Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Plan Purchases and Acquisitions, Plan Contracting, Request Seller Responses, Select Sellers, Contract Administration, Contract Closure
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Project Procurement Management deals with acquiring products, services, or results from outside the performing organization. PMI defines a structured set of processes that cover planning, conducting, administering, and closing procurements. This question asks you to select the process group that belongs to this knowledge area.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Traditional PMI based references describe procurement management processes such as Plan Purchases and Acquisitions, Plan Contracting, Request Seller Responses, Select Sellers, Contract Administration, and Contract Closure. These processes cover the full life cycle of working with external sellers, from deciding what to procure to managing contracts and closing them. Other knowledge areas like scope, communications, human resource, and risk have their own unique process sets, which should not be confused with procurement processes.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that procurement processes revolve around buying or acquiring from outside organizations.
Step 2: Identify the typical procurement process names, including planning purchases, planning contracts, requesting responses, selecting sellers, administering contracts, and closing contracts.
Step 3: Review the answer options and find the one that lists exactly these procurement oriented processes.
Step 4: Option a includes Plan Purchases and Acquisitions, Plan Contracting, Request Seller Responses, Select Sellers, Contract Administration, and Contract Closure, which matches the procurement life cycle.
Step 5: Confirm that the other options clearly belong to scope, human resource, risk, or communications management rather than procurement.
Verification / Alternative check:
Think through a typical procurement sequence. First you plan what to purchase and how. Then you prepare contract documents and request proposals from sellers. Next you evaluate responses and select sellers. During execution you administer contracts, handle changes, and manage performance. Finally you close contracts formally. This sequence aligns directly with the six processes listed in option a, which confirms that it is the correct procurement process set.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option b lists scope management processes such as Create WBS and Verify Scope. Option c lists human resource management processes. Option d is the risk management process group. Option e is the communications management process group. Although all of these are important for the project, they do not describe procurement activities.
Common Pitfalls:
Because contracts involve communication and risk, learners sometimes confuse procurement processes with communications or risk processes. A simple memory aid is to associate procurement processes with seller selection, contracts, and contract closure. Whenever process names mention purchases, contracts, or sellers explicitly, they almost certainly belong to Project Procurement Management.
Final Answer:
The processes included in Project Procurement Management are Plan Purchases and Acquisitions, Plan Contracting, Request Seller Responses, Select Sellers, Contract Administration, and Contract Closure.
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