Project management knowledge areas.

There are 9 project management knowledge areas, that I used throughout the project management processes.

They are:

• project integration management
• project Scope management
• project Time management
• project cost management
• project quality management
• project human resource management
• project communications management
• project risk management
• project procurement management

Let's consider each in turn:

Project integration management.

This consists of seven processes:

• Develop project charter
• Develop preliminary project Scope statement
• Develop project management plan
• Direct and manage project execution
• Monitor and control project work
• Integrated change control
• Close project

This knowledge area is concerned with identifying defining the work of the project and then combining and integrating with the appropriate processes

It also includes managing issues and change, and replanning if required.

There are two tools which fell with this process. They are earned Value management and the use of project management software such as Microsoft Project.

Project Scope management.

This has five processes:

• Scope planning
• Scope definition
• create WBS
• Scope verification
• Scope control

There are two aspects of Scope management, one is product Scope and the other project Scope

Product Scope covers the required features the product and clarifies the boundaries what is not included.

Project Scope is concerned with the work of the project, and again clarifies the boundaries of what is not included.

Project Scope management must be used with other knowledge area processes. Scope planning, Scope definition, create WBS, Scope verification, and Scope control will use the following the PMP areas:

• The end-product requirement details
• measurement techniques to verify those details
• creating the project Scope management plan
• creating the work breakdown structure
• controlling changes to these processes

Project Time management

This includes estimating task schedules, determining the project schedule and project completion date. It will also include monitoring and controlling a project schedule throughout the project.

This knowledge area has six processes:

• Activity definition
• activity sequencing
• activity resource estimating
• activity duration estimating
• schedule development
• schedule control

Project cost management

In a similar way, this knowledge area is there to estimate the resources required, and the project budget.

Resource costing is not just about people. It should also include other types of resource such as Materials, equipment, facilities, and project related services such as letting contracts.

There are two techniques used to determine options and optimise the process: Value engineering, and life-cycle costing. These will be discussed in detail in a later article.

Project quality management

This covers two main areas, creating the products to unacceptable quality level, and the quality of the project management process.

This uses three processes:

• Quality planning
• perform quality assurance
• perform quality control

Project human resource management

This knowledge area is to do with managing people. It includes aspects such as performance appraisals, leading and coaching, and complex management. The objective here is to ensure that all human resources are used effectively, and draws upon skills such as leadership, team building, and communication.

This knowledge area contains the following processes:

• Human resource planning
• a call at project scene
• develop project scene
• manage project scene

Project communications management

Communications is not just about the humankind, but includes information such as meeting management and actions, risk actions and assessments, project plans, reviews and walk-throughs, etc. This information must be shared with all of the project stakeholders -- both internal and external to the project.

The Communications plan should document all of these aspects and along with other documents, be reviewed and updated as needed.

This knowledge area uses the following processes:

• Communications planning
• information distribution
• performance reporting
• managing stakeholders

Project risk management

The PMP manual advises that risks include both threats and opportunities. My personal view is that they should be managed separately. Risks, after all, give negative impacts, and any actions should strive to reduce or remove these.

On the other hand opportunities should be grasped, and action taken to ensure that they are realised.

This knowledge area contains six processes:

Risk management planning

• risk identification
• qualitative risk analysis
• quantitative risk analysis
• risk responses planning
• risk monitoring and control
• risk monitoring and control

Risk identification is best done during planning, and as many people should be involved as possible, so that the complete picture of risk threats to the project can be contained.

Project procurement management

Most projects work within a customer/supplier environment. Generally the project team are working on behalf of the customer, and suppliers are responsible for the creation of the project products -- both internal suppliers and external suppliers.

Activities in this knowledge area will include working with suppliers, vendors, contractors, service groups, etc.

These processes are used:

• Planning purchases and acquisitions
• plan contracting
• request sellers
• Contracting administration
• contract closure