Wednesday 6 November 2013

Easy way to memorize the Inputs of Knowledge Area Planning Processes (other than Integration)

There are NINE planning processes for each Knowledge Area other than Integration:

  • Plan SCOPE Management
  • Plan SCHEDULE Management
  • Plan COST Management
  • Plan QUALITY Management
  • Plan HUMAN RESOURCES Management
  • Plan COMMUNICATIONS Management,
  • Plan RISK Management
  • Plan PROCUREMENT Management and 
  • Plan STAKEHOLDER Management.

All these NINE planning processes have a similar function:

  • Plan the respective Knoweldge Area in advance
  • about how to handle changes
  • controlling baselines where applicable
  • measuring quality etc. 

Because of this similarity, if you observe PMBoK(R) 5th Edition guide closely, you will notice the following. If you can remember the following, its easy to remember the inputs of these NINE Planning processes.

  • Project Management Plan, Enterprise Environmental Factors and Organizational Process Assets is required input for all these NINE processes.
  • SCOPE, SCHEDULE, COST (the Triple Constraints) and RISK planning processes would additionally need Project Charter. SCOPE, SCHEDULE and COST all have exactly the same four inputs. 
  • Stakeholder Register is a required input for RISK, QUALITY, COMMUNICATIONS, STAKEHOLDER (yes, Identify Stakeholders is done first, and then Plan STAKEHOLDER Management) and PROCUREMENT. COMMUNICATIONS and STAKEHOLDER have exactly the same four inputs.
  • Activity Resource Requirements is the final input required for HUMAN RESOURCES in addition to the the three mentioned in point # 1.
  • Risk Register and Requirements Documentation are the last two inputs required for QUALITY along with the three mentioned in point # 1 and Stakeholder Register mentioned in point #3.
  • PROCUREMENT = QUALITY + 3 more inputs.Those three are Activity Resource Requirements, Project Schedule and Activity Cost Estimates
From the above observation, you notice that with little practice, you can remember those inputs. Knowing one of SCOPE or SCHEDULE or COST is enough to know the inputs for all those three. Same way, knowing COMMUNICATIONS or PROCUREMENT is enough to know the inputs for both of these.

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