5 Phases of Project Management – A

Complete Breakdown
01.01.2025

Managing a project is no easy feat, no matter what the scale and scope are.
From planning the minutia to handling the ever-changing demands of clients
to shipping the deliverables on time, there’s a lot that can go wrong. When
you divide the project into manageable stages, each with its own goals and
deliverables, it’s easier to control the project and the quality of the output.

In a project management guide, if you are somehow in a position where you

are expected to manage projects for your organization and are feeling
overwhelmed, it’s better to start learning the basic stages of the project life
cycle phases.

According to the PMBOK Guide (Project Management Body of Knowledge)

by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a project management life cycle
consists of 5 distinct phases including initiation, planning, execution,
monitoring, and closure that combine to turn a project idea into a working
product.

Five phases of project management

The 5 basic phases in the project management process are:
1. Project Initiation
2. Project Planning

3. Project Execution
4. Project Monitoring and Controlling

5. Project Closing
Phase 1: Project initiation
The project initiation phase is the first stage of turning an abstract idea into a
meaningful goal. In this stage, you need to develop a business case and
define the project on a broad level. In order to do that, you have to determine
the need for the project and create a project charter.

The project charter is an important document consisting of details like

the project constraints, goals, appointment of the project manager, budget,
expected timeline, etc. Project managers can utilize background
removal tools to create clean, professional-looking project visuals and
presentations.

Once you have the project goals and project scope, identify key project
stakeholders–the people who are to be involved in the project. Create a
stakeholder register with the roles, designation, communication
requirements, and influence.

While a clear goal of the project is established in this phase, a project charter
does not contain any technical details that happen in the planning stage.

Consider the example of an automobile manufacturer assigned to develop an

electric vehicle. The selection of the design, capacity, and battery power of
the vehicle will not be a part of the initiation phase. The only certainty would
be that an electric vehicle will be developed within the given timeframe and
budget.

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Phase 2: Project planning

The project planning stage requires complete diligence as it lays out the
project’s roadmap. Unless you are using a modern project management
methodology like agile project management, the second phase of project
management is expected to take almost half of the entire project’s timespan.

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In this phase, the primary tasks are identifying technical requirements,

developing a detailed project schedule, creating a communication plan, and
setting up goals/deliverables. Some examples of web applications include
shopping carts, online forms, spreadsheets, word processors, PDF file
conversion programs, video and photo editing software, file scanning tools,
and email programs such as Gmail and Yahoo.

There are several methods of setting up the project’s goals

but S.M.A.R.T. and C.L.E.A.R. are the most popular.

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S.M.A.R.T Goals:
The ‘SMART’ criteria ensure that the goals you set for your project are
critically analyzed. It is an established method that reduces risk and
allows project managers to make clearly defined and achievable goals.

The acronym SMART stands for

C.L.E.A.R. Goals:
The ‘CLEAR’ method of setting up goals is designed to cater to the dynamic
nature of a modern workplace. Today’s fast-paced businesses require
flexibility and immediate results and CLEAR can help citizen developers with
that.

The acronym for CLEAR stands for

During the planning stage, the scope of the project is defined. There is a
possibility of changing the scope of the project demands it but the project
manager must approve the change. Project managers also develop a work
breakdown structure (WBS), which clearly visualizes the entire project in
different sections for the team management.

Learn more about how project goals and objectives are defined.

A detailed project timeline with each deliverable is another important element

of the planning stage. Using that timeline, project managers can develop
a project communication plan and a schedule of communication with the
relevant stakeholders.

Risk mitigation is another important aspect of project management that is a

part of the planning stage. The project manager is responsible for
extrapolating past data to identify potential project management risks and
develop a strategy to minimize them.

An important element that professionals often overlook is an effective change

management plan. As a project manager, you must be ready to incorporate a
few changes in the project to avoid bottlenecks and project delays.
In the absence of a working change management plan, scope creep happens
and causes huge problems for the project team in the later stages of the
project. So, it’s best to reduce the possibility of unforeseen changes as much
as possible.

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Phase 3: Project execution

The project execution stage is where your team does the actual work. As a
project manager, your job is to establish efficient workflows and carefully
monitor the progress of your team.

Another responsibility of the project manager during this phase is to

consistently maintain effective collaboration between project stakeholders.
This ensures that everyone stays on the same page and the project runs
smoothly without any issues.

You can take help from the best project collaboration tools that are available
in the market. They’ll not only make your life easier but also improve
efficiency and increase the productivity of your team.

