Even the most elementary development effort becomes an impenetrable tangle without a systematic way of capturing a project's requirements, deliverables, dependencies, and time lines. Process management is the art and science of creating and continuously improving the process of developing and delivering robust IT systems. Process management provides an environment for continuously improving procedures, reducing costs, shrinking cycle times, and improving the overall quality of applications and systems. It's important to note that process management is not the same as project management, although the two are closely intertwined. Process management is concerned with how the IT organization approaches development and maintenance, which includes project management.
Process management builds upon a well-defined and broadly implemented methodology.
It takes structures that have been previously defined by a methodology and evolves them into a defined, repeatable process. Implementing IT process management requires that each step be acted upon and is measurable, and improvable. Any development process should include elements such as defining roles and responsibilities, and selecting appropriate metrics for planning, estimating, and continuously improving development processes. It should also cover the establishment of actual development phases and activities, creation of a workflow among participants, and selection and implementation of tools and techniques best suited to the task. Process management encapsulates all of these elements and provides an environment for improved performance.