Project Management Knowledge Areas
Project Management Institute has categorized
the knowledge required for managing a project into various 'knowledge areas'.
The project manager must have adequate knowledge in these areas to be able to
manage the project successfully. These knowledge areas have specialized
terminologies, concepts, tools, and techniques. These knowledge areas are as
follows:
Project Integration Management: The
knowledge areas in project management impact each other. For example, if the
scope of work involved in the project increases, it will in turn impact the
cost and schedule of the project. Similarly, if a risk occurs, the cost of the
project and timelines may get altered. Owing to this factor, the project
manager needs to manage these knowledge areas in an integrated manner. This
know-how of integrating different knowledge areas is termed as Integration
Management. In other words, you can consider all other knowledge areas as
subsidiary areas of integration management.
Project Scope Management: The scope of a
project determines the work that the project team needs to do to create the
deliverable of the project. While defining the scope, the project manager needs
to define:
- Product acceptance criteria
- Project deliverables
- Project exclusions
- Project constraints
- Project assumptions
The project scope is broken down into a
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The WBS is used for subsequent planning
processes.
The scope of the project changes (mostly
expands) during the project. This results in delays in the completion of
project, increase in costs, and increase in risks. Uncontrolled changes to the
scope are known as scope creep. The project manager must manage and control the
scope of the project well, in order to meet the project completion timelines
and budget.
Project Schedule Management: It involves
the development of project schedule showing the completion time of all the
tasks and the project. The tasks (or activities) are defined from the scope of
work. These defined tasks are arranged in a sequence along with their
interdependencies. This is called as the schedule network diagram. The
resources required for each of the tasks are determined. The completion time of
each task is determined. Finally, the critical path in the project schedule is
ascertained. The tasks, their dependencies, timelines, and critical path can
also be shown on Gantt chart.
As the work progresses in the project,
changes may occur at various phases in the project. During monitoring and
controlling, the project manager needs to make sure that the schedule is
adhered to, and any change to the schedule is managed properly.
Project Cost Management: It comprises the
determination of costs and the creation of budget to ensure that there are
sufficient funds available at the required stages, to complete a project. The
project costs are constantly monitored and controlled to update the
stakeholders and sponsors.
The accuracy of project costs depends upon
the information provided by the project team. During the beginning of the
project, there is lack of information. Therefore, the project team creates
rough estimates of the project budget. At the later stages, when there is
enough information available, more accurate estimates can be made.
The accuracy of cost estimates keeps on
improving as the project progresses from conceptualization, design,
construction, to finishing. It is the responsibility of the project manager to
ensure that the project team develops reliable cost estimates and updates them
on constant basis. He/she is also accountable for tracking the actual costs
against the budgeted costs, to determine the deviations and take the corrective
measures.
Project Quality Management: It includes
defining the quality specifications, and then ensuring that the deliverables of
a project meet the required quality specifications. The project manager is
accountable for creating a quality management plan that describes the expected
quality and ensuring that the quality requirements are met. He/she must also
control the quality of the deliverables as detailed in the plan.
Project Resource Management: The most
crucial resource for any project is the project team. There are other resources
required for the project, such as material and equipment. The project manager
must develop a resource management plan to make a clear description of the
roles and responsibilities of all the project team members. Also, he/she needs
to estimate the resources required for performing the work and define how these
resources will be acquired and from where. The team must also be continuously
monitored for their performance, and an environment must be created to promote
harmony among the members.
Project Communications Management: The
project manager needs to assess the information requirements of the
stakeholder. Some stakeholders may need the project progress at a summary level
without getting into the details, while others may need the detailed
information about each and every activity. The vendors may need technical and
other documents, and the team may need clear instructions for the work to be
done. These communication needs have to be fulfilled during the project. For
effective communication, various devices, software programs, and the Internet
are used to connect with stakeholders who might be globally spread. A
communications management plan is created to ensure the effective
communication.
Project Risk Management: Risks are integral
to all projects. In a project, there are many types of risks which affect the
different aspects of the project. Risks can affect the project cost and
schedule. Apart from this, the project may face many other types of risks, such
as technical risk, legal risk, natural calamities, accidents, failure of
equipment and machines. A risk register is created to enumerate and respond to
the risk events, with a view to either eliminate or reduce the impact or chance
of occurrence of an event that may affect the project. Risks are monitored
actively during the project and responded to if and when they materialise.
Project Procurement Management: It involves
the procurement of materials and services for project work. To plan the
procurement, the resource requirements of a project and the sources to fulfil
these requirements are identified. The contracting processes are performed to
get these resources on board at the appropriate time during the project. Once
the project is over, the materials, machines, equipment, and other supplies are
disposed of by returning them to their owners or selling them. Project
Stakeholder Management: The stakeholders are defined as "persons or
organizations that can impact the project or get impacted by the project in a
positive or negative manner". There are different types of stakeholders,
such as:
- Sponsor
- Customer
- End user
- Project Management Office (PMO)
- Project manager
- Project management team members
- Project team members
- Operations managers
- Functional managers
- Suppliers and business partners
- Regulatory authorities
- General public
The stakeholders are the most important
entities in the project, as they can make or break the project. Managing the
stakeholders is one of the toughest jobs that a project manager handles, but at
the same time, the success of the project depends on how well the stakeholders'
needs and expectations have been understood and fulfilled. To manage the
stakeholders, a stakeholder management plan is created in order to keep them
updated on a regular basis.
All the interactions between the project
manager and stakeholders are recorded in a stakeholder register, which is
updated regularly based on the changes arising in their needs and interests.
At a broad level, the project management
knowledge area can be divided into two categories:
1. Knowledge areas where the project
manager defines what needs to be achieved in terms of:
- Scope
- Schedule
- Cost
- Quality
2. Knowledge areas where the project manager defines what needs to be done to achieve these objectives of scope, schedule, cost and quality, which include:
- Resources management
- Procurement
- Stakeholder management
- Communications management
- Risk management
- Integration of all the knowledge area
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