Comprehensive Guide to PMBOK® 7th Edition: Project Management Frameworks and Domains

PMBOK® Guide

A guide that outlines the Project Management Body of Knowledge.

ANSI

American National Standards Institute, which sets requirements for standards.

ANS

American National Standard, which the PMBOK® Guide does not conform to.

Project Performance Domains

Eight domains that form an integrated system for successful project delivery.

Tailoring

The process of adapting project management practices to fit the specific context of a project.

Models, Methods, and Artifacts

Commonly used tools and practices in project management to produce deliverables and facilitate communication.

Principles of Project Management

Fundamental norms, truths, or values that guide behavior in project management.

Collaborative Team Environment

An environment that fosters teamwork and cooperation among project members.

Stakeholder Engagement

The process of effectively communicating and involving stakeholders in the project.

Stewardship

Being a diligent, respectful, and caring manager of project resources.

Value Focus

The principle of prioritizing value creation in project outcomes.

Contextual Tailoring

Adapting project management approaches based on the specific context of the project.

Quality in Processes

The principle of integrating quality assurance into project processes and deliverables.

Leadership Behaviors

Actions that demonstrate effective leadership within project teams.

System Interactions

Recognizing and responding to the interactions between different project components.

Risk Responses

Strategies to optimize responses to project risks.

Complexity Navigation

The ability to manage and navigate through complex project environments.

Adaptability and Resiliency

The capacity to adjust and recover in the face of project challenges.

Change Enablement

Facilitating change to achieve the desired future state of the project.

ITTOs

Inputs, tools/techniques, and outputs that supported implementation of various processes used in project management in previous editions of the PMBOK® Guide.

Stakeholders

One of the eight project performance domains that focuses on individuals or groups who have an interest in the project.

Team

One of the eight project performance domains that focuses on the group of individuals working together to achieve project objectives.

Development Approach and Life Cycle

One of the eight project performance domains that encompasses the methodology and stages of the project.

Planning

One of the eight project performance domains that involves defining project objectives and determining a course of action.

Project Work

One of the eight project performance domains that refers to the actual tasks and activities performed to deliver project outcomes.

Delivery

One of the eight project performance domains that focuses on the transfer of project outputs to stakeholders.

Measurement

One of the eight project performance domains that involves assessing project performance and progress.

Uncertainty

One of the eight project performance domains that addresses risks and unknowns that may impact the project.

Interactive

A characteristic of project performance domains indicating that they work together in a dynamic manner.

Interrelated

A characteristic of project performance domains indicating that they are connected and affect one another.

Interdependent

A characteristic of project performance domains indicating that the success of one domain relies on the others.

Integrated System

The way in which performance domains operate together to enable successful delivery of the project.

Concurrent

A term describing how performance domains run simultaneously throughout the project.

Context

The specific circumstances that determine the activities undertaken within each of the performance domains.

Organizational Values

The principles and beliefs that guide an organization's behavior and decision-making.

Organizational Culture

The shared values, beliefs, and practices that shape how an organization operates.

PMIstandards+

PMI's digital content platform that encompasses current and emerging practices related to project management.

Dynamic Body of Knowledge

A continuously evolving set of information and practices that is aligned to PMI standards.

Subject Matter Experts

Individuals with specialized knowledge and expertise who vet the information presented in PMIstandards+.

Practical Examples

Real-world applications of project management concepts and practices provided within PMIstandards+.

Stakeholder Performance Domain

Addresses activities and functions associated with stakeholders.

Stakeholder

An individual, group, or organization that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project, program, or portfolio.

Stakeholder Analysis

A method of systematically gathering and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information to determine whose interests should be taken into account throughout the project.

Effective stakeholder identification

Includes stakeholders who are internal and external to the organization, those who are supportive of the project, and those who may not be supportive or are neutral.

Interpersonal and leadership skills

Important aspects of successful projects, alongside relevant technical project management skills.

Stakeholder engagement activities

Start before or when the project starts and continue throughout the project.

High-level stakeholder identification

May be carried out prior to forming the project team.

Detailed stakeholder identification

Progressively elaborates the initial work and is a continuous activity throughout the project.

Examples of Project Stakeholders

Suppliers, Customers, End Users, Regulatory Bodies, Governing Bodies, PMOs, Steering Committees, Project Manager, Project Management Team, Project Team.

Desired outcomes of Stakeholder Performance Domain

A productive working relationship with stakeholders throughout the project and stakeholder agreement with project objectives.

Stakeholders who are project beneficiaries

Are supportive and satisfied while stakeholders who may oppose the project or its deliverables do not negatively impact project outcomes.

Navigating Effective Stakeholder Engagement

Includes steps such as Identify, Understand, Monitor, Analyze, Engage, and Prioritize.

Establishing a clear vision

Can enable good relationships and alignment throughout the project.

Challenging negotiations

May be necessary with stakeholders who are not necessarily in favor of the project or its intended outcomes.

Continuous activity

Stakeholder identification is a continuous activity throughout the project.

