1. Briefly describe what happens in each of the five project management process groups (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing). What types of activities occur before initiating a project?

2. Approximately how much time do good project managers spend on each process group, and why?

3. Why do organizations need to tailor project management concepts, such as those found in the PM BOK Guide, to create their own methodologies?

4. What are some of the key outputs of each process group?

5. What are some of the typical challenges project teams face during each of the five process groups? You can frame your discussion based on a project described in one of the feature boxes in this chapter (for example, the What Went Right? or What Went Wrong? feature).

You can also frame your discussion on one of PMI's Project of the Year Award winners or on a well-known project failure like the Denver International Airport baggage handling system.

6. What are the main differences between the two versions of the JWD Consulting case study? When should you use a more prescriptive or agile approach?

Do you think users of the JWD Consulting Intranet site would prefer one release of the software or several incremental ones? What are some pros and cons of each approach?