Summary of Nine Project Management Knowledge Areas

PROJECT INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT

A subset of project management that includes the processes required to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly coordinated. It consists of:

· Project plan development—integrating and coordinating all project plans to create a consistent, coherent document.
· Project plan execution—carrying out the project plan by performing the activities included therein.
· Integrated change control—coordinating changes across the entire project.


PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT

A subset of project management that includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. It consists of:

· Initiation—authorizing the project or phase.
· Scope planning—developing a written scope statement as the basis for future project decisions.
· Scope definition—subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components.
· Scope verification—formalizing acceptance of the project scope.
· Scope change control—controlling changes to project scope.


PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT

A subset of project management that includes the processes required to ensure timely completion of the project. It consists of:

· Activity definition—identifying the specific activities that must be performed to produce the various project deliverables.
· Activity sequencing—identifying and documenting interactivity dependencies.
· Activity duration estimating—estimating the number of work periods that will be needed to complete individual activities.
· Schedule development—analyzing activity sequences, activity durations, and resource requirements to create the project schedule.
· Schedule control—controlling changes to the project schedule.


PROJECT COST MANAGEMENT

A subset of project management that includes the processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget. It consists of:

· Resource planning—determining what resources (people, equipment, materials) and what quantities of each should be used to perform project activities.
· Cost estimating—developing an approximation (estimate) of the costs of the resources needed to complete project activities.
· Cost budgeting—allocating the overall cost estimate to individual work activities.
· Cost control—controlling changes to the project budget.


PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT

A subset of project management that includes the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken. It consists of:

• Quality planning—identifying which quality standards are relevant to the project and determining how to satisfy them.
• Quality assurance—evaluating overall project performance on a regular basis to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards.
• Quality control—monitoring specific project results to determine if they comply with relevant quality standards and identifying ways to eliminate causes of unsatisfactory performance.

PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

A subset of project management that includes the processes required to make the most effective use of the people involved with the project. It consists of:

• Organizational planning—identifying, documenting, and assigning project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships.
• Staff acquisition—getting the needed human resources assigned to and working on the project.
• Team development—developing individual and group skills to enhance project performance.

PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

A subset of project management that includes the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and ultimate disposition of project information.

Communication takes at least 90% of a Project Manager’s time! It consists of:

· Communications planning—determining the information and communications needs of the stakeholders: who needs what information, when they will need it, and how it will be given to them.
· Information distribution—making needed information available to project stakeholders in a timely manner.
· Performance reporting—collecting and disseminating performance information. This includes status reporting, progress measurement, and forecasting.
· Administrative closure—generating, gathering, and disseminating information to formalize phase or project completion.

PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT

Risk management is the systematic process of identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risks. It includes maximizing the probability and consequences of positive events and minimizing the probability and consequences of adverse events to project objectives. It includes:

· Risk management planning—deciding how to approach and plan the risk management activities for a project.
· Risk identification—determining which risks might affect the project and document their characteristics.
· Qualitative risk analysis—performing a qualitative analysis of risks and conditions to prioritize their effects on project objectives.
· Quantitative risk analysis—measuring the probability and consequences of risks and estimating their implications for project objectives.
· Risk response planning—developing procedures and techniques to enhance opportunities and reduce threats from risks to the project’s objectives.
· Risk monitoring and control—monitoring residual risks, identifying new risks, executing risk reduction plans, and evaluating their effectiveness throughout the project life cycle.

PROJECT PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT

A subset of project management that includes the processes required to acquire goods and services to attain project scope from outside the performing organization. It consists of:

• Procurement planning—determining what to procure and when.
• Solicitation planning—documenting product requirements and identifying potential sources.
• Solicitation—obtaining quotations, bids, offers, or proposals, as appropriate.
• Source selection—choosing from among potential sellers.
• Contract administration—managing the relationship with the seller.
• Contract closeout—completion and settlement of the contract, including resolution of any open items.