- Email: [email protected]
APM project-management body of knowledge: the European view
~
I,J T T E R W Q R T H E I N E M A
International Journal of Project Management Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 95-98, 1995 N
Copyright © 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0263-7863/95 $10.00 + 0.00
N
0263-7863 (95) 00006-2
APM project-management body of knowledge: the European view Brian E Willis Willis Project Management Consultants Ltd., The Forge, Fords Green, Bacton, Stowmarket, Suffolk IPI 4 4QG, UK
An outline of the substance, form and attributes of the UK Association of Project Manager's body of knowledge is reviewed. It is maintained that a body of knowledge is necessary as a focal point to collate the knowledge and experiences of those involved in project management and to establish standards by which the profession may be advanced. To this end the APM body of knowledge facilitates the APM certification of project managers, the accreditation of training courses and modules, and the continuing professional development of project managers. The paper concludes with a few ideas about the multinational dimension of a developing body of knowledge. Keywords: professional project management, international project-management advancement, training, harmonisation
Early in 1986, discussions led to the then Professional Standards Group (PSG) of the UK Association of Project Managers (APM) developing an outline of what was to become the APM's body of knowledge (~oK). The document was developed by the APM Education and Training Committee. At this time, there was considerable debate both nationally and internationally, through INTERNET, about whether certification of project managers should be based on examination of knowledge or assessment of competence. There was no clear outcome from discussions within INTERNET, but, within the APM, assessment was agreed upon as the way ahead. Through this early period, the PSG developed and published a code of conduct and considered a glossary of terms. The development of these matters influenced the BOK. The methodology for certifying the competence of project managers by means of self assessment, project synopsis and interview was established, and the APM delivered a paper at the INTERNET '9o Conference which reflected the current structure of the BOK. The APM's BOK was fully formatted by mid1991. There followed a year of activity during which the document was refined, and it was first published in April 1992. It was revised in July 1993, and was then reviewed by the members of the APM Education, Training and Research Committee for a 1994 update. From recent discussions, it now seems that the continental Europeans are becoming more inclined towards the competency approach to certification.
Objectives The objectives of this paper are to
• support the debate on the need for a greater awareness of the requirements for an international BOK; • ensure acceptance of the fact that a BOK is required to advance the state of the art of project management; • promote the establishment of minimum acceptable levels of efficiency and effectiveness in professional project management.
Content The content of the APM's BOK was dictated by the APM certification programme. The style and content has allowed the single document to be the bedrock from which all aspects of education and training of project managers can be addressed. The document now underpins the APM certification, accreditation and continued professional development programmes. It follows that the BOK should encapsulate the various aspects of project management as it is practised, and be flexible enough for the certification assessor, accreditation evaluator and applicant to adequately progress his or her duties or needs.
Rationale To meet the demands of an APM aOK that would adequately serve the profession in advancing the state of the art of project management and the effectiveness and efficiency of those involved it was essential to include all the aspects of the three core elements of general project management: time, cost, and quality/performance. However, it is important to acknowledge that there are elements of project management that are used in other management disciplines. To 95
APM project-management body of knowledge: the European view: B E Willis differentiate between these and the 'project-management specific' elements, three other overall aspects are featured in the document in a fashion that assists the professional reader to correctly interpret the content, and that illustrates the role of project management in business. The three additional aspects are as follows:
element titled 'project management'? Clearly, there must be an aspect that is titled 'project management'. This begs the question of whether there is a better title for this section. Should 'risk management' and 'value management' be included as 'procedures', or should they be included in 'project management' as their names imply? This matter could be resolved, to a first order perhaps, with name changes from 'management' to 'analysis'. However, are these name changes really required? Should 'close out' be included under 'techniques and procedures' with 'mobilisation', or should 'mobilisation' be included under 'project management' with 'close out' and 'project lifecycle'? There is perhaps a fine argument that, since 'mobilisation' employs techniques to start up a project, it is right to leave it where it is.
