The five PMP process groups—Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing — form the backbone of the Project Management Institute’s (PMI’s) project management framework. In fact, I would say that understanding these process groups helped me grasp how PMI views the entire project lifecycle and better understand the PMP exam mindset.

While the PMP exam isn't only based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®), it has been consistently used as a primary...