A pocket companion to PMI's PMBOK Guide Fifth edition

Anton Zandhuis, Paul Snijders, Thomas Wuttke

• Publisher: Van Haren Publishing
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9789401800556
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Architecture General

Note: This pocket book is available in several languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch. This pocket guide is based on the PMBOK® Guide Fifth Edition. It contains a summary of the PMBOK® Guide, to provide a quick introduction as well as a structured overview of this framework for project management. This pocket guide deals with the key issues and themes within project management and the PMBOK® Guide as follows: - Key terms and definitions in the project management profession - A short overview of the activities of PMI Inc., the organization and its standards: PMBOK® Guide, Standard for Project Portfolio Management, Standard for Program Management and other standards. - The essentials of the Project Lifecycle and Organization. - What are the key project management knowledge areas and processes? Main target Group for this pocket guide is anyone with an interest in understanding the PMBOK® Guide framework or a systematic approach for project management. The book is also very useful for members of a project management team in a project environment using the PMBOK® Guide as a shared reference. A complete but concise description of the PMBOK® Guide, for anyone involved in projects or project management, for only €15,95!

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Purpose of this Pocket Companion to PMI’s PMBOK^® Guide

This pocket companion to the PMBOK^® Guide is intended as a brief reference to aid in quickly understanding the purpose, background and key elements of the PMBOK^® Guide Fifth edition.

What is the value of the PMBOK^® Guide? The PMBOK^® Guide, short for ‘A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge’, is recognized worldwide as a foundational reference for the application of project management knowledge and good practices. The PMBOK^® Guide is the oldest and most widely used formal global project management standard. It is issued by the Project Management Institute (PMI,) the world’s leading association for project managers. Research has confirmed that structured application of this knowledge and practices clearly enhances the successful delivery of projects. Project environments that consistently apply this fundamental project management good practice approach not only show better project performance in terms of lower costs and shorter delivery times, but they also demonstrate higher levels of customer satisfaction. The new ISO 21500 global project management standard confirmed the quality of the content of PMI’s PMBOK^® Guide, as the structure and high level content of these two standards are fully aligned. So there are a range of benefits to gain from the application of project management good practices, as described in the PMBOK^® Guide.

When working in a project management environment, which is far more dynamic than ‘normal’ operations, good communication is essential. For this you need ‘one common language’ within your project management environment, which is understood by everyone involved, particularly the key-stakeholders of the project. This pocket guide aims to quickly establish a shared vocabulary and terminology on the project management fundamentals and create a common understanding about the basic project management processes and the key roles and responsibilities.

What is it not? It is definitely not a ‘project management cookbook’. The project manager and the team remain ultimately responsible for deciding what good practices shall be applied to the specific project at hand, closely cooperating with the project sponsor and the management of the standing organization. At the organizational level this can be enhanced by implementing a project management methodology, based on these good practices.

In a nutshell, this pocket book is intended as a key contributor and tangible asset, when introducing and reinforcing concepts of project, program and portfolio management in your organization for improved communication and cooperation. It supports an organizational-wide implementation of a project management culture, bringing you the benefits of ‘the right projects executed right the first time’!

In Chapter 3 you will find a more detailed description about the PMBOK^® Guide, its fundamental definitions and its structure. In Chapters 4 to 13 we will further detail the areas of project management knowledge and their underlying processes.

1.2 Practical tips for using this pocket guide

On the additional cover page attached to the back cover of this book, all knowledge areas and applicable processes and chapter numbers are listed. On the pages of the pocket guide each chapter is recognizable by the icon representing the applicable knowledge area on the side of the page, enabling you to quickly locate the appropriate topic.

Key terms and definitions are explained in a restricted selection from the Glossary of the PMBOK^® Guide, in Appendix A.

1.3 Project management and its value

Every organization has its unique culture and faces diverse challenges. Also, organizations start with a different situation and set of problems to be resolved. In order to define the value of project management, we firstly need to define exactly what is meant by project management, as this is a broad concept. Then we can look at the various aspects of project management and show the value associated with each aspect.

PMI definition:

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to meet project requirements.

This is accomplished by the application of project management processes.

