Project Characteristics What is a Project?

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK ® Guide Third Edition 8 2004 Project Management Institute, Four Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA 1.3 What is Project Management? Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project management is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The project manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the project objectives. Managing a project includes: • Identifying requirements • Establishing clear and achievable objectives • Balancing the competing demands for quality, scope, time and cost • Adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders. Project managers often talk of a “triple constraint”—project scope, time and cost—in managing competing project requirements. Project quality is affected by balancing these three factors Chapters 5 through 7. High quality projects deliver the required product, service or result within scope, on time, and within budget. The relationship among these factors is such that if any one of the three factors changes, at least one other factor is likely to be affected. Project managers also manage projects in response to uncertainty. Project risk is an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on at least one project objective. The project management team has a professional responsibility to its stakeholders including customers, the performing organization, and the public. PMI members adhere to a “Code of Ethics” and those with the Project Management Professional PMP ® certification adhere to a “Code of Professional Conduct.” Project team members who are PMI members andor PMPs are obligated to adhere to the current versions of these codes. It is important to note that many of the processes within project management are iterative because of the existence of, and necessity for, progressive elaboration in a project throughout the project’s life cycle. That is, as a project management team learns more about a project, the team can then manage to a greater level of detail. The term “project management” is sometimes used to describe an organizational or managerial approach to the management of projects and some ongoing operations, which can be redefined as projects, that is also referred to as “management by projects.” An organization that adopts this approach defines its activities as projects in a way that is consistent with the definition of a project provided in Section 1.2.2. There has been a tendency in recent years to manage more activities in more application areas using project management. More organizations are using “management by project.” This is not to say that all operations can or should be organized into projects. The adoption of “management by project“ is also related to the adoption of an organizational culture that is close to the project management culture described in Section 2.3. Although, an understanding of project management is critical to an organization that is using “management by projects,” a detailed discussion of the approach itself is outside the scope of this standard. 1

1.4 The PMBOK

® GUIDE Structure The PMBOK ® Guide is organized into three sections.

1.4.1 Section I: The Project Management Framework

Section I, The Project Management Framework, provides a basic structure for understanding project management.

Chapter 1, Introduction, defines key terms and provides an overview for the

rest of the PMBOK ® Guide.

Chapter 2, Project Life Cycle and Organization, describes the environment in

which projects operate. The project management team should understand this broader context. Managing the day-to-day activities of the project is necessary, but not sufficient, to ensure success.

1.4.2 Section II: The Standard for Project Management of a Project

Section II, The Standard for Project Management of a Project, specifies all the project management processes that are used by the project team to manage a project.

Chapter 3, Project Management Processes for a Project, describes the five

required Project Management Process Groups for any project and their constituent project management processes. This chapter describes the multi-dimensional nature of project management.

1.4.3 Section III: The Project Management Knowledge Areas

Section III, The Project Management Knowledge Areas, organizes the 44 project management processes from the Chapter 3 Project Management Process Groups into nine Knowledge Areas, as described below. An introduction to Section III describes the legend for the process flow diagrams used in each Knowledge Area chapter and introductory material applicable to all the Knowledge Areas.

Chapter 4, Project Integration Management, describes the processes and

activities that integrate the various elements of project management, which are identified, defined, combined, unified and coordinated within the Project Management Process Groups. It consists of the Develop Project Charter, Develop Preliminary Project Scope Statement, Develop Project Management Plan, Direct and Manage Project Execution, Monitor and Control Project Work, Integrated Change Control, and Close Project project management processes.

Chapter 5, Project Scope Management, describes the processes involved in

ascertaining that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. It consists of the Scope Planning, Scope Definition, Create WBS, Scope Verification, and Scope Control project management processes. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK ® Guide Third Edition 2004 Project Management Institute, Four Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA 9