Project Management Framework Vocabulary

Chapter 3: Framework for Project Management

Learning Objectives

  • Define key elements of the project management framework.
  • Outline project processes and knowledge areas and demonstrate how project activities are mapped to these processes for successful project management.
  • Examine the effectiveness of project management methodology.
  • Discuss how organizations benefit from adopting processes oriented toward customer satisfaction.

Introduction to Project Management

  • Project management draws from various professions, with engineers and architects managing projects since pre-history.
  • Efforts to professionalize project management as a distinct specialization began around the 1960s.
  • Debates exist regarding whether project management should be a certified profession like engineering, accounting, or medicine.
    • These professions have associations that certify practitioners and ensure quality.
  • Another debate concerns the extent of industry knowledge needed by project managers and the ease of transitioning between industries (e.g., IT to public safety).
  • Two major global organizations influence project management:
    • Project Management Institute (PMI) headquartered in the United States.
    • International Project Management Association (IPMA) headquartered in Switzerland.
  • This textbook aligns more closely with the PMI approach.

Project Management Institute (PMI) Overview

  • PMI was founded in 1969 by five volunteers to share project management experiences and discuss issues.
  • Today, PMI is a non-profit professional association promoting project management best practices.
  • PMI's premise is that project management tools and techniques are universally applicable across industries.
  • PMI began offering the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam in 1984.
    • As of the time of this material, over 590,000 individuals worldwide hold the PMP designation.
  • To standardize project management terms, PMI introduced "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge" (PMBOK Guide) in 1987.
    • The most current version as of this material, updated in 2013, is the fifth edition.
    • There are over one million copies of the PMBOK Guide in circulation.
  • PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) has evolved into a working body of knowledge.
  • PMI develops and promotes PMBOK and administers the PMP certification.
  • PMBOK is the starting point for project management knowledge, and PMP certification is for those pursuing project management as a profession.

What is Project Management?

  • PMI defines project management as applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet requirements.

PMI Project Framework and Methodology

  • The PMI project framework outlines the steps to manage projects from start to finish.
  • It describes each step in the project life cycle, detailing tasks, timing, and methods.
  • The framework includes 5 process groups, 10 knowledge areas, and numerous activities.
  • Project management methodologies are iterative processes using forms, guidelines, templates, checklists, and other tools for specific projects or situations.

PMBOK Process Groups

  • PMBOK comprises processes and knowledge areas considered best practices in project management.
  • It provides fundamentals, common vocabulary, and identifies "good practices" to enhance project success.
  • PMBOK identifies five basic process groups:
    • Initiating
    • Planning
    • Executing
    • Monitoring and Controlling
    • Closing

Process Group Interactions

  • Project initiation processes define a new project or phase.
  • Planning processes establish the project scope and execution course.
  • Execution processes complete the project within scope and specifications.
  • Closing processes finalize and close projects.
  • Monitoring and controlling processes track, review, evaluate, and manage project performance, requiring replanning as needed.

PMBOK Knowledge Areas

  • PMBOK is categorized into 10 knowledge areas:
    • Managing Integration: Integrating all project activities to keep the "whole" moving collectively.
    • Managing Scope: Defining and managing project parameters or scope using a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
      • Involves planning, definition, WBS creation, verification, and control.
    • Managing Time/Schedule: Managing the budgeted time according to a project schedule with a definite beginning and ending date.
      • Involves definition, sequencing, resource and duration estimating, schedule development, and schedule control.
    • Managing Costs: Managing project investments to create value, ensuring benefits exceed costs.
      • Involves resource planning, cost estimating, budgeting, and control.
    • Managing Quality: Ensuring project deliverables meet objectives and performance standards.
      • Involves quality planning, quality assurance, and quality control.
    • Managing Human Resources: Managing project teams throughout the project lifecycle.
      • Involves human resources planning, hiring, developing, and managing the team.
    • Managing Communication: Addressing the communication needs of project participants, managers, and external stakeholders.
      • Involves communications planning, information distribution, performance reporting, and stakeholder management.
    • Managing Risk: Identifying and managing potential risks, including unexpected events.
      • Involves risk planning and identification, risk analysis (qualitative and quantitative), risk response (action) planning, and risk monitoring and control.
    • Managing Procurement: Managing outside vendors and contractors, including equipment purchases.
      • Involves acquisition and contracting plans, seller selection, contract administration, and contract closure.
    • Managing Stakeholders: Identifying stakeholders, their interest level, and potential influence; managing relationships and communications.

