---
title: "Process management in OS"
subject: "Embedded System"
chapter: 6
key: "semester_6/embedded_system:process-management"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_6/embedded_system/process-management
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Process management in OS

Embedded System · Chapter 6: RTOS

- Asked in: 2078 Poush, 3 marks
- Video: [Process Management (Processes and Threads)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrM7nZcxXZU) — Neso Academy
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_6/embedded_system/process-management
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_6/embedded_system/chapter-6

## Question

Explain process management.

## Short answer

Process management handles creation, state tracking (ready, running, blocked), scheduling, context switching, synchronization, and inter-process communication to coordinate tasks and avoid races.

## Answer

**Process management** is the part of the OS (kernel) that handles the creation, scheduling, execution, synchronisation and termination of processes (tasks).

Main functions:
1. **Process creation and termination:** creates a process with its control block (PCB/TCB) holding the ID, state, registers, priority, memory and resource information; deletes it when it finishes.
2. **Process states:** tracks new, ready, running, blocked and terminated, moving the process between queues.
3. **Scheduling:** decides which ready process receives the CPU and for how long (FCFS, SJF, round robin, priority).
4. **Context switching:** saves and restores the process state when the CPU is passed on.
5. **Synchronisation:** semaphores and mutexes for coordinating processes and avoiding race conditions.
6. **Inter-process communication (IPC):** pipes, message queues, shared memory.
7. **Deadlock handling:** prevention, avoidance or detection and recovery.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. What does a process/task control block hold?
   A. Only the program code
   B. ID, state, registers, priority, memory and resource info
   C. Only the stack
   D. Only I/O data
   Answer: B. The PCB/TCB stores all information needed to manage and resume the process. (Key point: TCB contents)

2. What does a context switch do?
   A. Saves the state of the current process and restores the next one
   B. Deletes the process
   C. Increases priority
   D. Frees all memory
   Answer: A. State saving and restoring lets the CPU pass between processes. (Key point: Context switching)

3. What does the scheduling function of process management decide?
   A. Which file to delete
   B. Which device to power off
   C. Which compiler to use
   D. Which ready process gets the CPU and for how long
   Answer: D. Algorithms such as FCFS, SJF, round robin and priority decide this. (Key point: Scheduling decision)

## Related in other subjects

- [Requirement management process](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fsoftware_engineering%3Arequirement-management) — Software Engineering, chapter 1
- [Project management process groups](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fict_project_management%3Apm-process-groups) — ICT Project Management, chapter 6
- [Procurement management process flow](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fict_project_management%3Aprocurement-process-flow) — ICT Project Management, chapter 13
- [Parallelism, IPC deadlock and OS role](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_4%2Fmicroprocessor%3Aparallelism-deadlock-os-role) — Microprocessor, chapter 6