Project Management Institute

The Project Management Institute (PMI) started in 1969 as an effort to share best practices, and today, it is a non-profit organization with over 500,000 members. PMI has chapters throughout the world, each offers additional benefits in the form of professional development and networking opportunities.

Project Management Body of Knowledge

PMI has codified the standards for project management in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide. The PMBOK is best used as a reference guide; it is not recommended for cover-to-cover reading. The PMBOK Guide has been recognized as a Standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

The most current edition, the PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition includes both The Standard for Project Management and the PMBOK® Guide.  This modern edition presents 12 principles of project management and eight project performance domains critical for the effective delivery of project outcomes.

Purpose of The Standard For Project Management

The Standard for Project Management provides a basis for understanding project management and how it enables intended outcomes.  This standard applies regardless of industry, location, size, or delivery approach, for example, predictive, hybrid, or adaptive.  It describes the system within which project operate, including governance, possible functions, the project environment, and considerations for the relationship between project management and product management.

Focus of PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition

The PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition focuses on delivering outcomes regardless of the approach used by the project team.  It is comprised of the following sections:

Section 1 Introduction

Section 2 Project Performance Domains

Section 3 Tailoring

Section 4 Models, Methods, and Artifacts

Relationship of the PMBOK® Guide and the Standard for Project Management

Work in the project performance domains is guided by the principles of project management.  As described in The Standard for Project Management, a principle is a fundamental norm, truth, or value.  The principles for project management provide a guidance for the behavior of people involved in projects as they influence and shape the performance domains to produce the intended outcomes.  While there is a conceptual overlap between the principles and the performance domains, the principles guide behavior, while the performance domains present broad areas of focus in which to demonstrate that behavior. The Figure below shows how the project management principles sit above the performance domains, providing guidance to activities in each performance domain.