• First, it is necessary to acknowledge that some techniques and tools evolved by the project-management community are and will increasingly be used by managers in general management. It follows, to progress with the theme, that a person using, say, a software package to develop a work-breakdown structure and a resulting network of activities will not necessarily be a person working in project management. Neither does such a person need to understand the totality of project management: this person could be a functional line manager who has defined the tasks and network to support a production line so as to define and maintain task ownerships and procedures. • Second, there are general management elements that are utilised in project management. Here the need is for project-management personnel to learn from the experience of other management disciplines and incorporate those elements which are applicable to managing projects, or to managing by project. • Third, it is necessary to stress that all types of management are dependent upon human resources, but none more so than project management. It is now an acknowledged fact that the core resources of many businesses are their employees.
However one chooses to argue these points, what is important is that all project-management-associated aspects are covered in the aoK. The semantics are surely of secondary importance, as long as the standards can be agreed. The design of the document has the necessary flexibility to cover the individual types and forms of project management. It can also support the diverse branches of industry, commerce, and other areas of group activity. No attempt can be made in this short paper to fully analyse the 40 elements in the BOK, other than to say that they define an overall set of competencies. The problems associated with paying too much homage to 'guru' flavour-of-the-day solutions or to a particular business area's 'holy cow' have to be controlled. Also, it is considered there is a balance between and rationale behind the subjects featured.
The result is a riCK document made up of four base sections (one on general project management, and three others). The four sections are subdivided into 40 elements of project management (see Figure 1). Any document of this nature that covers such a wide range of subjects will inevitably contain a few anomalies. Three anomalies in this document are as follows:
Concept The result of the above rationale is the conception of the APM's BOK, which is structured to include project profiles, the personal profile of the certified project manager, four main sections, and 40 subsections, as follows:
• Should the 'project-management' section include an
I BoK I
I
Project ManagementI
I
OrganisationI & People I
I * Systems Management " Programme Management Project Management Project IJfe Cycle Project Environment Project Strategy Project Appraisal Project Success/Failure ;ntena * Integration * Systems & Procedures * Close Out * Post Prelect AppraJsal
* Organisation Design * Control & Co-operation * Communication * Leadership * Delegation * Team Building * Conflict Management * Negotiation *" Management Development
I
I
I Techniques & Procedures
I * * * * * * * * * *
Work Definitions Planning Scheduling Estimating Cost Control Performance Measurement Risk Management Value M a n a g e m e n t Change Control Mobilisation
Figure 1 Elements of APM body-of-knowledge document 96
I
I Management Genera, II
I * Operational/Technical Management * Marketing & Sales * Finance * Information Technology * Law * Procuremer~t "Quality * Safety * Industrial Relations
APM project-management body of knowledge: the European view: B E Willis • Project profiles: Four categories of project are described: v Level one: This type of project is an in-house, single-
company project with little or no responsibility for involving external contractors or suppliers. The predominant management activity at this level is the application of project-management tools and techniques to enable work to be managed more effectively. r Level two: This type of project is also an in-house project, but it involves an integrated multidisciplinary management team, and, although there will probably be little or no involvement with external contractors, such a project is likely to involve procurement. ~ Level three: This level of project is likely to require an integrated multidisciplinary management team which includes specialists from a number of independent companies. At this level, the team will have been established specifically for the purpose of the project. The management of this level of project requires a full understanding of project-management issues in the widest sense. ~ Level four: This type of project has an international dimension. The project may require a multicompany, multidisciplinary project team to work in different countries, or it may require a multinational, multicompany, multidisciplinary project team to work on an international project. • Personal profile o f certificated project manager: The
principal characteristics of this profile are those attributes that are required by the project manager for the participants and contributors to be formed into an effective team. For example, the project manager should have :~ a positive, proactive and common-sense approach, in order to foster cooperation; an open mind, and be fair and have an adaptable attitude to new ideas, practices and methods; . inventiveness, and be a prudent risk taker; :~: a strong commitment to the project's success, and, ideally, be the 'keeper of the vision'. • Sections: There are four sections, titled 'project manage-
ment', 'organisation and people', 'techniques and procedures', and 'general management'. • Subsections: There are 40 elements associated with project management. Each aspect has a definition and describes an understanding of the knowledge and experience required by a project-management operator. Most of these subsections have a list of references. This concept embraces all aspects of project management, and it therefore facilitates the use of a common document by APM members who wish to become Certificated Project Managers, the APM assessors who are responsible for the certification of project managers, and the APM accreditation evaluators. The document is therefore also useful to other professionals, such as those in higher-education institutions, who refer to the BOK when designing their project-management courses, modules etc.
