Project Management Body of Knowledge

The purpose of the Body of Knowledge is to identify and describe best practices that are applicable to most projects most of the time.
It's also intended to provide a common lexicon and terminology within the profession of project management.

The PMI (www.pmi.org) PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) describes project management under the following nine knowledge areas:

• Project Integration. Integrate the three main project management processes of planning, excution and control - where inputs from several knwoledge areas are brought together.
• Project Scope Management. Includes the process required to ensure timely performance of the project.
• Project Cost Management. Includes the process required to ensure that the project is completed within the approval budget. It consists of resource planning, cost estimatint, cost budgeting, cash-flow and cost control.
• Project Quality Management. Includes the process required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undetaken. Consists, for example, of determining the quality assurance and quality control.
• Project Human Resource Management. Includes the process required to make the most effective use of the people involved with the project.
• Project Communications Management. Includes the process required to ensure proper collection and dissemination of project information to all the stakeholders.
• Project Risk Management. Includes the process concerned with identifying, analysing, and responding to project risk. It consists of risk identification, risk quantification and impact, response development and risk control.
• Project Procurement Management. Includes the process required to acquire goods and services from outside the performing project team or organisation.

So, the body of knowledge can be sub-divided into four core elements which determine the deliverable objectives of the project:

• Scope
• Time
• Cost
• Quality

The other knowledges areas provide the means of achieving the deliveralbes objectives, namely:

• Integration
• Human Resources
• Communication
• Risk
• Procurement and contract