8108414

THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER MANCHESTER BUSINESS SCHOOL

BMAN70391 MANAGING PROJECTS DR. EUNICE MAYTORENA-SANCHEZ STUDENT: 8108414 LUIS ENRIQUE RUIZ VALLE ASSIGNMENT: FINAL ESSAY DATE: 19 DECEMBER, 2011

WORD COUNT: 1960

8108414 Critically discuss the value and impact of the use of Project Management Bodies of Knowledge (PM BoK)1 on project managers role and practice based on whether or not they improve a project managers abilities to manage projects more effectively.

Introduction

Business dynamics have changed over the last decades, and organizations are increasingly undertaking more projects to increase capacity, profitability or innovation to face changes. Technology improvements are being developed faster in time, increasing project complexity, thus more tools to plan and control processes become necessary to properly handle their budgets and schedules (Widerman, 1995). The above have also increased both the demand and the interest for qualified and competent project managers (Crawford, 2005). Project managers are regarded as the individuals responsible for the timely, cost-effective and quality delivery of projects, within schedule, resources and safety requirements constraints (Edum-Fotwe & McCaffer, 2000). Project Management is defined as the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to protect activities to meet project requirements (PMI; 2004, p.8 in Brill et al, 2006).

Project managers therefore are the individuals provided with the skillset to run projects and assure they are completed according to specification. Such skills have been largely compiled by various Project Management associations throughout the world, forming the Bodies of Knowledge. They are a compilation of standards which provide a baseline for effective and competent project managing. These standards are mainly gathered from the experience and knowledge of the people involved in the project management practice, as well as academics who seek to enhance its development into a properly recognized profession. The largest and most extensively used around the world is the Project Management Institutes (USA) Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide, and therefore will be the center of the arguments in this paper. It contains knowledge classified and organized in a comprehensive and understandable way that can be of great help to the individuals or organizations involved in project works, providing a firm knowledge and startup guide on which to lean (Widerman, 1995).

8108414 However, several criticisms have been formulated against this guide, concerning primarily the way how it addresses the contained issues, what are the foundations of this compiled knowledge, and several aspects it is argued not to cover and which are strongly influential to the success of a project. This paper aims to discuss the PMBOK Guides contribution to success of projects if properly employed, and is divided into three sections.

The foundations of PMBOK

The Project Management Institute (PMI) has been the leading Project Management dominant association in the world. Their PMBOK is formed by the most accepted best practice knowledge, which has become a standard and widely used language for Project Management professionalism and quality (Pant and Baroudi, 2008). However, Horner and Yong (2006) argue that its content is strongly oriented to the more explicit knowledge, leaving aside the insights of experts that are not generalized, which they call expert judgment. Morris et al (2006) wrote that it is not supported by scientific research and its structure has not adapted to incorporate any changes derived from it. It has become difficult to incorporate changes to it because it would mean changing all of the training material and guides that have been developed to pass on the knowledge to future Project Managers and certify them, and according to Morris et al (2006), the consultants who have worked to produce these materials are not willing to invest resources to change them. According to Wiederman (1995), if the PMBOK fails to incorporate the latest observations and discoveries derived from research, it may fall behind and become obsolete because research has always provided what will be the standard for the future.

The most valued knowledge and skills acquired by Project Managers come from the accumulated experience throughout the years, rather than the academic. Their academic background is generally Engineering, but their business environment and the changing conditions within it shapes their knowledge, as they have to accumulate at least 10 years working experience in different projects to be able to reach their position (Edum-Fotwe and McCaffer, 2000). Project Managers, therefore, are quite academically qualified in the technical areas, which are covered by the PMBOK, but get their managerial and people skills purely from experience. Brill et al (2006) argue that the Guide makes no reference to
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8108414 leadership competences, ranked second in contributing to project success according to their study. Horner and Yong (2006) add there is a need to explain why each process is taken and documented, and who should be the best person to do it, as it is of little help for new Project Managers in identifying these. Pant and Baroudi (2008) criticize the teaching of Project Management, arguing it needs to emphasize more on the human side rather than the technical. The Project Manager must understand all these concepts and their rationale in order to apply them properly, and combine them with his or her personal experience, because although not every factor of the project depends on him or her, a poor performance could result in a good project turning out to be a failure (Munns and Bjeirmi, 1996).

PMBOK Areas of influence in projects

Of the nine Knowledge Areas covered in the PMBOK Guide, not all of them are always and equally used by Project Managers. Depending on the industry in which the project is being developed, Project Managers will often have to make choices within their limited resources and time on which are the most critical areas to focus in. Time, risk, scope and Human Resources Management are the ones which have the most impact on project success (Zwikael, 2009). Project Managers must be able to perform using the relevant methods or techniques (experience-based, as has been stated before), while being able to view the whole project, relationships between individuals and functions and how changes and actions can affect both the project and the parts involved (El-Sabaa, 2001). Expertise becomes crucial in this situation and the time management and scheduling tools contained in the PMBOK Guide can constitute a great help in dealing with these issues. However, it is entirely up to the Project Manager to apply them effectively, knowing who is the best person for each task and when to use them, and the Guide itself cannot provide that knowledge.

On the other hand, the Project Manager is constrained by the Senior Management and supervisors perceptions. Crawford (2005) contends that what would be the most valued practices and knowledge for the Project Manager are not necessarily equally or at all important for the Senior Management and supervisors. Thus not having the same priority and not giving the Project Manager the needed authority. Moreover, the author argues that supervisors do not like Project Managers to go beyond the functions of time, cost and
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8108414 procurement, which would be perceived as entering into more general management areas (2005). The PMBOK Guide does not provide knowledge or advice on how to turn this kind of situations around. As the Project Managers are usually younger and less experienced than these general managers (El-Sabaa, 2001), this is more about the soft skills and human relations that the Project Manager has to develop. Or as put by Simpson (2002:p.3), develop a pattern of interaction between your boss and you, that delivers the best possible results for your organization (and, by extension, for each of you).