Context The APM's BOK was developed to serve the APM certification programme, but it also serves the APM accreditation programme and the APM continued professional development programme.
Certification
The APM certification of project managers is based on the APM BOK, and it is a three-stage process. The process is configured to establish an applicant's knowledge, experience and competence. The architecture of the APM certification programme is designed so that the applicant has to prove his or her practical capability rather than just his or her technical knowledge. The three stages are as follows: • Stage 1: This consists of an application form, self
assessment and pr6cis has selected for Stage • Stage 2: This consists • Stage 3: This consists
of the project that the applicant 2. of a 5000-word project report. of an interview.
This approach has the disadvantage, in relation to the fixed-exam approach, of needing two professional project managers as assessors for each applicant. However, the process does ensure a practical approach which investigates, in depth, the applicant's fitness to be certificated on the basis of his or her project-management capabilities. The process is dependent upon the applicant's experience, and not on what has been gleaned from textbooks. The Stage 1 information pack issued by the APM includes the BOK, and the applicant is asked to complete the BOK'S self-assessment form. This form features the 40 elements of project management, and the candidate has to make his or her own assessment of how well they understand and practise each of the elements listed. It is this completed form and the applicant's project report that are the main aspects of the interview with the two APM assessors. Accreditation
The APM accreditation programme of project-management courses and modules uses the APM BOK as a yardstick. Currently, the noK is supported by a procedural document and other guides: a bibliography of definitions, and a list of phases that can be used in determining the lifecycle of projects. This approach ensures the evaluators' consistency. Continued professional development
As with other professions, the continued professional development (CPD) process is the mechanism through which the APM will monitor the activities of certificated project managers and ensure that the title is only kept by those who keep abreast of developments. To this end, the references associated with each of the 40 elements of project management in the APM BOK will keep abreast of changing techniques and evolving new processes. Training
Course designers are modifying their courses during evaluations because of the APM accreditation programme. These modifications reflect the influence of the APM BOK.
In a recent survey of 189 higher educational institutions, it was determined that there were only six firstdegree courses that advertised the inclusion of a projectmanagement module. Surely, all management courses should include a module or modules on the fundamentals and principles of those elements of project management that are general. 97
APM project-management body of knowledge: the European view: B E Willis
Future international BOK Some of the issues that need to be addressed when considering the content of an international BOK are as follows: • An agreed philosophy or set of philosophies of project management is required. It is clear from the structure of the APM's BOK that it favours an all-embracing philosophy and veers away from the more simplistic one of supporting a tools and techniques only philosophy. • International agreement is needed on the fundamentals and principles for a generic project-management training module for all first-degree management courses, for example the following: A fundamentals module might include sections on the nature of project management (PM), organisations, skills, definitions, lifecycles, and planning documents. . A principles module might include sections on project initiation, appointing a project manager, team building, tools and techniques, project strategy, and risk/ change/conflict/etc, management. • A section is required on the overall project-management plan, sometimes called a coordinating plan or a projectmanagement manual. Such a section would define the contents of the plan and include the 'why', 'where', 'what', 'how much', 'how', 'when', and 'who' of the project. It would also include any individual plans to manage risk, H&S, contracting, test and evaluation, integrated logistic support, configuration control etc. • Given that many different definitions are used internationally, an attempt should be made to compile an international glossary of terms for the profession. For example, the glossary should include ~ the differing definitions of 'project', 'project manager', 'programme manager' and 'project leader', and the many other supposedly nominal generic terms used; _ an understanding of a nation's specific terms (some French projects use the terms 'corrective loop' (concession or permit), 'historical loop' (project history to learn from experience), and 'preventive loop' (optimisation through mitigation); the newer terms being introduced into project management, e.g. 'computer-aided logistic support' and 'concurrent engineering'. The above is a small sample of the considerable number of terms that should be listed in such a glossary. The development of a trinational glossary was started by the defence departments of France, Germany and the UK, but the resources required to continue the task were not made available.
