The Impact of the Facilitating Processes on the Core Processes

The PMBOK illustrates a two-way feedback loop between the core and facilitating planning processes (refer to Figure 5.1). Although most experienced professionals naturally understand this two-way feedback loop, this "natural" understanding can get lost if you are not accustomed to seeing this activity described this way, if you do not have considerable experience with many of these facilitating processes, and/or if you are trying to understand the individual process-to-process relationships between the two groups. To clarify the relationships between the facilitating and core planning process groups and to improve your context understanding of the facilitating planning processes, review Table 5.1 for common situations in which the results from a facilitating planning activity can impact a core planning activity.

Table 5.1. Facilitating Planning Process Impact on Core Planning Processes

Facilitating Planning Process	Impact Description	Impacted Core Planning Area(s)
8.1: Quality Planning	Cost and schedule adjustments may be needed to meet quality standards. Quality assurance and quality control activities must be staffed and added to the project schedule.	Cost baseline, WBS, resource plan, network diagram, and project schedule
9.2: Staff Acquisition	Not able to get resources that meet all the skill requirements. Must acquire staff externally at rates higher than estimated.	Cost baseline, activity duration estimates, and project schedule
10.1: Communications Planning	Communications management plan details must be added to project schedule.	WBS, activity list, network diagram, and project schedule
11.5: Risk Response Planning	Risk response strategies may entail the allocation of additional resources, tasks, time, and costs.	Resource requirements, budget reserves, cost baseline, schedule contingency, WBS, project schedule, and project plan
12.1: Procurement Planning	If a decision is made to "buy," the remaining procurement management tasks must be added to project schedule.	WBS, activity list, network diagram, and project schedule
12.2: Solicitation Planning	Constraints of scheduling procurement activities with third-party vendors may impact the project schedule.	Project schedule

The risk management process can impact the project plan throughout the project because it is a continuous, proactive project management activity.

Solicitation planning is closely aligned with the project schedule.

Solicitation planning is only performed if a "buy" decision is made during procurement planning.