Not for 'how-to' coding questions but PHP theory instead, this forum is here for those of us who wish to learn about design aspects of programming with PHP.
You might want to check to see if it is exactly named 'userName' in the form -- you have that capital N in there. Try this to see what the form is actually sending:
yes, but when i click the back button.... and re enter the data.... those in the print command are being displayed... are there any scripts that would do the same function... im not really good at php..
form action: <form action='$_SERVER[PHP_SELF]' method='post'>
for username : <input type='text' name='userName' value='$_POST[userName]'>
for group:
<select name='group'>
<option value = MRQ >MRQ</option>
<option value = PBO >PBO</option>
<option value = PHA >PHA</option>
<option value = LGV >LGV</option>
</select>
for process:
<select name='process'>
<option value = process1 >process1</option>
<option value = process2>process2</option>
<option value = process3>process3</option>
<option value = process4 >process4</option>
</select>
That looks like it should work if there is a value in that text field. It probably is not a session problem unless session are not working at all. I would separately test the form and the session to make sure each is working and then combine.