Utilizing a brainstorming tool can be transformative in enhancing team

collaboration and brainstorming. This app allows team members to visualize
ideas, share feedback in real time, and collectively refine concepts,
seamlessly integrating with the project execution phase. It's an essential
asset for teams looking to elevate their creative process and ensure all
voices are heard during project development.

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Phase 4: Project monitoring and controlling

In the project management process, the third and fourth phases are not
sequential in nature. The project monitoring and controlling phase run
simultaneously with project execution, thereby ensuring that objectives
and project deliverables are met.

As a project manager, you can make sure that no one deviates from the
original plan by establishing Critical Success Factors (CSF) and Key
Performance Indicators (KPI).

During the monitoring phase of project management, the manager is also

responsible for quantitatively tracking the effort and cost during the process.
This tracking not only ensures that the project remains within the budget but
also is important for future projects.

Phase 5: Project closing

This is the final phase of the project management process.
The project closure stage indicates the end of the project after the final
delivery. There are times when external talent is hired specifically for the
project on contract. Terminating these contracts and completing the
necessary paperwork is also the responsibility of the project manager.
Most teams hold a reflection meeting after the completion of the project in
order to contemplate their successes and failures during the project. This is
an effective method to ensure continuous improvement within the company
to enhance the overall productivity of the team in the future.

The final task of this phase is to review the entire project complete a detailed
report that covers every aspect. All of the necessary data is stored in a
secure place that can be accessed by project managers of that organization.

While spreadsheets and post-it notes sufficed in the past, the requirement of
digital project management is completely different. If you're looking for project
managers who have experience who are familiar with all 5 phases from
initiation to closing, you can use the project management test to find the most
qualified candidates.

Simplify your project management process

Nowadays, using cloud-based project management software is a common
way of storing all of the documents related to the project. While spreadsheets
and post-it notes may have been enough for managing documentation in the
past, today's digital project management landscape requires more
sophisticated solutions. For instance, when finalizing project documents or
reports that were initially created in Word format, you might need to use a
Word to PDF converter tool to ensure they are easily shared and preserved
with intact formatting across various platforms. While spreadsheets and post-
it notes may have been enough for managing documentation in the past,
today's digital project management landscape requires more sophisticated
solutions. For instance, when finalizing project documents or reports that
were initially created in Word format, you might need to use a Word to PDF
converter tool to ensure they are easily shared and preserved with intact
formatting across various platforms.

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Dividing a project into multiple phases gives the project a semblance of

predictability. It gives a framework to operate, making it easier to plan and
execute. While spreadsheets and post-it notes sufficed in the past, the
requirement of digital project management is completely different.

You need the right tools to plan, organize, and track projects. You need
an online project management software to simplify the project management
phases for each project.
The 10 Project Management Knowledge Areas

(PMBOK)
by Peter Landau | Apr 27, 2023

What do you need to know to succeed at project management? Everything!

While there’s some truth to that joke, this answer can be narrowed down by
looking at the project management knowledge areas as defined in the
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), a book by the Project
Management Institute (PMI), which compiles the fundamental concepts
of project management.

What Are the Project Management Knowledge

Areas?

The project management knowledge areas can be simply defined as the

key aspects of project management that should be overseen by project
managers so they can plan, schedule, track and deliver projects
successfully with the help of the project team and project stakeholders.

Each of these project management knowledge areas needs to be managed

throughout the five project life cycle phases, which are project initiation,
project planning, project execution, monitoring and controlling, and project
closing. These are the chronological phases that every project goes
through, also referred to as project management process groups in PMI’s
PMBOK.
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Template
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The PMBOK knowledge areas take place during any one of these process
groups. You can think of the process groups as horizontal, while the
knowledge areas are vertical. The knowledge areas are the core technical
subject matter, which is necessary for effective project, program
and project portfolio management.

The 10 Project Management Knowledge Areas

Here’s an overview of each of the 10 knowledge areas of project

management, including a brief description of the key project management
documents needed to control each of them. All of these project documents
are part of the project management plan which includes information about
all knowledge areas of project management.

1. Project Integration Management

Project integration management can be simply defined as the framework

that allows project managers to coordinate tasks, resources, stakeholders,
changes and project variables. Project managers can use different tools to
make sure there are solid project integration management practices in
place. For example, the project management plan is important for project
integration because it works as a roadmap for the project to reach a
successful end. Once created, the project plan is approved by stakeholders
and/or sponsors before it’s monitored and tracked by the
organization’s project management office.

