PMBOK 5th Edition: changes to the Initiating Process Group 2/9

October 1, 2013 at 11:41 am | Posted in Kaplan IT Training news, PMI, Study hints | Leave a comment
Tags: pmbok 5th edition, PMI study tips, PMP, PMP study tips

If you read my previous post on the Knowledge Area and Process Group changes from PMBOK 4th Edition, you already know that PMI has made quite a few changes in the PMBOK 5th Edition. As promised in that earlier blog post, this is the first in a series to discuss the differences for each of the Process Groups and processes. In this post, I will cover the Initiating Process Group in full.

The Initiating Process Group is the first Process Group for projects, so it seemed like the logical place to start. This Process Group includes the Develop Project Charter and Identify Stakeholders processes.  There are just a few changes to these two processes.

Develop Project Charter process changes

The Develop Project Charter process still has five inputs. However, the contracts input in the PMBOK 4th Edition was changed to the agreements input in the PMBOK 5th Edition. This change more properly reflects the actual types of documents that can be included – such as contacts, memorandums of understanding (MOUs), service level agreements (SLAs), letters of agreement, letters of intent, verbal agreements, e-mail, or other written agreements.

The other four Develop Project Charter process inputs are the same: project statement of work, the business case, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets.

One new technique has been added to the Develop Project Charter process: facilitation techniques. These techniques include, but are not limited to, brainstorming, problem solving, conflict resolution, and meeting management.

The project charter is still the output of the Develop Project Charter. However, the processes for which the project charter is an input have changed. The project charter is now considered an input to the Develop Project Management Plan, Plan Scope Management, Collect Requirements, Define Scope, Plan Schedule Management, Plan Cost Management, Plan Risk Management, and Identify Stakeholders processes. Last note on project charters, the PMBOK 5th Edition now requires that all project assumptions and constraints, the stakeholder list, and project high-level boundaries be documented in the project charter.

Identify Stakeholders Process changes

While the Identify Stakeholders process is still part of the Initiating Process Group, it has been moved to a new Knowledge Area: Project Stakeholder Management.

One new tool  has been added to the Identify Stakeholders process: meetings.  These meetings provide a means to develop an understanding of the project stakeholders and should document the roles, interests, knowledge, and position of each stakeholder.

There are no changes to the inputs for the Identity Stakeholders process. There is one change to the outputs: the stakeholder management strategy has been removed as an output of the Identify Stakeholders process, mainly because the stakeholder management plan is now created in the new Plan Stakeholder Management process. The stakeholder register is now the only output of the Identify Stakeholders process.

Additionally, the stakeholder register is now an input to the Collect Requirements, Plan Quality Management, Plan Communications Management, Plan Risk Management, Identify Risks, Plan Procurement Management, and Plan Stakeholder Management processes. The PMBOK 5th Edition has also added instructions regarding updating the stakeholder register on a regular basis as stakeholders change throughout the life of the project.

Summary

Because the Initiating Process Group is not very large, I come to the end of this post. My next post will cover the Planning Process Group. But with a total of 24 processes, I expect that I will need to divide the content into several posts. I expect for the Planning Process Group changes to encompass 3 to 4 posts, with the Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing Process Groups coming after those.

Keep in mind that I am writing and revising content for our practice test as I am keeping y’all posted here on our blog. So feel free to ask any questions you may have. Who knows, some of your comments and questions might make it into our next product update! I’m glad that you took some time to peek into my world and hope you stick around for the next installment in this PMP series.

Until next time,

-Robin