The 49 PMBOK® 6 Processes, by Process Group and Knowledge Area
The PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition organises project management into 49 processes, each sitting in exactly one of five Process Groups and one of ten Knowledge Areas. The current PMP® exam is not a PMBOK 6 recall test, but predictive questions still assume you know which process owns a decision — and knowing the grid stops you confusing, say, Validate Scope with Control Quality.
Below is the full list, free to read and copy.
Processes per Process Group
Planning carries half the processes, which mirrors the exam: most predictive questions are really asking whether you planned properly before you acted.
Initiating (2 processes)
| Process | Knowledge Area |
|---|---|
| Develop Project Charter | Integration |
| Identify Stakeholders | Stakeholder |
Planning (24 processes)
| Process | Knowledge Area |
|---|---|
| Develop Project Management Plan | Integration |
| Plan Scope Management | Scope |
| Collect Requirements | Scope |
| Define Scope | Scope |
| Create WBS | Scope |
| Plan Schedule Management | Schedule |
| Define Activities | Schedule |
| Sequence Activities | Schedule |
| Estimate Activity Durations | Schedule |
| Develop Schedule | Schedule |
| Plan Cost Management | Cost |
| Estimate Costs | Cost |
| Determine Budget | Cost |
| Plan Quality Management | Quality |
| Plan Resource Management | Resource |
| Estimate Activity Resources | Resource |
| Plan Communications Management | Communications |
| Plan Risk Management | Risk |
| Identify Risks | Risk |
| Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis | Risk |
| Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis | Risk |
| Plan Risk Responses | Risk |
| Plan Procurement Management | Procurement |
| Plan Stakeholder Engagement | Stakeholder |
Executing (10 processes)
| Process | Knowledge Area |
|---|---|
| Direct and Manage Project Work | Integration |
| Manage Project Knowledge | Integration |
| Manage Quality | Quality |
| Acquire Resources | Resource |
| Develop Team | Resource |
| Manage Team | Resource |
| Manage Communications | Communications |
| Implement Risk Responses | Risk |
| Conduct Procurements | Procurement |
| Manage Stakeholder Engagement | Stakeholder |
Monitoring and Controlling (12 processes)
| Process | Knowledge Area |
|---|---|
| Monitor and Control Project Work | Integration |
| Perform Integrated Change Control | Integration |
| Validate Scope | Scope |
| Control Scope | Scope |
| Control Schedule | Schedule |
| Control Costs | Cost |
| Control Quality | Quality |
| Control Resources | Resource |
| Monitor Communications | Communications |
| Monitor Risks | Risk |
| Control Procurements | Procurement |
| Monitor Stakeholder Engagement | Stakeholder |
Closing (1 processes)
| Process | Knowledge Area |
|---|---|
| Close Project or Phase | Integration |
How to memorise the grid
- Learn the anchors first: Initiating has only two processes, Closing has one, and every Knowledge Area except Integration and Stakeholder has a “Plan … Management” process.
- Learn by verb. “Plan” means Planning. “Manage”, “Develop”, “Acquire” and “Conduct” mean Executing. “Control” and “Monitor” mean Monitoring and Controlling. Validate Scope is the one that catches people out.
- Rebuild the grid from a blank sheet, not from reading it. Recall beats recognition by a wide margin.
- Then test the pairs that get confused: Manage Quality vs Control Quality, Validate Scope vs Control Scope, Estimate Activity Resources vs Acquire Resources.
Ready to test it? Try the free practice questions or read the revision plan.
Learn the grid by playing it
The Predictive Process Lab turns this table into a drag-and-drop game: place all 49 processes into the right Process Group and Knowledge Area against the clock, earn XP, and see exactly which ones you keep dropping in the wrong column.