Project management software, like Project Manager, is ideal for project

integration management because it’s an online platform that project
managers can use to create a project plan, oversee project management
knowledge areas and collaborate with their teams online. Choose between
online Gantt charts, kanban boards, project calendars and other project
management views to plan, schedule and track your projects. Project
Manager also has project reporting features that allow project managers to
create project reports they can share with project stakeholders to keep
them informed.
 Learn more.

The project integration area also includes the directing and managing of the
project work, which is the production of its deliverables. This process is
monitored, analysed and reported on to identify and control any changes or
problems that might occur.

Also, any change control will be carried out. That might require request
forms, approval from stakeholders and/or sponsors or another admin. This
area is also part of the project closure at the end of the project.

2. Project Scope Management

Project scope management is one of the most important project

management knowledge areas. It consists of managing your project scope,
which refers to the work that needs to be executed in a project. To manage
your project scope, you’ll need to build a project scope management plan,
a document where you’ll define what will be done in your project.

To start building your scope management plan, begin by writing a scope

statement. This statement is anything from a sentence to a bulleted list
that’s comprehensive to reduce major project risks. Another part of this
area is a work breakdown structure (WBS), which is a graphic breakdown
of project work.

Validate scope during the project, which means making sure that the
deliverables are being approved regularly by the sponsor or stakeholder.
This occurs during the monitoring and controlling process groups and is
about accepting the deliverables, not the specs laid out during planning.

The scope statement is likely going to change over the course of the
project to control the scope, such as if a project falls behind schedule.

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3. Project Time Management

Project time management involves estimating your project duration,

creating a project schedule and tracking the project team’s progress to
ensure the project is completed on time. To do so, the first thing to do is to
define your project scope to identify the tasks that should go into your
project schedule.

Those project tasks are then put in an order that makes sense, and
any dependencies between them are noted. These dependencies are then
determined to be either finish-to-start (FS), finish-to-finish (FF), start-to-start
(SS) or start-to-finish (SF). This is mostly for larger projects.

With the tasks now sequenced, the project resources required for each
must be estimated and assigned. The duration of each task is also
determined at this point. All of this leads to a schedule by first determining
the critical path and float for each task. You should use project
management tools like Gantt charts, kanban boards or project calendars to
place the tasks on a timeline, and then work on resource leveling to
balance resource usage. Once the project schedule is made, plans to
control the schedule are necessary. Earned value management is
performed regularly to make sure that the actual plan is proceeding as
planned.

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4. Project Cost Management

This project management knowledge area involves estimating project costs

to create a project budget. To do so, you’ll need to use cost-estimating
tools and techniques to make sure that the funds cover the project
expenses and are being monitored regularly to keep stakeholders or
sponsors informed.

As with other project management knowledge areas, the cost management

plan is the document where you’ll explain the method to establish the
budget, which includes how and if it will change and what procedures will
be used to control it. Each project task will have to be estimated for cost,
which means including all resources such as labour, materials, equipment
and anything else needed to complete the task.

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5. Project Quality Management

A project can come in on time and within budget, but if the quality isn’t up to
standard, then the project is a failure. This means that quality management
is one of the most critical project management knowledge areas.
Your project management plan should include a quality management plan
section that specifies the quality control and quality assurance guidelines
for your project.

Therefore, to control quality, the deliverables must be inspected to ensure

that the standards outlined in the quality management plan are being met.
 Download now
6. Project Human Resource Management

The project team is your most important resource, so it’s crucial to

assemble the best team and make sure they’re happy. But also you need
to track their performance to ensure that the project is progressing as
planned. A human resource management plan identifies the roles and
requirements for those positions, as well as how they fit into the overall
project structure.

After you’ve determined the project roles, it’s time to fill those positions and
acquire a project team. This can be done in-house by drawing from other
departments in the organization, getting new hires or a combination of both.
The team needs development, possibly training and other things that’ll
make them viable for the project.

Managing the project team is an ongoing responsibility of the project

manager. The team is monitored to make sure they’re working productively
and that there are no internal conflicts, so everyone is satisfied.

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7. Project Communications Management

All knowledge areas of project management are important,

but communication management might be paramount as it informs every
aspect of the project. Communications inform the team and stakeholders,
therefore the need to plan communications management is a critical step in
any project.

It’s at this point that the dissemination of communications is determined,

including how it’s done and with what frequency. Target who needs what
and when. Also, note how communications will occur when issues such as
changes arise in the project.