Introduction to the Project Management Knowledge Areas

  • Projects are divided into components, requiring project managers to be knowledgeable in each area.

Project Start-Up and Integration

  • Project start-up is similar to starting a new organization.
  • The project leader develops the project infrastructure.
  • The project charter formally authorizes the project and gives the project manager authority to use organizational resources.
  • Alignment among major stakeholders is crucial during early phases.
  • Kickoff meetings or alignment sessions bring parties together for team building.
  • During start-up, the team refines scope, develops a preliminary schedule, and creates a conceptual budget.
  • Plans for schedule development, procurement, budget building, IT, communication, and client satisfaction are developed.
  • Flowcharts, diagrams, and responsibility matrices capture work processes.
  • The first draft of the project procedures manual captures team members' knowledge.
  • The project manager sets the tone and expectations.
  • The start-up phase can be chaotic, with the project manager being a source of information.
  • The project manager encourages team engagement and innovation.

Project Scope

  • The project scope document defines project parameters, including what is within and outside project boundaries.
  • The Scope of work (SOW) defines what work will be accomplished and the deliverables.
  • The project scope defines what will be done, while the project execution plan defines how the work is accomplished.
  • The quality of the scope is measured by the stakeholders' common understanding of the deliverables.
  • The complexity of the project relates to the size and detail of the project scope.
  • Scope statement should include:
    • Description of the scope
    • Product Acceptance criteria
    • Project Deliverables
    • Project Exclusions
    • Project Constraints
    • Project Assumptions
  • The scope document is the basis for agreement by all parties.
  • A clear document is critical to managing change.
  • Scope Creep is incremental expansion in the project scope, threatening success due to additional unplanned resource requirements.
  • Changes in the marketplace, client's management, or financial health may change the project scope.
  • Changes to scope affect schedule, budget, or product quality.
  • A change management system is needed to capture and authorize scope changes.
  • The project manager analyzes the cost and schedule impact of changes.

Project Schedule and Time Management

  • Completing the project on time is a key definition of success.
  • Developing and managing a project schedule is the project manager's responsibility.
  • On larger projects, a project controls team assists in planning and controlling.
  • The project team analyzes project scope, contract, and other information to define deliverables.
  • A milestone schedule establishes key dates that must be met.
  • For complex projects, a more detailed schedule is required.
  • The team develops a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), describing tasks in layers of detail.
  • The WBS incorporates all project deliverables.
  • A project plan lists the activities needed to accomplish the work identified in the WBS.
  • Activities are sequenced to create a project logic diagram.
  • The next step involves estimating the duration of each activity.
  • The planning process creates a schedule by scheduling activities efficiently.
  • The critical path is the longest path to project completion.
  • Total float or project slack is the amount of time the project can be delayed without affecting the completion date.
  • Understanding and managing activities on the critical path is crucial.
  • Crashing the schedule compresses the project schedule.
  • The project manager reduces scheduling conflicts while maintaining project quality and meeting cost goals.

Project Costs

  • Completing the project within budget is a key definition of success.
  • Developing and controlling a project budget is a critical skill.
  • Schedule pressures may override project costs in some cases.
  • The accuracy of the budget relates to the amount of information known.
  • Different levels of budget estimates are developed:
    • Conceptual estimate ("ballpark estimate") is developed with the least amount of knowledge, relying on expert judgment and past experience.
    • Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimate uses additional information such as square footage or production capacity.
    • Detailed estimate is developed when the project design is mostly complete.
  • Cost is compared against the cost budgeted for that work.
  • The project team explores reasons for the difference between expected and actual costs.
  • Project costs may deviate due to marketplace prices or project performance.
  • The project manager ensures that cost estimates are based on the best information available.
  • The project manager tracks costs against the budget and takes corrective action.

