Process Groups: Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. These are the three final buckets of work in a project, and they are the stages where the plan actually becomes a reality and then ends properly. For CAPM, you need to know not just what each group means, but how they overlap and why skipping the closing phase causes chaos in real companies.
Jump to a section
A simple way to picture Process Groups: Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing
240 hours. That is the time your friend Sofia has allocated for a complete kitchen renovation. She is not a builder, but she is the project manager for her own home. The renovation has three clear parts: the doing, the checking, and the finishing. The first part, the Executing process group, is what happens when the builders arrive. They rip out the old cabinets, install new plumbing, and lay the tiles. This is the 'do the work' phase. The project manager (Sofia) is not doing the tiling herself, but she is authorising the work, managing the team of plumbers and electricians, and ensuring they have the right materials.
Then comes the second part: Monitoring and Controlling. While the builders are working, Sofia walks through every evening with a checklist. She measures the new countertop against the plan. She notices the tiles are the wrong shade of grey and immediately asks for them to be replaced. She watches the budget: the plumbing cost more than expected, so she decides to use cheaper handles on the cabinets. This phase runs at the same time as the executing phase. She is constantly checking progress, managing changes, and making corrections to keep the project on track.
The third part is Closing. After all the tiles are grouted and the appliances are installed, Sofia does a final walkthrough. She checks everything works, gets the final invoice from the builders, and signs off on the work. She collects the warranty documents, thanks the team, and holds a small 'new kitchen' dinner. The project is officially finished. No more work will happen on it. Just like in IT projects, closing is a formal step, not just a handshake.
A process group is a logical grouping of related project management processes. Think of it as a phase in the project's lifecycle. The PMBOK Guide, the book that the CAPM exam is based on, defines five process groups total: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. This chapter focuses on the last three.
Executing is the process group where the work defined in the project management plan is performed. This is the 'doing' phase. During planning, you created a schedule and a budget. Now, you execute. This includes coordinating people and resources, managing stakeholder expectations, and performing the activities to create the project's deliverables. A deliverable is any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability that must be produced to complete a project. For example, if the project is to build a website, the deliverables include the homepage, the checkout page, and the admin panel. Key processes in executing include: Direct and Manage Project Work, Manage Quality, Acquire Resources, Develop Team, Manage Team, Manage Communications, Conduct Procurements, and Manage Stakeholder Engagement.
Monitoring and Controlling is the process group that tracks, reviews, and regulates the progress and performance of the project. It identifies any areas where changes to the plan are required and initiates those changes. Crucially, this process group occurs throughout the entire project, overlapping with every other process group, especially Executing. You do not wait until the end to check your work. The key processes are: Monitor and Control Project Work, Perform Integrated Change Control, Validate Scope, Control Scope, Control Schedule, Control Costs, Control Quality, Monitor Communications, Monitor Risks, Control Procurements, and Monitor Stakeholder Engagement. The Perform Integrated Change Control process is especially important. It means that every proposed change (a request to add a feature, delay a deadline, or increase the budget) goes through a formal review. A Change Control Board (CCB) — a group of authorised stakeholders — decides whether to approve or reject the change. This prevents 'scope creep', which is the uncontrolled expansion of project scope without adjustments to time, cost, or resources.
Closing is the process group that formally completes or closes a project, phase, or contract. It ensures all work is done, all deliverables are accepted, and all contracts are settled. The key processes are: Close Project or Phase and Close Procurements. During Close Project or Phase, you finalise all activities, collect lessons learned, archive project documents, and release resources. Lessons learned are the knowledge gained during the project that can be applied to future projects. Closing is often rushed in real life, but the exam treats it as a critical step. Without it, a project never really ends — it just drifts, leaving unfinished documentation and unresolved contracts.
These three process groups interact closely. While you are executing (building the website), you are also monitoring and controlling (checking the code quality, tracking the budget, managing change requests). Once the final deliverable is accepted, you move to closing (archiving the code, signing off with the client). The outputs of one process group become the inputs of another. For example, a change request approved during Monitoring and Controlling (output) becomes an input to Executing, where it is implemented.
Why does this matter for the CAPM exam? The exam will test your ability to distinguish which activities belong to which process group. It will also test that you know Monitoring and Controlling runs parallel to Executing, not after it. A common trick question is to suggest that controlling happens after executing. It does not. They overlap.
1. Authorise the work to begin (Executing)
After planning is complete, the project manager gives the go-ahead for the team to start working. This involves a kickoff meeting, assigning tasks, and releasing resources. Without this step, the project remains a plan on paper.
2. Direct and manage the work (Executing)
The project manager oversees the team as they perform the activities listed in the project management plan. This includes managing communication, resolving conflicts, and ensuring the deliverables are being created as intended.
3. Monitor progress and performance (Monitoring and Controlling)
The project manager compares the actual schedule and cost against the baselines. If there is a delay or overspend, variance analysis is used to determine the cause. This step runs continuously, not just once.
