representation of this restructuring, from
KAs, to KASes, to processes, is shown below in Table 2
in a similar form to Table 1-4 from the PMBOK® Guide. This restructuring
also provides a more balanced grouping of processes than the IPECC convention,
as can be seen by the number of processes in each KAS shown in the headings in
Table 1 presented earlier. The analysis
required for this restructuring raises a number of questions on the set of processes
for some of the KAs: for example, 12.1 "Plan Procurements" should probably
be subdivided into two processes one for the make-or-buy decisions (Specification),
the other to develop the procurement documents (Preparation). As an aside,
the Stakeholder Management KA that has been added for the sixth edition of the
PMBOK® Guide would be more complete if the team-management processes 9.4
and 9.5 were transferred from the Resource Management area across to Stakeholder
Management. Effective teamwork cannot be achieved if the
team members are managed in the same way as inanimate resources!
KA | PG | Specific- ation
(10) | Prepar- ation
(4) | Analysis
(13) | Action
(8)
| Review
(5) | Control
(9) | Integration
Management | 4.1: Develop Project
Charter | 4.2: Develop
Project Management Plan | 4.4: Manage
Project Knowledge | 4.3: Direct and
Manage Project Work | | 4.5:
Perform Integrated Change Control
4.6: Close Project or Phase
| Scope
Management | 5.1: Plan Scope Management
| | 5.2:
Collect Requirements
5.3: Define Scope
5.4: Create
WBS | | 5.5:
Validate Scope | 5.6: Control Scope | Schedule
Management | 6.1: Plan Schedule
Management | 6.5: Develop
Schedule | 6.2: Define Activities
6.3:
Sequence Activities
6.4: Estimate Activity Durations | | | 6.6:
Control Schedule | Cost
Management | 7.1: Plan Cost Management | | 7.2:
Estimate Costs
7.3: Determine Budget | | | 7.4:
Control Costs | Quality
Management | 8.1: Plan Quality
Management | | | 8.2:
Manage Quality | | 8.3:
Control Quality | Resource
Management | 9.1: Plan Resource
Management | 9.2: Estimate
Activity Resources | | 9.3:
Acquire Resources
9.4: Develop Team | | 9.5:
Manage Project Team | Communications
Management | 10.1: Plan Communications
Management | | | 10.2:
Manage Communications | | 10.3:
Monitor Communications | Risk
Management | 11.1: Plan Risk
Management | 11.5: Plan Risk Responses | 11.2:
Identify Risks
11.4: Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
11.3: Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis | 11.6:
Implement Risk Responses | 11.7:
Monitor Risks | | Procurement
Management | 12.1: Plan Procurement
Management | | | 12.2:
Conduct Procurements | | 12.3:
Control Procurements | Stakeholder
Management | 13.2: Plan Stakeholder
Engagement | | 13.1:
Identify Stakeholders | 13.3: Manage
Stakeholder Engagement | 13.4: Monitor
Stakeholder Engagement | |
Table 2: SPAARC Process Groupings in terms of KAs and KASesThe
SPAARC model provides a framework for analyzing the structure of each KA as well
as for understanding the dependencies between processes in a KA. These points
are addressed in the next two sections. 8.
I have chosen to call the mnemonic SPAARC, rather than putting the letters in
the logical order of the KASes (i.e., SAPARC) for the simple reason that it sounds
nicer. |