Stakeholder influence

May change as the project unfolds.

Project beneficiaries

Stakeholders who benefit from the project.

Stakeholders who may oppose the project

Do not negatively impact project outcomes.

Project team

Includes individuals directly involved in executing the project.

Project objectives

Goals that stakeholders agree upon for the project.

Supportive stakeholders

Those who favor the project and its outcomes.

Neutral stakeholders

Those who neither support nor oppose the project.

Understand and Analyze

An ongoing action where project managers and teams seek to understand stakeholders' feelings, emotions, beliefs, and values to identify threats or opportunities for project outcomes.

Stakeholder Aspects

Elements considered in analyzing stakeholders, including power, impact, attitude, beliefs, expectations, degree of influence, proximity to the project, interest in the project, and other interaction aspects.

Prioritize

The process of completing an initial prioritization of stakeholders based on their power and interest, focusing on those most influential to the project.

Engage

Working collaboratively with stakeholders to introduce the project, elicit requirements, manage expectations, resolve issues, negotiate, prioritize, problem solve, and make decisions.

Soft Skills

Skills required for engaging stakeholders, including active listening, interpersonal skills, conflict management, and leadership skills such as establishing vision and critical thinking.

Communication Types

Categories of communication with stakeholders, including informal and formal communication.

Informal Communication

Casual conversations and ad hoc discussions used to engage stakeholders.

Formal Communication

Structured communication methods such as presentations, project reviews, briefings, and product demos.

Push Communication

One-way communication sent to stakeholders, such as memos, emails, and status reports, which inhibits immediate feedback.

Pull Communication

Indirect communication where stakeholders seek information themselves, such as accessing intranet resources or online repositories.

Engagement

An interactive exchange of information with stakeholders, including conversations, phone calls, meetings, and brainstorming.

Power

The ability of a stakeholder to influence project outcomes.

Impact

The effect a stakeholder's actions or opinions can have on the project.

Attitude

A stakeholder's disposition towards the project, which can affect their engagement.

Beliefs

Core convictions held by stakeholders that can influence their perspective on the project.

Expectations

What stakeholders anticipate or hope to achieve from the project.

Degree of Influence

The extent to which a stakeholder can affect project decisions and outcomes.

Proximity to the Project

The physical or relational closeness of a stakeholder to the project.

Interest in the Project

The level of concern or involvement a stakeholder has regarding the project.

Stakeholder Interaction

The ways in which stakeholders communicate and collaborate with each other, forming alliances that can impact project objectives.

Confidentiality of Analysis

The need for the project team to keep stakeholder analysis confidential to prevent misinterpretation.

Communication Methods

Different ways to communicate with stakeholders, including push, pull, and interactive methods.

Examples of Formal Communication

Progress reports, project documents, business cases, presentations, and project reviews.

Examples of Informal Communication

Brief notes, emails, instant messaging/texting, and social media.

Quick feedback loops

Provide useful information to confirm the degree to which the stakeholder(s) heard the message, determine if stakeholders agree with the message, identify nuanced or other unintended messages the recipient detected, and gain other helpful insights.

Stakeholder engagement monitoring

The amount and effectiveness of stakeholder engagement is monitored throughout the project to assess whether the current engagement strategy is effective or if it needs to be adjusted.

Stakeholder satisfaction

The degree of stakeholder satisfaction can often be determined by having a conversation with stakeholders to gauge their satisfaction with the project deliverables and the overall management of the project.

Methods for obtaining feedback

Project and iteration reviews, product reviews, stage gates, and surveys can be used to obtain periodic feedback from stakeholders.

Stakeholder interactions

Stakeholders permeate all aspects of the project, defining and prioritizing requirements and scope, participating in planning, and determining acceptance and quality criteria for project deliverables.

Stakeholder influence on uncertainty

Some stakeholders can assist in lowering the amount of uncertainty present on a project while others may cause an increase in uncertainty.

Performance measures

Stakeholders such as customers, senior management, project management office leads, or program managers will focus on measures of performance for the project and its deliverables.

Checking outcomes

Table 2-2 identifies outcomes and ways of checking them related to the Stakeholder Performance Domain.

Productive working relationships

Productive working relationships with stakeholders can be observed, and the movement of stakeholders along a continuum of engagement can indicate the relative level of satisfaction with the project.

Stakeholder agreement with project objectives

A significant number of changes or modifications to the project and product requirements may indicate stakeholders are not engaged or aligned with the project objectives.

Stakeholder behavior indicators

Stakeholder behavior can indicate whether project beneficiaries are satisfied and supportive of the project or whether they oppose it.

Effective ways to determine stakeholder satisfaction

Surveys, interviews, and focus groups are effective ways to determine if stakeholders are satisfied and supportive or if they oppose the project and its deliverables.

Project issue register

A review of the project issue register and risk register can identify challenges associated with individual stakeholders.

Stakeholder engagement strategy

The stakeholder engagement approach can be updated to achieve higher stakeholder satisfaction where necessary.