98
• During the development of the British Standard BS 6079, 'A guide to project management', considerable effort was expended on defining the generic project lifecycle. This was also a problem for International Standards Organisation ISO/TC 176/SC 2, the body that is writing 'Guidelines to quality in project management'. It is considered that a BOK should include a reference which is maintained to reflect not only a generic cycle or cycles, but also all the phases that may be or have been employed in project management. • There is a need to include an understanding of the different methodologies used in project management, for example those used with a particular type of project management, such as PPaNCE (PRojects IN a Controlled Environment), which is used extensively in IT projects. Where these methodologies are included, the reader should be able to clearly understand the utilisation of such methodologies. • An international Box of project management should either directly, or indirectly through an annex or companion publication, discuss the merits of the tools and techniques used in project management. There should be adequate coverage of all types of tools in the cost, time and performance domains, without it being necessary to be commercially explicit. In this context, the pros and cons of that old 'hot chestnut' of arrow versus node networking should be summarised. It would be wrong if the project programmer were to be pushed into using certain tools simply because the computer buff can write them into the software. • A BOK should surely encompass the competencies required to support project management, and reflect the total spectrum of project management that is needed to facilitate training.
Brian Willis has been an independent project-management consultant since he retired from the UK Ministry of Defence in June 1993. He has more than 20 years' experience as a project manager, and some 40 years of specialist engineering experience in design, development, production, integration and installation; this included 14 years as an international chairman. In recent years, he has designed courses and lectured on project management, developed policy for MoD project managers, assisted in writing British Standards project-management guides, and been a senior user on eRmCE boards; he is a UK Association of Project Managers certification assessor and accreditation evaluator. It was for his project-management services to the MoD that he was honoured with an OBE in 1993.
I,J T T E R W Q R T H E I N E M A
International Journal of Project Management Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 95-98, 1995 N
Copyright © 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0263-7863/95 $10.00 + 0.00
N
0263-7863 (95) 00006-2
APM project-management body of knowledge: the European view Brian E Willis Willis Project Management Consultants Ltd., The Forge, Fords Green, Bacton, Stowmarket, Suffolk IPI 4 4QG, UK
An outline of the substance, form and attributes of the UK Association of Project Manager's body of knowledge is reviewed. It is maintained that a body of knowledge is necessary as a focal point to collate the knowledge and experiences of those involved in project management and to establish standards by which the profession may be advanced. To this end the APM body of knowledge facilitates the APM certification of project managers, the accreditation of training courses and modules, and the continuing professional development of project managers. The paper concludes with a few ideas about the multinational dimension of a developing body of knowledge. Keywords: professional project management, international project-management advancement, training, harmonisation
Early in 1986, discussions led to the then Professional Standards Group (PSG) of the UK Association of Project Managers (APM) developing an outline of what was to become the APM's body of knowledge (~oK). The document was developed by the APM Education and Training Committee. At this time, there was considerable debate both nationally and internationally, through INTERNET, about whether certification of project managers should be based on examination of knowledge or assessment of competence. There was no clear outcome from discussions within INTERNET, but, within the APM, assessment was agreed upon as the way ahead. Through this early period, the PSG developed and published a code of conduct and considered a glossary of terms. The development of these matters influenced the BOK. The methodology for certifying the competence of project managers by means of self assessment, project synopsis and interview was established, and the APM delivered a paper at the INTERNET '9o Conference which reflected the current structure of the BOK. The APM's BOK was fully formatted by mid1991. There followed a year of activity during which the document was refined, and it was first published in April 1992. It was revised in July 1993, and was then reviewed by the members of the APM Education, Training and Research Committee for a 1994 update. From recent discussions, it now seems that the continental Europeans are becoming more inclined towards the competency approach to certification.