4. Manage changes through integrated change control (Monitoring and Controlling)
Any change request (to scope, schedule, cost, or quality) is submitted to the change control board. The board evaluates the impact and approves or rejects the change. Approved changes are then implemented during Executing.
5. Formalise project closure (Closing)
Once all deliverables are accepted, the project manager obtains formal signoff from the customer or sponsor, closes all contracts, archives project documents, holds a lessons learned session, and releases team members. This ensures the project is officially finished.
Let us walk through a realistic scenario: An IT project manager working for a mid-sized retail company is tasked with deploying a new customer loyalty programme on the company's e-commerce website. The project plan has been approved during the planning phase. The budget is £50,000. The deadline is three months. Now, the real work begins.
Step one: Executing begins. The project manager authorises the development team to start building the loyalty programme feature. She holds a kickoff meeting with the developers, the database administrator, and the marketing team. She acquires the necessary software licences and a cloud server. The developers write code, test it in a development environment, and create a prototype of the loyalty points system. The project manager manages the team, resolves a conflict when two developers disagree on which programming language to use, and communicates progress to the marketing director (a key stakeholder). She also manages quality by running a code review session to catch bugs early.
Step two: Monitoring and Controlling runs simultaneously. Every week, the project manager checks the actual progress against the schedule. She sees that the database integration is two days behind. She uses a technique called 'variance analysis' to figure out why — the data from the old system is not as clean as expected. She then creates a change request to allocate an additional developer for two days to clean the data. She submits this change request to the Change Control Board (the IT director and the marketing director). They approve it, increasing the budget by £1,500. She also monitors risks: one identified risk was that the new loyalty system might not integrate with the legacy billing system. She has a contingency plan ready (a custom API), but she monitors this weekly until the integration is tested and confirmed working.
Step three: Closing. After three months, the loyalty programme is built, tested in a staging environment, and deployed to production. The marketing team confirms the points are calculating correctly. The project manager then performs Close Project or Phase. She collects a formal signoff document signed by the marketing director, confirming acceptance of all deliverables. She archives the project plan, the code repository link, and the lessons learned document. She holds a retrospective meeting where the team discusses what went well (good communication) and what could improve (better data cleaning earlier). She then releases the development team members back to their functional managers and closes the cloud server contract to stop incurring costs. Finally, she files the final project report showing the total cost was £51,500, within the approved tolerance.
In a real IT environment, an IT professional uses tools like Jira or Trello to track progress, runs regular stand-up meetings, and always has a formal change control process to avoid unauthorised changes. The key takeaway is that project management is not just about doing the work — it is about watching the work carefully and closing it properly so the company can learn from its successes and mistakes.
The CAPM exam will test your knowledge of these three process groups in three main ways: definition questions, sequencing questions, and scenario-based questions. You need to memorise the official names of the processes and know which inputs, tools, techniques, and outputs (ITTOs) belong to each. But do not panic — you do not need to memorise every single ITTO. The exam focuses on the most distinctive ones.
Definition questions: The exam will ask, 'Which process group involves performing the work defined in the project management plan?' The answer is Executing. Or, 'In which process group are change requests formally reviewed and approved?' The answer is Monitoring and Controlling (specifically, Perform Integrated Change Control).
Scenario questions: The exam will present a brief scenario and ask which process group the project manager is in. For example: 'A project manager is reviewing work performance data and comparing it to the cost baseline. Which process group is she in?' Answer: Monitoring and Controlling. A trap here is that novices might think she is in Executing because she is looking at data, but reviewing data to see if you are on track is controlling, not executing.
Concepts they love to test:
The overlap between Executing and Monitoring and Controlling. The exam wants you to know they happen concurrently, not sequentially.
Perform Integrated Change Control: the exam loves testing that this is the only place where change requests are approved or rejected. A common trap is that a question implies a change can be approved by the project manager alone if it is 'small'. The correct answer is that all change requests go through Integrated Change Control unless the project management plan specifies otherwise (e.g., a fast-track process for minor changes).
Validate Scope vs. Control Quality: Validate Scope is about getting formal acceptance of deliverables from the customer. Control Quality is about checking that the deliverables meet the quality standards. The exam will try to confuse these two. Remember: Control Quality is internal checking; Validate Scope is external acceptance.
Close Project or Phase vs. Close Procurements: Close Project or Phase ends the entire project. Close Procurements ends contracts with vendors. The exam may ask which activity belongs to which.
Lessons Learned: This is collected throughout the project, not just at the end. The exam tests that lessons learned are an output of the closing process group, but they are also documented during the project.
Traps to watch for:
A question describes a project that is 'complete' but the project manager just stops working. The exam wants you to know this is wrong — closing must be formal.
A question suggests that monitoring and controlling happens only once per phase. The correct answer is that it happens continuously.
A question asks for the process group that 'manages the team'. The answer is Executing (Develop Team and Manage Team), not Monitoring and Controlling.
Memorise these key concepts:
The order is: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling (overlapping with Executing), Closing.
The primary output of Executing is deliverables.
