difference between project management and process

Question

What is the difference between project management and process management?

Answer 1

If project is work that needs to be done to make an end result, be it a product or a service, then the process is the description of that work. Every project follows a process, even if not formally defined. By attempting to capture that process for each and every project a pattern will emerge that a similar process is being used for certain group or type of projects. It may also be shown that certain process leads to a better end result or leads to the end result faster and/or cheaper. Such process then may be adopted to be used for pertinent projects resulting in higher productivity and quality of end result. Consequently project management is application of the process to make an end result. There is no process management, just process development, implementation, measurement and improvement which in themselves are projects. Chicken or egg if you please.

Answer 2

Process management would be management of a process, such as a software development process (note that I did not say "software process"). Such a process might be used across a variety of projects. A process does not have an end-product, beyond itself.

Project management would be management of a project, typically using some process, and resulting in a product, or a new version of a product.