Manage the communications when the project is executed to make sure it

runs as planned. This also involves controlling communications by
reviewing their effectiveness regularly and adjusting as needed.

Communication planning plays an even more critical role when managing

multiple projects in a program simultaneously, which is why it’s one of the
main priorities of any project management office (PMO).
 Download now
8. Project Risk Management

Risk management plans identify how the risks will be itemized, categorized
and prioritized. This involves identifying risks that might occur during the
execution of the project by making a risk register.

Perform qualitative risk analysis after the biggest risks have been identified
and classified by likelihood and impact. Then prioritize them. Then perform
quantitative analysis according to their impact on the project, such as its
budget, schedule, etc.

Now you’ll need to plan risk responses. If those risks in fact become issues,
then a response needs to have been written in advance, with an owner who
can make sure the risk is properly identified and handled. Controlling risk
involves regularly reviewing the risk register and crossing off those risks
that are no longer going to impact the project.

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9. Project Procurement Management

This project management knowledge area deals with outside procurement,

which is part of most projects, such as hiring subcontractors. This will
impact on the budget and schedule. Procurement management planning
starts by identifying the outside needs of the project and how those
contractors will be involved.

Now conduct those procurements by hiring the contractors, which includes

a statement of work, terms of reference, request for proposals and
choosing a vendor. You’ll want to control the procurement process by
managing and monitoring, and then closing the contracts once the work
has been done to everyone’s satisfaction.

10. Project Stakeholder Management

The stakeholders must be happy, as the project has been created for their
needs. Therefore, they must be actively managed like any other part of the
project. To start, identify the stakeholders through stakeholder analysis and
find out what concerns they have. It’s not always easy, but it’s a crucial part
of starting any project.
Now plan stakeholder management, which means listing each stakeholder
and prioritizing their concerns and how they might impact the project. This
will lead to managing stakeholders’ expectations to make sure their needs
are met and that you’re in communication with them.

Throughout the project, you’ll want to control stakeholder engagement by

determining if the stakeholders’ needs are being addressed. If not, figure
out what changes need to be made to either satisfy those needs or adjust
the expectations.

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Project Management Knowledge Areas vs.
Project Management Process Groups

Now that we have a better understanding of what the project management

knowledge areas are, let’s explore the differences between them and other
similar project management concepts.

We’ve discussed the project management knowledge areas and they’re

related to the project management process groups, but they’re not the
same thing. The project management knowledge areas are guidelines for
the technical side of running a project.

The project management process groups, on the other hand, work with the
project management knowledge areas to run the project. The project
management process groups are the five main phases of a project:
initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling and closing.

Project Management Knowledge Areas vs.

Project Management Skills

Again, the project management knowledge areas are how the project is
managed. They offer various methods to get work planned, managed,
tracked, etc. Project management skills, like process groups, work together
with the knowledge area. For example, many of the project management
skills are technical, or hard, skills. These include those key knowledge area
disciplines from planning to risk and everything in between.

But project management skills go beyond technical skills. These are called
soft skills and include things such as being a good leader, having strong
communication skills and facilitating collaboration. While these skills are
often harder to teach, they’re no less important to the success of the
project. Project managers need to be problem-solvers, manage their time
wisely, be organized and have critical thinking skills or all the hard skills in
the world won’t deliver a successful project.

Project Manager Helps You Apply the Project

Management Knowledge Areas

Project management knowledge areas need powerful tools to be

implemented throughout the project’s life cycle. Project Manager is award-
winning project management software that has the features you need to
plan, manage and track your project in real time. Our task management,
risk management and resource management features give project
managers and their teams the tools they need to deliver their projects on
time and within budget.

Use Multiple Project Management Views

Every project has a diverse team working together for the same goals, but
not necessarily using the same tools. When you’re applying all the project
management knowledge areas, you need diversity. That’s why our software
gives project managers robust online Gantt charts to plan and schedule
their projects while teams can choose between task lists and kanban
boards. Stakeholders, who don’t need to get into the weeds of the project,
can view progress on calendars. All project views update simultaneously in
real time so everyone is on the same page.

Monitor With Real-Time Project Tracking

The project management knowledge areas require monitoring and control

to work. You can’t expect the executed project to align with the project plan;
you need to review and revise as needed. That is why our software has a
variety of tracking tools. You can get a high-level overview of the project
with our real-time dashboard, which automatically tracks time, cost and
more with easy-to-read graphs and charts. Also, there’s no time-consuming
setup required as with other software. We also have secure timesheets to
monitor your team’s progress on their tasks and a color-coded workload
chart that makes it easy to balance workload and keep teams productive
and working at capacity.