The primary output of Monitoring and Controlling is change requests.
The primary output of Closing is final product, service, or result transition and final report.
The change control board (CCB) is part of Perform Integrated Change Control, which lives in Monitoring and Controlling.
Executing is the process group where you do the work of the project to create the deliverables.
Monitoring and Controlling runs at the same time as Executing and involves tracking, reviewing, and regulating progress.
Perform Integrated Change Control is the only place where change requests are formally approved or rejected.
Closing is a formal process that includes getting final acceptance, closing contracts, and archiving project documents.
There are 49 processes in total across all five process groups, and many of them belong to Executing and Monitoring and Controlling.
Lessons learned are documented throughout the project, not just at the end.
The change control board (CCB) is a group of authorised stakeholders who review change requests.
Do not confuse Validate Scope (customer acceptance) with Control Quality (internal quality checks).
These come up on the exam all the time. Here's how to tell them apart.
Executing Process Group
Focuses on doing the work to create deliverables
Primary output is deliverables and work performance data
Processes include Direct and Manage Project Work and Manage Team
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
Focuses on tracking, reviewing, and regulating progress
Primary output is change requests and work performance reports
Processes include Perform Integrated Change Control and Control Schedule
Validate Scope
Gets formal acceptance of deliverables from the customer or sponsor
Happens after a deliverable is completed and reviewed
Part of Monitoring and Controlling
Control Quality
Checks if deliverables meet specifications and quality standards
Happens during creation of the deliverable
Part of Monitoring and Controlling (distinct process)
Close Project or Phase
Ends the entire project or a phase of the project
Archives project documents and releases resources
Conducted by project manager
Close Procurements
Ends contracts with vendors and suppliers
Ensures all contractual obligations are met
Conducted by project manager with procurement team
Change Request
A formal proposal to modify any project document, deliverable, or baseline
Can be for scope, schedule, cost, or quality
Processed through Integrated Change Control
Corrective Action
An action taken to bring future project performance back in line with the plan
A specific type of change request
Approved through the same change control process
Mistake
Monitoring and Controlling happens after Executing is finished.
Correct
Monitoring and Controlling runs concurrently with Executing. You check and correct the work while the work is being done, not after it is finished.
This mistake is common because in everyday life, we often check something after it is done (e.g., checking a test after finishing it). Project management checks continuously.
Mistake
Closing just means the project is finished; no formal paperwork is needed.
Correct
Closing is a formal process group with specific activities: obtaining formal acceptance, finalising contracts, archiving documents, and recording lessons learned. Skipping this can cause legal and operational problems.
Many people equate 'project end' with 'last task done', forgetting that project closure in organisations involves signoffs and documentation to protect the company.
Mistake
Change requests can be approved by the project manager without any formal process if the change is small.
Correct
All change requests, regardless of size, must go through the Perform Integrated Change Control process unless the project management plan explicitly states otherwise (e.g., a delegated approval limit).
This misconception arises from people trying to 'be efficient', but in a project, even small changes can accumulate into scope creep.
Mistake
The deliverables are the only thing that matters in the Executing process group.
Correct
Executing also includes managing the team, communicating with stakeholders, conducting procurements, and ensuring quality. Deliverables are one output, but team management and communication are equally important.
Beginners focus only on the product because it is tangible, but project management is about people and processes, not just the final output.
Mistake
Validate Scope and Control Quality are the same thing.
Correct
Control Quality checks if the deliverables meet quality standards (internal). Validate Scope checks if the customer formally accepts the deliverables (external). They are different processes.
Both processes involve checking deliverables, so beginners confuse the 'checking' part with the 'who does the checking' part.
Mistake
Lessons learned are only documented at the end of the project during Closing.
Correct
Lessons learned should be documented throughout the project life cycle, though they are formally finalised and archived during the Closing process group.
People think 'lessons' are only useful after the project is over, but documenting them as they happen preserves more accurate detail.
Reveal each answer, then mark whether you got it right. Score 60%+ to unlock the next chapter.
Executing is about doing the work (building the product). Monitoring and Controlling is about checking the work and making adjustments (tracking progress, managing changes). They happen at the same time.
No. Formally, the Closing process group is required to complete the project. Skipping it leaves contracts open, deliverables unaccepted, and lessons undocumented, which can cause legal and operational issues.
It is the process that reviews all change requests, evaluates their impact on project constraints (scope, time, cost, quality), and then approves or rejects them. It ensures changes are managed in a controlled way.
Validate Scope is part of Monitoring and Controlling. It involves getting formal acceptance of deliverables from the customer during the project, not just at the very end.
The main outputs are deliverables (the products or services), work performance data, and change requests. The team's work is also a key output, though less tangible.
You need to know the key processes and their most important inputs, tools, and outputs. Focus on the processes mentioned in this chapter, like Direct and Manage Project Work and Perform Integrated Change Control, as they are heavily tested.
You've finished Process Groups: Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing. Continue through the CAPM study guide to build a complete picture of the exam.
Done with this chapter?