Now, you don't need to think through all the project steps, you just use the process. This provides the project flow and the templates for the needed forms and reports. A defined process greatly simplifies planning, and, once you have historical data, you will make more accurate plans. The bureaucratic extreme Bureaucratic procedures are generally firm, fixed, and unyielding. If the project doesn't fit the procedure, the project must adapt.
Examples are payroll procedures or the procurement system.
While software processes should not be bureaucratic, some process elements should be tightly controlled. There are known and effective ways to control program changes, for example, and they should be used on all large projects. Similarly, requirements changes are almost always a problem and they need to be rigorously managed. Suppose your software was to be imbedded in the ROM chips for a product in high volume production. After release, any code change would require a manufacturing change, which could be very expensive.