Soft skills (Human)

The PMBOK focuses mainly on the hard skills of knowledge, and leaves unattended the soft skills, relating to people and relations to transfer knowledge, attributing it to the Systems Theory background from where it was founded (Pant and Baroudi, 2008). Projects can often be formed by cross-functional teams, people from different backgrounds working together under the above mentioned constraints, pooling knowledge to produce the intended outcome (Horner and Yong, 2006).

The Project Manager has then to manage the knowledge inventory in order to take the greatest advantage of it. Once more, leadership is crucial to achieve this, and is not covered by the PMBOK. Moreover, among the individuals involved, there might be ones which have more expertise than others, carrying tacit knowledge. Although the PMBOK makes no direct reference to how this knowledge can be transferred, it does make a brief reference to mentoring and coaching (Horner and Yong, 2006). The younger or less experienced should be able to access the expertise provided by their more experienced teammates for the work to be carried out effectively, and the Project Manager assumes the role of facilitator. He or she must have team working skills, conveying cooperative efforts from his team and being aware of and oriented to their needs and motivations (El-Sabaa, 2001). Having no direct tool in the PMBOK to assist, Horner and Yong (2006) sustain that a knowledge map would provide the Project Manager and its members with all the background, qualifications and abilities of each other to identify who is the best person for each task and to solve each type of problem. For a project to be successful, it must satisfy all of its stakeholders expectations, and it is the Project Managers duty to achieve this (Zwikael, 2009).

8108414 With each phase or project ending, the team should be able to learn from the tasks and processes carried out. It is a crucial aspect in order to move on and to avoid the mistakes made in the past. However, documentation is not always properly taken, and this area seldom represents a priority in the Project Managers mind. The PMBOK Guide includes the Lessons Learned Knowledge Object and a technique called Lessons Learned Process (10.2.2.4) which provide a strong source to enable organizations learning from previous phases or projects (Horner and Yong, 1006).

Although the PMBOK Guide covers Communications Management, Project Managers invest little time and effort in this Knowledge Area, as they do not consider it of the highest relevance to project success (Zwikael, 2009).

Conclusions

As it has been discussed, the Project Management Bodies of Knowledge, specifically the PMBOK Guide, represent a compilation of the technical and managerial expertise of the best knowledge of the people working as Project Managers. This information has been compiled and organized through several years and has undergone several revisions and improvements. A body of knowledge constitutes a useful guideline for the standard procedures and performance requirements towards successful project development. The tools and techniques it comprises can help both a new and an experienced Project Manager attain success at delivering the project on time, within budget and meeting the quality standards required.

However, there are still several improvements to be made, as the people skills are left aside and the focus has been on the technical and hard skills of the projects. These skills are equally important to the correct delivery of a project, as people are the most important resource of any work. The Project Manager still has to rely on the experience acquired through years of work to master these skills and be able to make the most of the people under his supervision. Knowledge inventories and maps are a very helpful tool in identifying who knows what and how it can be best applied. The development of relationships is crucial to the success of the project, whether it is, up, down or laterally in the structure to get the support and cooperation of all the stakeholders involved in the
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8108414 project. The PMBOK can and must include better people-oriented processes so that the young Project Managers can achieve complete effectiveness while planning and coordinating the actions of a project or programme.

Also, the contributions of recent research should be taken into consideration for the improvement of the PMBOK and better knowledge transfer. As research advances, more effective techniques and tools are developed which can help the Project Manager better complete projects. Academic contributions and improvements to the certification processes and materials should also taken into account for improvement, despite the costs of changing some assessment or learning material. The costs could be very low compared to the potential benefits it could bring.

8108414 References:

-Brill et al, The Competencies and Characteristics Required of an Effective Project Manager: A Web-Based Delphi Study, ETR&D, Vol. 54, No. 2, p. 115-140, 2006. USA -Crawford, L., Senior Management Perceptions of Project Management Competence, International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 23, pp-7-16, 2005. Project Management and Economics Program, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. -Edum-Fotwe, F.T., McCaffer, R. Developing Project Management Competency: Persperctives from the Construction Industry. International Journal of Project Management 18 (2000). Pp 111-124. Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicester, UK. -El-Sabaa, S. , The skills and career path of an Effective Project Manager. International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 19, 2001, pp. 1-7. The American University in Cairo, Department of Management. Egypt. -Horner, B., Yong, S., Searching for Knowledge in the PMBOK Guide. Project Management Journal, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 11-26, 2006. Canada -Morris et al, Exploring the role of formal bodies of knowledge in defining a profession The case of Project Management, International Journal of Project Management, 24 (2006) 710-721. -Munns, A. K. and Bjeirmi, B.F., The role of Project management in achieving Project success. International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 81-87, 1996. Elsevier Science Ltd and IMPA. Great Britain. -Pant I, Baroudi, B, Project Management Education: The human skills imperative. International Journal of Project Management, 26 (2008) 124-128. School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia. Adelaide, Australia. -Simpson, L, Why Managing Up Matters, Harvard Management Update, 2002, Harvard Business School Publishing. Article reprint No. U0208A

8108414 -Wideman, R M, Criteria for a Project-management body of knowledge, International Journal of Project Management, Vol.13, No.2, pp.71-75, 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd. Great Britain.

-Zwikael, O. The Relative Importance of the PMBOK Guides Nine Knowledge Areas during Project Planning. Project Management Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp 94-103. Australia, December2009. Project Management Institute.