Project Quality

  • Project quality focuses on the end product or service.
  • The project manager develops an approach for a clear understanding of the project deliverable and the quality specifications.
  • The project manager develops a plan that defines quality expectations.
  • The process for ensuring specifications are met are integrated into the project execution plan.
  • Changes are managed in the same process as cost or schedule changes.
  • Rework increases cost and completion time.
  • Developing appropriate skills, materials, and work processes early is critical.
  • Organizations executing similar projects may find process improvement tools useful.
  • The investment in time and resources to find improvements is greatest during the early stages of the project, when it is in the planning stages.
  • During later project stages, the project culture is less conducive to making changes in work processes.

Project Team: Human Resources and Communications

  • Staffing the project with the right skills, at the right place, and at the right time is an important responsibility of the project management team.
  • The project usually has two types of team members: functional managers and process managers.
  • Functional managers focus on the technology of the project.
  • Project process managers have expertise in estimating, cost tracking, planning, and scheduling.
  • The project manager needs functional and process expertise to plan and execute a successful project.
  • The staffing plan should be determined by the different phases of the project.
  • A core project management team is dedicated to the project from start-up to closeout.
  • Project team members can be assigned to the project from a number of different sources.
  • The organization that charters the project can assign talented managers and staff from functional units within the organization.
  • The staffing approach allows the project manager to create the project organizational culture.

Communications

  • Teamwork requires good communication among team members.
  • Teams that use electronic methods of communicating without face-to-face meetings are called virtual teams.
  • Communicating can be divided into two categories: synchronous (all parties at the same time), and asynchronous (participants not interacting at the same time).
  • Establishing effective communications requires a communications plan.

Project Risk

  • Risk exists on all projects.
  • The project management team must understand the risks and develop plans to mitigate them.
  • Risk represents the likelihood of an event negatively affecting project goals.
  • The type and amount of risk varies by industry type, complexity, and phase of the project.
  • The project risk plan will also reflect the risk profile of the project manager and key stakeholders.
  • The first step in developing a risk management plan involves identifying potential project risks.
  • The project team analyzes the identified risks and estimates the likelihood of the risks occurring.
  • The team then estimates the potential impact on project goals if the event does occur.
  • The project team then develops a risk mitigation plan that reduces the likelihood of an event occurring or reduces the impact on the project if the event does occur.
  • The risk management plan is integrated into the project execution plan, and mitigation activities are assigned to the appropriate project team member.
  • Contingency is funds set aside by the project team to address unforeseen events.
  • Projects with a high-risk profile will typically have a large contingency budget.
  • The plan includes periodic risk-plan reviews during the life of the project.

Project Procurement

  • The procurement effort on projects varies widely and depends on the type of project.
  • On larger, more complex projects, personnel are dedicated to procuring and managing the equipment, supplies, and materials needed by the project.
  • Commodities are common products that are purchased based on the lowest bid.
  • The second type of procurement includes products that are specified for the project.
  • The third procurement approach is the development of one or more partners.
  • A partner contributes to and is integrated into the execution plan.
  • The project management team builds and implements a project procurement plan that recognizes the most efficient and effective procurement approach to support the project schedule and goals.

Project Stakeholder Management

  • People and organizations can have many different relationships to the project.
  • A successful project manager will identify stakeholders early in the project.
  • For each stakeholder, it is important to identify what they want or need and what influence or power they have over the project.
  • Based on this information, the need to communicate with the stakeholder or stakeholder group can be identified, followed by the creation of a stakeholder management plan.
  • A stakeholder register is used to identify and track the interactions between the project and each stakeholder.
  • This register must be updated on a regular basis, as new stakeholders can arise at any time, and the needs and interest levels of a particular stakeholder may change through the course of the project.

Key Takeaways

  • Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. (PMBOK Guide 2013– Fifth edition)
  • The PMI project framework tells you what you have to do to manage your projects from start to finish. It describes every step in the project life cycle in depth, so you know exactly which tasks to complete, when and how. The framework is made up of process groups (5), knowledge areas (10) and numerous activities.
  • Project management methodology is a repetitive process which uses a set of forms, guidelines, templates and checklist and other tools that can be applied to specific projects or situations.
  • One key benefit of using project management framework is that it’s oriented towards customer satisfaction.