A User's Manual to the PMBOKGuide

by Cynthia Snyder Stackpole

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Chapter 17: Executing the Project

Direct and Manage Project Execution
Direct and Manage Project Execution Direct and Manage Project Execution is the process of performing the work defined
in the project management plan to achieve the project's objectives. This process is where the bulk of the product work is
focused. This is where all the plans are carried out to produce the project deliverables. As such, it is mostly dependent on
the nature of the product. There is not much you can specifically say about this process since it is so product-oriented. The
project work is mostly a compilation of all the other executing processes, such as managing staff, communicating,
managing issues, and so forth.
INPUTS
The project management plan and any approved change requests to either the project management plan, project
documents, or product information is the foundation for doing the project work. These documents give direction and
provide the roadmap for the work that needs to be done and the way it should be conducted.
It is in this process that enterprise environmental factors will have the greatest influence on the project. For example, the
company culture, the information management systems, HR policies, and the organization's infrastructure all influence and
constrain the way the project work is accomplished.
Many of the organizational process assets are used when performing the project work. Examples include work
authorization guidelines, defect management processes, standards and guidelines, policies and procedures, and
information from previous projects.

Source: PMBOKGuideFourth Edition, page 84.

Figure 17-1: Direct and Manage Project Execution Data Flow Diagram
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
Expert judgment on the product side comes from the people doing the workthe people with the skills and abilities to
produce the deliverables. Expert judgment on the project side comes from the project manager and the project

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management team. Project expert judgment is used to provide guidance and oversight to the product work.
The project management information system is used as a tool here to enter, store, manage, and analyze project
information. An example is the scheduling and budgeting systems. While the systems themselves are enterprise
environmental factors (as an input) the data in them is used as a tool in performing the project.
OUTPUTS
Finally a deliverable! A deliverable is a unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service. In other
words, it is the final result, or a discrete component of the result of the project. Work performance information is generated
as a result of this process. It includes information on the work that has been accomplished thus far, including deliverable
status, schedule status, and costs incurred to date.
Based on how the work is progressing, there may be change requests for either the product or the project. Product
changes will show up in the requirements documents, the WBS, and even the quality metrics. Project changes can include
schedule, budget, resource, and policy changes, just to name a few. The nature of the changes can be a different way to
doing something; or it can include corrective action to stay aligned with the project plan; preventive action to reduce the
likelihood of going off target or incurring a risk, or a defect repair, if there is an error in the product or process.
Change Request Form Contents
Change Category
Detailed Description of the Proposed Change
Justification
Impacts of Change on Scope, Quality, Requirements, Schedule, Cost
Change requests will need to be formally documented and go through the Perform Integrated Change Control process.
Generally, a change request form is used to document the proposed change and the reason for the change. Refer to the
list above for common elements in a change request form.
Many times the change request form also has an area to record the disposition of the change request and the justification.
As the work on the project progresses the project management plan will be updated along with various project documents.
Any of the subsidiary plans in the project management plan may be updated to either indicate progress or to implement
revised approaches to the project. Much of the information in the project documents is expected to be dynamic, such as the
assumption log, decision log, issue log, and the like. This information is updated throughout the project.

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