Compare_and_Contrast_Knowledge_Areas_with_Process_Groups._Comment_on_How_They_Are_Related,_and_Why_Both_Are_Needed_in_Project_Management.

The separate phases that define the project’s life cycle sequence are known as the process management process groups. The precise areas of management activities, with linked expertise, needed to guide each and every one of these processes to conclusion are known as the knowledge areas (Tucker, n.d.). Knowledge areas lead to specific project objectives and define what a project manager needs to know about in order to improve his or her chances of success on the project, whereas project management process groups produce specific outcomes as a result of each process that is used and describe what a project manager needs to do successfully in order to complete a project (Schwalbe, 2011). Both knowledge areas and process groups are needed in project management in that the primary activities of each project management process group can be mapped into the nine knowledge areas. When the five process groups and the nine knowledge areas are used in conjunction with one another this provides a big picture of what activities are involved in a project and equals the formula that is needed in order for a project manager to have a successful project. An interesting thing to note, though, is that, although they are both related to one another because they can both be utilized in order to think about all of the processes, they are still essentially independent of each other. One of the reasons is because knowledge areas are about knowledge on project management topics and process groups are about applying that knowledge. Another reason is because process groups separate the processes by function while the knowledge areas split up the same processes by subject matter (Schwalbe, 2011). References: Schwalbe, K. (2011). Information technology project management (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology. Tucker, J. (n.d.). From body of knowledge to embodied knowledge: Leveraging the project management professional (PMP) certification. Retrieved from http://www.tuckertalk.net/Files/OD-PM.pdf