Create Project Reports in Minutes

Another tool to track progress and performance is our customizable

reports. You can get more data than from the dashboard by generating a
report in only a couple of keystrokes. Get reports on project or portfolio
status, workload, timesheets, variance and much more. All reports can be
filtered to focus on only what you want to see. Then they can be shared in
a variety of formats to keep stakeholders informed.

Project management knowledge areas bring a project to life, but life can be
chaotic and complex, which is why project managers need a tool to help
manage all these moving parts of a project. Project Manager is online
project management software with real-time dashboards and Gantt charts
to monitor the project accurately throughout its many phases. See how it
can help you manage your projects by taking this free 30-day trial.
 Deliver your project
PMP ITTO Complete Guide (Inputs,
Tools, Techniques & Outputs)
Whether you're just beginning your studies, or are well in to your journey to
earning a Project Management Professional (PMP)® Certification, it's natural
to feel a little insecure or intimidated by the seemingly endless PMP® ITTO
that are diagrammed and discussed for each Project Management process.
This one topic is probably responsible for more questions and anxiety for
PMP® candidates than any other exam-related topic.

I have good news for you: understanding PMP ITTO and their relationships
are logical, easily done, and this complete guide will show you how to
understand and make ITTO your ally when taking the Exam.
I promise you that by the end of this article you will have learned everything
there is to know about the various aspects, facets and features of Inputs,
Tools, Techniques and Outputs you need for your exam success.

We'll start this by putting ITTO into context, then move into the "What's" and
"Why's" behind ITTO, and finish with "How's" of studying and using ITTO.

In This Article...
 CHAPTER 1Putting ITTO in context
 CHAPTER 2What does ITTO stand for?
 CHAPTER 3Why do I need to learn ITTO, it looks like a lot of work?
 CHAPTER 4Why is the ITTO classification used?
 CHAPTER 5Why are there so many ITTO?
 CHAPTER 6Are each Project Management process's ITTO unique?
 CHAPTER 7Many ITTO look familiar, where have I seen them before?
 CHAPTER 8What are PMP ITTO?
 CHAPTER 9Can ITTO Outputs also be Inputs?
 CHAPTER 10How can I use the PMBOK® Guide to study ITTO?
 CHAPTER 11Should I Create My Own ITTO Chart?
 CHAPTER 12What is the best way to learn ITTO for the PMP Exam?
 CHAPTER 13Summary

Putting ITTO in context

Student Success Story
The Prep Cast talks about this, but after taking a few practice exams I
found that studying the flow of ITTOs between processes was one
thing that I needed to focus on my own using the PMBOK® Guide,
and this definitely paid off on the real exam. Focus on the
relationships, not the lists.
Jonathan Emmons, PMP
Inputs, Tools, Techniques, and Outputs are the foundation and infrastructure
of the Project Management processes discussed in the PMBOK® Guide. Also
read PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition Knowledge Areas for Project Management -
Process Groups and Processes - The Complete Guide for more on the
relationships between Knowledge Areas and Process Groups.

I find putting things context helps me to understand them better; in this

case, using an analogy of building a house works well. We all recognize there
is a world of difference between a pile of building materials on plot of land
and a finished house. The same location and materials are included in both;
yet one is a pile of "things," the other can be a home that nurtures a family.
This is where ITTO come in, they allow you to build the house (or, processes
and projects in our case).

To build a house you need Inputs (plans, specifications, permits, financing,

building materials, etc.), then you proceed to construction by using Tools and
Techniques (skilled labour and trades, concrete, framing, electrical,
plumbing, finish work, etc.); when done, you have a house as your Output.

To take the house building example even further, there is an order to

constructing a house and relationships between construction actions and
activities. For example, you can't frame the house until the foundation is
constructed and you can't wire or plumb the house until it is framed. ITTO,
and the Project Management Processes they support, have similar logical
sequencing constraints and relationships.

Finally, to understand how a house is built, it is more important to know and

understand the interrelationships and sequencing of construction activities
than it is fixating on variable details, such as out how many nails may be
needed – the same is true for processes and this Complete Guide will show
you why.
What does ITTO stand for?
Let's start with the basics and then work through the "why's" and "how's."
I've already stated in this Guide that ITTO stands for Inputs, Tools,
Techniques, and Outputs. But, how are these terms defined? The following
definitions and examples are taken directly from the Glossary and/or text,
respectively, of the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition:

Inputs
Any item, whether internal or external to the project which is required
by a process before that process proceeds. May be an output from a
predecessor process . Examples include:

 Project charter
 Project schedule
 Resource calendars
 Approved change requests
 Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF), such as government or
industry standards, project management information system,
organizational structure, culture, practices, and infrastructure,
etc.
 Organizational Process Assets (OPA), such as standardized
guidelines, work instructions, project management templates,
project files from previous projects, and other historical
information, etc.