Objectives The objectives of this paper are to
• support the debate on the need for a greater awareness of the requirements for an international BOK; • ensure acceptance of the fact that a BOK is required to advance the state of the art of project management; • promote the establishment of minimum acceptable levels of efficiency and effectiveness in professional project management.
Content The content of the APM's BOK was dictated by the APM certification programme. The style and content has allowed the single document to be the bedrock from which all aspects of education and training of project managers can be addressed. The document now underpins the APM certification, accreditation and continued professional development programmes. It follows that the BOK should encapsulate the various aspects of project management as it is practised, and be flexible enough for the certification assessor, accreditation evaluator and applicant to adequately progress his or her duties or needs.
Rationale To meet the demands of an APM aOK that would adequately serve the profession in advancing the state of the art of project management and the effectiveness and efficiency of those involved it was essential to include all the aspects of the three core elements of general project management: time, cost, and quality/performance. However, it is important to acknowledge that there are elements of project management that are used in other management disciplines. To 95
APM project-management body of knowledge: the European view: B E Willis differentiate between these and the 'project-management specific' elements, three other overall aspects are featured in the document in a fashion that assists the professional reader to correctly interpret the content, and that illustrates the role of project management in business. The three additional aspects are as follows:
element titled 'project management'? Clearly, there must be an aspect that is titled 'project management'. This begs the question of whether there is a better title for this section. Should 'risk management' and 'value management' be included as 'procedures', or should they be included in 'project management' as their names imply? This matter could be resolved, to a first order perhaps, with name changes from 'management' to 'analysis'. However, are these name changes really required? Should 'close out' be included under 'techniques and procedures' with 'mobilisation', or should 'mobilisation' be included under 'project management' with 'close out' and 'project lifecycle'? There is perhaps a fine argument that, since 'mobilisation' employs techniques to start up a project, it is right to leave it where it is.
• First, it is necessary to acknowledge that some techniques and tools evolved by the project-management community are and will increasingly be used by managers in general management. It follows, to progress with the theme, that a person using, say, a software package to develop a work-breakdown structure and a resulting network of activities will not necessarily be a person working in project management. Neither does such a person need to understand the totality of project management: this person could be a functional line manager who has defined the tasks and network to support a production line so as to define and maintain task ownerships and procedures. • Second, there are general management elements that are utilised in project management. Here the need is for project-management personnel to learn from the experience of other management disciplines and incorporate those elements which are applicable to managing projects, or to managing by project. • Third, it is necessary to stress that all types of management are dependent upon human resources, but none more so than project management. It is now an acknowledged fact that the core resources of many businesses are their employees.
However one chooses to argue these points, what is important is that all project-management-associated aspects are covered in the aoK. The semantics are surely of secondary importance, as long as the standards can be agreed. The design of the document has the necessary flexibility to cover the individual types and forms of project management. It can also support the diverse branches of industry, commerce, and other areas of group activity. No attempt can be made in this short paper to fully analyse the 40 elements in the BOK, other than to say that they define an overall set of competencies. The problems associated with paying too much homage to 'guru' flavour-of-the-day solutions or to a particular business area's 'holy cow' have to be controlled. Also, it is considered there is a balance between and rationale behind the subjects featured.
