Introduction
“Body of Knowledge” (BoK) is an inclusive term describing the sum of knowledge within the project and programme management profession. As with other professions, such as law, medicine and accounting, the BoK rests with those practitioners and academics who apply and advance it; describing both the skill set and knowledge that those individuals who profess or aspire to be practitioners in the field of project management are expected to possess. It is central to the profession and provides the academic references for candidates preparing for examination and for those developing their knowledge through continuing professional development
History
The United Kingdom’s Association for Project Management (APM) began developing a body of knowledge in the late 1980’s, publishing the first edition in 1992; since when it has been updated several times (edition 2 in 1994; 3 in 1996; 4 in 2000; 5 in 2006; 6 in 2012) and the most recent seventh edition published in 2019
Recognition
The BoK’s published by APM and PMI (Project Management Institute) are generally considered to be the most significant, with other National Project Management Associations or groupings using one or other of these as the basis for their own Bodies of Knowledge
The International Project Management Association works to, inter-alia, harmonise the work of its member Associations and has, in turn, produced its own Individual Competence Baseline for those working within the discipline and mapped these competencies to ISO 21500 (whilst recognising that the ISO is a process-based standard)
A Universal Body of Knowledge
In creating a valid (universal) BoK, there are a number of challenges:
- What should the elements be?
- What is a proper definition of each of these elements? and
- How should the elements be structured?
Deciding what to include is important. Different languages, which connote different ways of doing (or thinking about) things, increases the difficulty as does language variation between industries. (Some industries have different conceptions, for example, of what words like systems engineering, configuration management, procurement, mobilisation, and logistics mean). The challenge is, therefore, to strike a balance between creating a genuinely useful general language of project management and putting people off with unfamiliar terms
The science or art of project management is dynamic. The state of knowledge of professionals and the tools they need to practice successfully is ever changing. Organisations, be they large, small, public or private, strive to improve the ways in which they conduct business. The link between successful projects and successful businesses has now been firmly established and as business becomes more project oriented the particular skills of the project manager have become recognised and sought after. The project management Body of Knowledge is the project managers map of the practice methodologies required for project management success
Almost all practitioners (not to mention their employers and clients) are interested in knowing what knowledge they should have to be considered a competent project management professional. Further, they also seek a “sign-posted” route for career development. They look to APM and other professional bodies to advise them and, typically, they value a certificate or qualification that says they have attained a required standard
APM Body of Knowledge, Seventh Edition
The UK’s Association for Project Management offers the following as the key elements of the profession’s body of knowledge:
Setting up for success
- Implementing strategy
- Life-cycle options and choices
- Establishing governance and oversight
Preparing for change
- Shaping the early life-cycle
- Assurance, learning and maturity
- Transition into use
People and behaviours
- Engaging stakeholders
- Leading teams
- Working professionally
Planning and managing deployment
- Defining outputs
- Integrated planning
- Controlling deployment
and provides further detail on each of the sub-elements too
Conclusion
Understanding what factors have to be managed to deliver successful projects is important, because it exposes the issue of the professional remit – the ethos – of project and programme management. Is it to deliver projects “on time, within budget, to scope”, or is it to deliver projects that meet the requirements of the project customer / sponsor?
It must be the latter. If not, project management is an introverted profession that, long-term, few serious managers are going to get very excited about
Decision-makers in government, business and elsewhere require that their projects are managed effectively and efficiently; that they represent value-for-money and meet or exceed their strategic objectives. Defining the scope, cost, and time targets properly is only half the battle; ensuring that the technical, commercial, business, environmental, and other factors are effectively aligned with organisational objectives is the other
A downloadable copy of this paper, with an expanded summary of the APM BoK, together with references is available from Martin Stevens Academy
Please click below to visit Martin Stevens Academy