Tools
Something tangible, such as a template or software program, used in
performing an activity to produce a product or result. Examples
include:

 Analytical techniques
 Project management information system(s)
 Benchmarking
 Product analysis

Techniques
 A defined systematic procedure employed by a human resource to
perform an activity to produce a product or result or deliver a service,
and that may employ one or more tools. Examples include:

 Meetings
 Expert judgment
 Inspection
 Interviews
 Decomposition

Output
s
A product, result, or service generated by a process. May be an input
to a successor process . Examples include:

 Work performance information

 Change requests
 Project management plan updates
 Organizational process assets updates
 Project documents updates

You probably noticed that I placed emphasis on two statement above. Both
say that Outputs from one process may be Inputs to another – this important
fact will show up repeatedly in this complete guide.

Why do I need to learn ITTO, it looks like a lot of

work?
I get asked this question all the time. You're quite right to question the
"why;" understanding why ITTO are used and are important will greatly aid in
your studying for the exam. Let's decompose these questions into smaller,
more manageable pieces to look at the "why" behind ITTO (similar to what
you'd do for a project's scope and/or deliverables).
Why is the ITTO classification used?
Tip
The Project Management Plan is an Input for almost half of the
Project Management processes.

ITTO are the logical extension of the classification/standardization system

used in the PMBOK® Guide. The PMBOK® Guide is divided into 10 Project
Management Knowledge Areas, each of which is developed and supported
by the 5 Project Management Process Groups, where applicable – this results
in a total of around 50 processes.

ITTO are a standardized means of systematically using the same method of

developing and executing processes and projects. When you think about it,
decomposing processes into ITTO reduces each to its most fundamental and
basic components, and does so in a standardized manner that is equally
applicable for all processes and projects. Understanding this allows you to
build your project on a solid foundation from the ground up – like
constructing a house.

Why are there so many ITTO?

There are many Project Management processes, and each of them have
ITTO. The number of ITTOs associated with each process is proportional to
the prerequisites (Inputs) necessary to start the process, the type(s) and level
of effort necessary to do the process (Tools and Techniques), and the one or
more things you produce from the process (Outputs).
Are each Project Management process's ITTO
unique?
Some are; but, most aren't. By this I mean that there are some ITTO that
show up only once (or even a handful of times). However, the majority of
ITTO show up over and over – this is discussed in more detail below.
Therefore, the number of ITTO you need to learn is actually far fewer than it
first appears.

Many ITTO look familiar, where have I seen

them before?
You're not imagining things, the majority of ITTO also show up as part of the
vocabulary you need to be fluent in to pass the PMP exam. This allows you to
double down on your studying by reinforcing vocabulary and ITTO at the
same time. For more tips on studying for the PMP exam please
review Creating Your PMP Study Plan - The Complete Guide.

What are PMP ITTO?

When project management practitioners refer to "PMP ITTO" they mean the
global set of ITTO associated with all the Project Management processes
detailed in the PMBOK® Guide, not ITTO related to one specific process. To
understand how the ITTO are used, the PMBOK® Guide provides useful
figures and tables that illustrate the interrelationships between Project
Management processes that will greatly help your understanding of ITTO; the
two most important are:

Figure 3-3. Project Management Process Interactions (p. 53 - FIFTH EDITION),

which provides a diagram with an overview, or "big picture" summary of
project management process. This particular figure is taken from the FIFTH
EDITION, because the Sixth Edition no longer includes it. And even though
the details of the drawing are no longer accurate because many of the ITTOs
have changed, the 'big idea' is still correct: ITTOs flow between processes
and process groups in many ways.

PMBOK® Guide - FIFTH EDITION Process Interactions

Again, the figure above is from the PMBOK® Guide - FIFTH EDITION. Do not
look at the details of the data flow. Instead look at the overall concept this
figure is trying to get across: ITTOs and data flows between processes and
process groups in many, many ways.