The result is a riCK document made up of four base sections (one on general project management, and three others). The four sections are subdivided into 40 elements of project management (see Figure 1). Any document of this nature that covers such a wide range of subjects will inevitably contain a few anomalies. Three anomalies in this document are as follows:
Concept The result of the above rationale is the conception of the APM's BOK, which is structured to include project profiles, the personal profile of the certified project manager, four main sections, and 40 subsections, as follows:
• Should the 'project-management' section include an
I BoK I
I
Project ManagementI
I
OrganisationI & People I
I * Systems Management " Programme Management Project Management Project IJfe Cycle Project Environment Project Strategy Project Appraisal Project Success/Failure ;ntena * Integration * Systems & Procedures * Close Out * Post Prelect AppraJsal
* Organisation Design * Control & Co-operation * Communication * Leadership * Delegation * Team Building * Conflict Management * Negotiation *" Management Development
I
I
I Techniques & Procedures
I * * * * * * * * * *
Work Definitions Planning Scheduling Estimating Cost Control Performance Measurement Risk Management Value M a n a g e m e n t Change Control Mobilisation
Figure 1 Elements of APM body-of-knowledge document 96
I
I Management Genera, II
I * Operational/Technical Management * Marketing & Sales * Finance * Information Technology * Law * Procuremer~t "Quality * Safety * Industrial Relations
APM project-management body of knowledge: the European view: B E Willis • Project profiles: Four categories of project are described: v Level one: This type of project is an in-house, single-
company project with little or no responsibility for involving external contractors or suppliers. The predominant management activity at this level is the application of project-management tools and techniques to enable work to be managed more effectively. r Level two: This type of project is also an in-house project, but it involves an integrated multidisciplinary management team, and, although there will probably be little or no involvement with external contractors, such a project is likely to involve procurement. ~ Level three: This level of project is likely to require an integrated multidisciplinary management team which includes specialists from a number of independent companies. At this level, the team will have been established specifically for the purpose of the project. The management of this level of project requires a full understanding of project-management issues in the widest sense. ~ Level four: This type of project has an international dimension. The project may require a multicompany, multidisciplinary project team to work in different countries, or it may require a multinational, multicompany, multidisciplinary project team to work on an international project. • Personal profile o f certificated project manager: The
principal characteristics of this profile are those attributes that are required by the project manager for the participants and contributors to be formed into an effective team. For example, the project manager should have :~ a positive, proactive and common-sense approach, in order to foster cooperation; an open mind, and be fair and have an adaptable attitude to new ideas, practices and methods; . inventiveness, and be a prudent risk taker; :~: a strong commitment to the project's success, and, ideally, be the 'keeper of the vision'. • Sections: There are four sections, titled 'project manage-
ment', 'organisation and people', 'techniques and procedures', and 'general management'. • Subsections: There are 40 elements associated with project management. Each aspect has a definition and describes an understanding of the knowledge and experience required by a project-management operator. Most of these subsections have a list of references. This concept embraces all aspects of project management, and it therefore facilitates the use of a common document by APM members who wish to become Certificated Project Managers, the APM assessors who are responsible for the certification of project managers, and the APM accreditation evaluators. The document is therefore also useful to other professionals, such as those in higher-education institutions, who refer to the BOK when designing their project-management courses, modules etc.
Context The APM's BOK was developed to serve the APM certification programme, but it also serves the APM accreditation programme and the APM continued professional development programme.
Certification
The APM certification of project managers is based on the APM BOK, and it is a three-stage process. The process is configured to establish an applicant's knowledge, experience and competence. The architecture of the APM certification programme is designed so that the applicant has to prove his or her practical capability rather than just his or her technical knowledge. The three stages are as follows: • Stage 1: This consists of an application form, self
assessment and pr6cis has selected for Stage • Stage 2: This consists • Stage 3: This consists
of the project that the applicant 2. of a 5000-word project report. of an interview.
This approach has the disadvantage, in relation to the fixed-exam approach, of needing two professional project managers as assessors for each applicant. However, the process does ensure a practical approach which investigates, in depth, the applicant's fitness to be certificated on the basis of his or her project-management capabilities. The process is dependent upon the applicant's experience, and not on what has been gleaned from textbooks. The Stage 1 information pack issued by the APM includes the BOK, and the applicant is asked to complete the BOK'S self-assessment form. This form features the 40 elements of project management, and the candidate has to make his or her own assessment of how well they understand and practise each of the elements listed. It is this completed form and the applicant's project report that are the main aspects of the interview with the two APM assessors. Accreditation
The APM accreditation programme of project-management courses and modules uses the APM BOK as a yardstick. Currently, the noK is supported by a procedural document and other guides: a bibliography of definitions, and a list of phases that can be used in determining the lifecycle of projects. This approach ensures the evaluators' consistency. Continued professional development
As with other professions, the continued professional development (CPD) process is the mechanism through which the APM will monitor the activities of certificated project managers and ensure that the title is only kept by those who keep abreast of developments. To this end, the references associated with each of the 40 elements of project management in the APM BOK will keep abreast of changing techniques and evolving new processes. Training
Course designers are modifying their courses during evaluations because of the APM accreditation programme. These modifications reflect the influence of the APM BOK.