Research shows that, with the increasing complexity and faster changing environments that businesses are faced with, projects managed by the structural application of good practice-based processes show consistently better performance in areas such as, but not limited to:

• ‘Deliver as promised’ by realistic expectation-setting through up-front project definition, planning, and estimation;

• Faster delivery through the reuse of common and known project management processes;

• Less ‘surprises’ during project execution, utilizing proactive project management processes;

• Improved customer satisfaction and less rework by delivering the right product or service, right, the first time.

These opportunities together with the savings offered by organizational project management excellence are all tangible. But the value proposition for project management is much greater and also includes less tangible benefits like:

• A highly committed and motivated team that can work together through effective communication and goal setting;

• An inspiring project environment with a ‘can-do’ mentality through ambitious yet realistic commitments;

• Transparent and improved decision making at all organizational levels through more effective communication.

These qualitative benefits will even reinforce the quantitative advantages, which will guarantee that an organization is able to excel.

Many organizations have built a good reputation for being able to consistently deliver top quality projects. However, a majority of organizations are still struggling with this. Do you recognize the following characteristics?

• Projects mostly deliver late, over-budget, or without meeting the functionality requirements of the project sponsor and end-users;

• Project managers do it ‘their way’ as there are no, or poor, standards for project management processes and techniques;

• Project management is regarded as an overhead instead of being recognized as providing business value;

• The project work undertaken by resources from within the line organization is not carefully planned for as part of the operations planning, but is typically regarded as ‘next to your primary function’;

• Project budgets do not include the cost of internal workforce as they are ‘already paid for’;

• There is no overall insight available on all the projects being undertaken in the organization, nor their cost versus the added value;

• The required work for managing projects proactively is not included in the project plan;

• Projects may be somehow ‘successful’ in the end but only through heavy stress and overtime work.

Do you recognize the above? Having disciplined project management is the way to overcome these shortcomings. The value of a good project management practice, using standard project management processes, will enable better communication to deal with contingencies pro-actively. This will substantially and continuously increase the chances of project success. It will establish new management procedures and processes. It will enable you to run your organization as an economic enterprise.

1.4 Successfully fulfilling your role as project sponsor, project team member or project manager

Understanding your role in a project and acting accordingly is vital for project success. Therefore we highlight the three key roles which are the major contributors in realizing a successful project:

1. The project sponsor acts as the continuous link between the line organization and the project. It is the sponsor who is responsible at the start for defining the business case for the project; why should we be doing this project; what are the organization’s needs? When the project is approved, the project manager takes over the responsibility for ‘delivery of the defined project objective’. The sponsor still fulfills an ever-important role for ensuring the project objective is aligned to the project goal. The sponsor should, amongst other things, ensure that the organization sticks to its initial decisions regarding goal setting, thus preventing constant priority changes based on daily operational issues. The project sponsor, therefore, plays an important role in ensuring that there is sufficient support from functional and operational management, which in turn fulfills a key role in assigning the appropriate resources to the project team. The sponsor should also support the organization’s readiness to effectively deal with the project objective when it is delivered, as this is where the benefits realization, and therefore increased business value, will start. For realizing this the project sponsor must work closely together with the project manager. The fluent communication between these two roles is crucial for the project and organizational success.

2. The project (management) team member is typically responsible for delivering the expertise and work needed to create the project result. During the initial phases of the project, their focus is on defining the best approach and developing a feasible high-level plan for the project; in other words, the planning. During the execution phases, based on their expertise, they realize the project objective and specific subcomponents. Sufficient representation within the project team of the organization which takes over the responsibilities at the end of the project is essential, in order to ensure the smooth transition of the project objective to the operational or sp...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Colophon
• Contents
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The organization behind the PMBOK® Guide – The Project Management Institute (PMI)
• 3 The PMBOK® Guide at a glance
• 4 Project Integration Management
• 5 Project Scope Management
• 6 Project Time Management
• 7 Project Cost Management
• 8 Project Quality Management
• 9 Project Human Resource Management
• 10 Project Communications Management
• 11 Project Risk Management
• 12 Project Procurement Management
• 13 Project Stakeholder Management
• Appendix A – Glossary
• About the authors