Generic practices are components that can be applied to all process areas. Think of generic practices as reminders. They serve the purpose of reminding you to do things right and are expected model components.

For example, consider the generic practice, “Establish and maintain the plan for performing the process” (GP 2.2). When applied to the Project Planning process area, this generic practice reminds you to plan the activities involved in creating the plan for the project. When applied to the Organizational Training process area, this same generic practice reminds you to plan the activities involved in developing the skills and knowledge of people in the organization.