Table 1-4. Project Management Process Group and Knowledge Area Mapping
(p. 25), which is arguably the single most important summary of information
in the PMBOK® Guide and something you should intimately know forwards
and backwards.
 Process Group / Knowledge Area Mapping

Studying and understanding the relationships of Knowledge Areas, Process

Groups and processes, as shown in Table 1-4 are critical to your
understanding of where ITTO are used and your ability to pass the exam.
Can ITTO Outputs also be Inputs?
Yes, they absolutely can (and frequently are). PMP ITTO and Project
Management Processes in general are not "one and done" linear processes.
Rather, like a project, ITTO form a circular system of relationships, feedback,
and continuous improvement.

And just to be absolutely clear, a system can be defined as: "A collection of
parts that interact with each other to function as a whole." (James P. Lewis;
Mastering Project Management, p. 90) or "a set of interacting or
interdependent components forming an integrated whole" (Wikipedia).

An everyday simple example of this type of system with outputs from one
process becoming an input to another is baking a cake, which is made up of
three processes:

1. Making batter

 Inputs: flour, eggs, milk, baking powder, spices, etc.

 Tools and Techniques: mixing and combining wet and dry ingredients
 Output: cake batter

2. Baking

 Inputs: cake batter

 Tools and Techniques: cake pans and cooking process in oven
 Output: baked cake

3. Frosting/Icing

 Inputs: baked cake, ingredients to make frosting/icing

 Tools and Techniques: make frosting/icing, cake stand, spatula, piping
bag, ice the cake
 Outputs: Frosted/iced cake ready for serving

Returning to PMP ITTO, not only can Outputs from one process be Inputs to
one or more other processes, these Inputs/Outputs relationships can and do
 cross Project Management Knowledge Area and Process Group boundaries.
For example, the Output of Develop Project Management Plan (i.e. the
Project Management Plan) is an Input to the following Project Management
Processes:

 4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work

 4.4 Manage Project Knowledge
 4.5 Monitor and Control Project Work
 4.6 Perform Integrated Change Control
 4.7 Close Project or Phase
 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
 6.1 Plan Schedule Management
 6.2 Define Activities
 6.3 Sequence Activities
 6.4 Estimate Activity Duration
 6.5 Develop Schedule
 6.6 Control Schedule
 And every single process hereafter!
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixt Edition, Project
Management Institute Inc., Figures 4-1, 5-1, 6-1, and so on until 13-1.

So almost every single Project Management process has the Project

Management Plan as an Input. It makes sense: all of these Processes are
directly affected by, controlled, informed, or based on the Project
Management Plan.

How can I use the PMBOK® Guide to study ITTO?

Student Success Story
I didn’t try to memorize all the ITTOs at all. What I did was to draw my
own process boxes and connect the outputs and inputs together.
Such graphical presentation was very helpful for me. With such
diagrams I covered like 50-60% of ITTOs plus additional ones that are
obvious I think I covered like 80-90% of all ITTOs and processes.
Anton Petrič, PMP

Now that we've touched on the "What" and "Why" of ITTO, we can move on
to the "How."

ITTO are clearly labeled and presented in multiple ways in the PMBOK®
Guide. Additionally, the authors of the PMBOK® Guide recognize that not
everyone finds reading information as the best way to learn. Therefore, in
addition to text, they have included a series of figures and tables as aids to
clarify processes and illustrate ITTO interrelationships.

The PMBOK® Guide is very well organized and designed to make finding
information as quick and painless as possible. It is presented in chapters
based on Knowledge Areas, which are further separated into chapters for
each process within that Knowledge Area, and for each process inputs, tools,
techniques and outputs are described in detail.

If you're a visual learner, the Table of Contents will simplify your study
process, as it includes 11 pages of "List of Tables and Figures" that identifies
each and every table and figure and on what page it is found.

There are three types of figures that are presented for each of the Project
Management Knowledge Areas and Process Groups that are particularly
important to you for studying PMP tools and techniques and understanding
ITTO:

Knowledge Area Overview Figure

At the beginning of each Knowledge Area chapter is a figure that illustrates

its processes including a summary of inputs, tools and techniques and
outputs.
 Project Integration Management Overview

ITTO Figure

Each of the processes is introduced with a figure that presents the ITTO for
that process.
 Develop Project Charter ITTO

Data Flow Diagram

Each process is also illustrated as a data flow diagram presenting the

relationships between Inputs needed to execute it as well as how the
Output(s) of the process are used as Inputs for other processes.
 Develop Project Charter Data Flow Diagram

Watch this video quick-tip to learn why it is so important to keep

The PMBOK® Guide in mind during your PMP Exam:

Should I Create My Own ITTO Chart?

