Guide: Plan Procurement Management

Plan Procurement Management falls under Project Procurement Management as per the PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition. It is a process of documenting project procurement decisions, specifying the approach, and identifying potential sellers.
Importance: It helps ensure that the contract with the vendor is clear and aims at meeting the project's requirements.
What is it?: It's a process where project managers determine if they need outside assistance for the project or if they will handle everything in-house. They then identify potential sellers and document their procurement decisions.
How it works?: The process begins with defining procurement requirements. Then, requests for proposals (RFPs) are created and issued to potential sellers. Once proposals are received, they are reviewed and a vendor is chosen.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Plan Procurement Management: When answering questions, remember procurement management starts early in the project. If a question asks about the project's lifecycle, remember procurement planning starts during the planning phase, not the execution phase. In case, the question includes contract types, understand that they are part of the procurement management plan. Fixed-price contracts offer more risk to the seller, while cost-reimbursable contracts put more risk on the buyer. And if you're asked about seller performance evaluations, remember they're done during the control procurements process, not during planning.