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A portion of the PMBOK® Guide is a standard for project management. That portion is Part 1, The Standard for Project Management of a Project.
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Quick reference
Project Management Standard
A portion of the PMBOK® Guide is a standard for project management. That portion is Section 1, The Standard for Project Management.
When to use
Although section 1 is a standard, it is considered a guidance standard and not a mandatory standard or regulation. However, some companies or buying groups may impose portions of the standard on themselves or their suppliers.
When preparing a high-level project management methodology, the Standard is a good reference.
Instructions
The PMBOK® Guide section 1, The Standard for Project Management is a reference standard. It explains the attributes of a system for value delivery through projects. It also describes twelve principles for effective project management. The standard does not contain any information concerning how a given project management process should be accomplished.
The succeeding chapters of the PMBOK® Guide are organized by project management domain or area of focused project management activity. The standard addresses broad principles to be applied.
The Project Management Institute is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a standards developer.
Hints & tips
- The standard is a good reference for desired project management behaviors, however, it is not a good “how-to” standard. That level of detail depends upon the industry and project type.
- The standard should not be used as a compliance document since there are very few objectively measured elements identified within the standard.
- 00:03 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
- 00:05 Let's talk now about part one of the Project Management body of knowledge,
- 00:09 the PMBOK Guide.
- 00:10 This is the actual standard for project management.
- 00:14 The PMBOK Guide is a comprehensive book, containing both a standard and
- 00:18 guidance sections on how to implement that standard.
- 00:22 The guidance section provides best practices and forms of methods, models,
- 00:26 tools and techniques to do the project management activities.
- 00:29 The actual standard is found in part one of the guide.
- 00:33 The standard approaches project management as a system of management processes and
- 00:38 identifies the key principles that must be applied to that system.
- 00:42 The system is focused on value delivery.
- 00:45 Projects are to create value for the organization.
- 00:49 Therefore, a project management should provide mechanisms or systems,
- 00:53 which ensure the value is delivered.
- 00:55 The system is based upon the project management functions.
- 00:58 However, it also includes governance to ensure
- 01:01 the functions are applied correctly to deliver value.
- 01:04 And the system considers the project environment and
- 01:07 adapts to unique characteristics within it.
- 01:10 Within the standard,
- 01:11 there are 12 principles of project management that are identified.
- 01:14 These principles guide strategy decision making and problem solving for
- 01:18 the project manager and the project team.
- 01:21 The principles generally fall into two categories.
- 01:24 Those that focus on personal and team leadership and
- 01:28 those that focus on more technical topics, such as the quality, complexity,
- 01:32 risk and performance of the project.
- 01:35 You may be wondering who gives the Project Management Institute the right to create
- 01:40 a standard that they say applies to all projects in all industries.
- 01:44 Well, the answer is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
- 01:48 This agency has accredited PMI as a standards developer.
- 01:52 That means a PMI has the authority to create standards and
- 01:56 to issue standards in the area of project management.
- 01:59 Let's be clear, the PMBOK Guide part one is a standard but it is not a regulation.
- 02:05 That means it is considered to be good practice and organizations and
- 02:08 individuals would be wise to follow it.
- 02:10 But it does not have the force of law.
- 02:13 A company is not required to follow the standard and PMBOK Guide part one,
- 02:18 unless they have a company policy that says they must or
- 02:21 unless they're doing a project for a customer who makes that a contractual
- 02:26 obligation through the terms of the contract.
- 02:29 The standard is independent of project type.
- 02:32 By that I mean, it's not just for product development projects or
- 02:35 facility projects or IT projects.
- 02:37 The majority of the standard has direct applicability to every project type.
- 02:42 In fact, I've found this to be applicable with aerospace, high tech,
- 02:46 consumer products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive,
- 02:51 construction and industrial projects.
- 02:53 And I have used it with IT projects, new product development projects,
- 02:57 process improvement projects and capital investment projects.
- 03:01 Things that do vary by industry or project type will be the selection of which of
- 03:06 the various tools or techniques is used.
- 03:08 But those are not part of the part one standard.
- 03:11 Those are in the guidance portion of the PMBOK guide.
- 03:14 Also, depending upon the company methodology or industry and
- 03:18 tailoring Some of the tools and techniques associated with the domains
- 03:22 in the guidance portion of the PMBOK Guide may be prioritized over others.
- 03:26 But regardless of the tailoring, the activity is still done.
- 03:30 And that's found in the principles of the standard as it applies to the system of
- 03:35 project management used to deliver value.
- 03:38 Although we often think of the PMBOK Guide as a reference book of best practices,
- 03:43 it does have one section part one that is an industry standard.
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