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PMPCAPM

Plan Procurement Management

Plan Procurement Management is the process of documenting project procurement decisions, specifying the approach, and identifying potential sellers.

Explanation

Plan Procurement Management is performed early in the project to determine whether goods or services need to be acquired from outside the project team, and if so, what to acquire, how to acquire it, and when. The process produces the procurement management plan along with procurement statements of work, bid documents, and source selection criteria.

Inputs include the project charter, business documents, the project management plan (especially scope and schedule baselines), project documents such as the requirements documentation, and enterprise environmental factors like marketplace conditions. Tools and techniques include expert judgment, data gathering (market research), data analysis (make-or-buy analysis), and meetings with potential bidders or internal stakeholders.

The outputs guide all subsequent procurement activities. A well-executed Plan Procurement Management process reduces risk by clarifying contract types, evaluation criteria, and the overall procurement strategy before any commitments are made.

Key Points

  • Determines what to procure, how, and when
  • Produces the procurement management plan and supporting documents
  • Uses make-or-buy analysis as a key technique
  • Performed in the Planning process group under Project Cost/Scope considerations

Exam Tip

Remember that Plan Procurement Management is the only procurement process in the Planning process group. All procurement decisions and contract types should be determined here, not during execution.

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