In a recent survey of 189 higher educational institutions, it was determined that there were only six firstdegree courses that advertised the inclusion of a projectmanagement module. Surely, all management courses should include a module or modules on the fundamentals and principles of those elements of project management that are general. 97
APM project-management body of knowledge: the European view: B E Willis
Future international BOK Some of the issues that need to be addressed when considering the content of an international BOK are as follows: • An agreed philosophy or set of philosophies of project management is required. It is clear from the structure of the APM's BOK that it favours an all-embracing philosophy and veers away from the more simplistic one of supporting a tools and techniques only philosophy. • International agreement is needed on the fundamentals and principles for a generic project-management training module for all first-degree management courses, for example the following: A fundamentals module might include sections on the nature of project management (PM), organisations, skills, definitions, lifecycles, and planning documents. . A principles module might include sections on project initiation, appointing a project manager, team building, tools and techniques, project strategy, and risk/ change/conflict/etc, management. • A section is required on the overall project-management plan, sometimes called a coordinating plan or a projectmanagement manual. Such a section would define the contents of the plan and include the 'why', 'where', 'what', 'how much', 'how', 'when', and 'who' of the project. It would also include any individual plans to manage risk, H&S, contracting, test and evaluation, integrated logistic support, configuration control etc. • Given that many different definitions are used internationally, an attempt should be made to compile an international glossary of terms for the profession. For example, the glossary should include ~ the differing definitions of 'project', 'project manager', 'programme manager' and 'project leader', and the many other supposedly nominal generic terms used; _ an understanding of a nation's specific terms (some French projects use the terms 'corrective loop' (concession or permit), 'historical loop' (project history to learn from experience), and 'preventive loop' (optimisation through mitigation); the newer terms being introduced into project management, e.g. 'computer-aided logistic support' and 'concurrent engineering'. The above is a small sample of the considerable number of terms that should be listed in such a glossary. The development of a trinational glossary was started by the defence departments of France, Germany and the UK, but the resources required to continue the task were not made available.
98
• During the development of the British Standard BS 6079, 'A guide to project management', considerable effort was expended on defining the generic project lifecycle. This was also a problem for International Standards Organisation ISO/TC 176/SC 2, the body that is writing 'Guidelines to quality in project management'. It is considered that a BOK should include a reference which is maintained to reflect not only a generic cycle or cycles, but also all the phases that may be or have been employed in project management. • There is a need to include an understanding of the different methodologies used in project management, for example those used with a particular type of project management, such as PPaNCE (PRojects IN a Controlled Environment), which is used extensively in IT projects. Where these methodologies are included, the reader should be able to clearly understand the utilisation of such methodologies. • An international Box of project management should either directly, or indirectly through an annex or companion publication, discuss the merits of the tools and techniques used in project management. There should be adequate coverage of all types of tools in the cost, time and performance domains, without it being necessary to be commercially explicit. In this context, the pros and cons of that old 'hot chestnut' of arrow versus node networking should be summarised. It would be wrong if the project programmer were to be pushed into using certain tools simply because the computer buff can write them into the software. • A BOK should surely encompass the competencies required to support project management, and reflect the total spectrum of project management that is needed to facilitate training.
Brian Willis has been an independent project-management consultant since he retired from the UK Ministry of Defence in June 1993. He has more than 20 years' experience as a project manager, and some 40 years of specialist engineering experience in design, development, production, integration and installation; this included 14 years as an international chairman. In recent years, he has designed courses and lectured on project management, developed policy for MoD project managers, assisted in writing British Standards project-management guides, and been a senior user on eRmCE boards; he is a UK Association of Project Managers certification assessor and accreditation evaluator. It was for his project-management services to the MoD that he was honoured with an OBE in 1993.