Student Success Story
I made an excel sheet with all of the processes by group and the
ITTOs in order to identify patterns in the ITTOs. I did not memorize
ITTOs, rather looked for patterns, especially with the PM Plan, OPAs,
etc.
Frances Carley, PMP

Yes. In addition to using the PMBOK® Guide to study ITTO, I highly

recommend creating your own PMP ITTO chart (aka PMP ITTO spreadsheet)
as a study exercise and tool. Many of the PMP® students I've coached have
found the exercise of charting ITTO to be a good way to better understand
ITTO, as well as a means to better understand the interrelationships of the
processes. But, don't just take my word for it. William Zinsser, in his excellent
1993 book Writing to Learn, discusses how writing about a field of knowledge
is the best way to immerse oneself it a subject, identify and understand not
just the key points but the supporting details, and is a path to "owning" the
subject.

How you choose to create your own ITTO chart will be based on how you
learn and what works best for you. However, most students tend to take the
information that they find in the PMBOK® Guide and then organize it into a
format that works for them.

Click here for ITTO Spreadsheet Samples on Google...

As you will see, the information needed to prepare these kind of charts is
included in the PMBOK® Guide text, as well as in overview diagrams and the
ITTO figure. The best approach is usually to take a very direct, simple format
– use the name of the process and corresponding chapter/section number
from the PMBOK® Guide as the title and ITTO are broken into Inputs, Tools
and Techniques, and Outputs.

Creating an this type of chart is more than a learning exercise, you will be
creating a concise reference document to supplement your other study aids,
as well as developing a quick reference guide that you'll find yourself using as
your project management career progresses.
What is the best way to learn ITTO for the PMP
Exam?
Student Success Story
My approach was to understand the logical flow of inputs and outputs,
linking them accordingly, and absolutely NO memorizing required.
Prakash Rashinkar, PMP

I'm often asked two similar but distinctly different questions:

1. How to learn ITTO for the PMP exam?

2. How to memorize ITTO for the PMP exam?

One short answer will address both these questions: Study and learn what
each ITTO is and learn why you need them in each process. Don't attempt to
memorize them!

While we all know people that are capable of memorizing all the ITTO, most
of us can't. This is not a bad thing! It is more important to understand the
how's, why's, and relationships between ITTO than it is to attempt to
memorize all of them. Passing your PMP certification exam is best done by
understanding and applying concepts, not memorizing facts.

There are two great tools for learning and understanding ITTO that many of
my successful PMP candidates have used in preparing for the exam.

 The first we have already discussed, preparing a PMP input/output

chart to reinforce ITTO relationships.
 The second tool is just as simple and is very effective, buying or
creating your own PMP ITTO flashcards to reinforce the details of
Project Management Process Group-specific ITTO details.

Both tools have repeatedly proven effective as study tools and both are great
way to exercise "writing to learn."
Studying ITTO presented in the PMBOK® Guide, creating your own ITTO
chart, using flashcards, and understanding the system of relationships and
interrelationships between ITTO will provide you with information,
knowledge, and expertise that will sustain your project management career.
Memorizing ITTO for the PMP exam will be a function of your short-term
memory, which will soon be forgotten or "lost" when not used.

Summary
Student Success Story
Please do NOT memorize ITTO. Period.
Mukesh Kumar Singh, PMP

After reading this Complete Guide to PMP ITTO you should be more
comfortable and knowledgeable about the basic "What's," "Why's," and
"How's" of studying and using ITTO. To recap what we've covered in this
Guide:

 ITTO form the foundation and framework for the nearly fifty Project
Management processes.
 Outputs from one process can be Inputs for another.
 For the most part, ITTO are not unique to a specific process and the
number of ITTO you have to learn is much shorter than it first appears.
 It is better and more productive to understand ITTO and their
interrelationships than it is to attempt to memorize all of them.
 There are excellent figures and tables in the PMBOK® Guide that will
help you understand and study ITTO for the exam.
 Preparing a PMP ITTO chart (summary spreadsheet) and flashcards are
two excellent ways to use "writing to learn" to bolster your preparation
for the exam.

Learning the PMP ITTO is a significant undertaking, but with a solid

commitment to studying and learning, a study plan developed by you for
your personal circumstances, and diligent effort, you will learn and
understand ITTO. Additionally, your return on this investment of effort
compounds with time – the same way that a house appreciates in value –
being well prepared and passing the PMP exam increase your market value.