Knowledge Areas of Project Management

The knowledge areas of project management describe project management practices and knowledge in term of its inherent processes. According to PMBOK 5th edition, these processes have been grouped into 10 knowledge areas
1) Project Integration Management
2) Project Scope Management
3) Project Time Management
4) Project Cost Management
5) Project Quality Management
6) Project Risk Management
7) Project Human Resource Management
8) Project Communication Management
9) Project Procurement Management
10) Project Stakeholders Management

Read Also: Introduction to PMBOK

1- Project Integration Management

It describes the processes required to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly coordinated. It includes the process and activities to identify, define, combine, unify and coordinate the various processes of project management activities within the project management process group. There are 6 processes of project integration management including Develop project charter, Develop Project management plan, Direct and manage project work, Monitor and control project work, perform integrated change control and close project or phase. Project integration is required when different project process interact with each other, when ongoing operations and activities needs to integrate with strategic planning, and to integrate the project documents to ensure consistency with project management plan and products/services/deliverable.

2- Project Scope Management

It describes the processes involved in defining and controlling what is or is not included in the project. To ensure that the project includes all the required work and only the required work (No More-No Less) in order to complete project successfully. Project scope management contains 6 processes including Plan scope management, collect requirements, define scope, create work breakdown structure, validate scope and control scope.

3- Project Time Management

It describes the processes required to ensure timely completion of project. It is considered to be a core knowledge area, and is closely bind with cost and scope of project. The main purpose of this knowledge area, as it name suggests, is to build processes and outputs into the project that assist the manager and team to complete the project in a timely manner. There are 7 processes of Project time management including plan schedule management, define activities, sequence activities, estimate activity resources, estimate activity duration, develop schedule and control schedule.

4- Project Cost Management

It describes the processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget. Project managers must understand basic principles of cost management to be effective in managing project cost. There are 4 processes in this knowledge area including plan cost management, estimate cost, determine budget and control cost.

5- Project Quality Management

It describes the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken. It includes the activities that determine quality polices, objectives, quality systems and responsibilities to satisfy the needs of end user and customer expectations relating to project deliverable. Project quality management ensures that the project expectations, including project requirements are fully met and validated. It contains 3 processes including plan quality management, perform quality assurance and control quality.

6- Project Human Resource Management

It describes the processes required to make the most use of people involved with the project. It includes the process of identifying project roles, responsibilities, making job descriptions, reporting relationships, staff management plan, confirming HR availability and obtaining them, improving competence, job environment, tracking performance and proving feedback. These all are isolated into 4 processes of project human resource management including plan human resource management, acquire human resource, develop human resource and manage human resource.

7- Project Communication Management

It describes the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, storage, distribution and ultimate disposition of project information. Communication plays a major role in success of any project and it requires strong verbal skills. Project manager must be able to communicate effectively because it’s a greatest threat to the failure of many projects. Project communication management comprises of 3 processes including plan communication management, manage communication and control communication.

8- Project Risk Management

It describes the processes concerned with identifying, analyzing and responding to project risks throughout the life of project to meet project objectives. Risk management is all about minimizing the chances of failure. It is a continuous process of identifying and managing uncertain events that can be negative or positive. On the bases of nature and occurrence, risk can be known-unknown and unknown-unknown, and on the bases of sources of occurrence, risk can be internal and external to the project. There are 6 processes of project risk management including plan risk management, identify risk, perform qualitative risk analysis, perform quantitative risk analysis, plan risk responses and control risks.

9- Project Procurement Management

It describes the processes required for acquiring or purchasing the goods, services, material and equipment from outside the performing organization to perform the project work. It also includes contract management and change control system to manage changing in contracts. This knowledge area is carefully integrated with project schedule as failing which delay can occur on project. 4 processes that covered under project procurement management are plan procurement management, conduct procurement, control procurement and close procurement.

10- Project Stakeholder Management

It describes the processes involved in managing the expectations of those who have some interest in project and that could affect or be affected by project deliverable. Stakeholder management is a process and control that must be planned and guided by primary principles, as it is a critical component to the successful delivery of any project. It is included as a 10th knowledge area in 5th edition of PMBOK. There are 4 processes of project stakeholder management that includes identify stakeholders, plan stakeholder management, manage stakeholder engagement and control stakeholder engagement.

Ifrah Laiq

Hey, I am Ifrah. A confident business graduate who holds a masters degree in Project Management. I have a vast knowledge of Project Management and its applications and I am serving students and professionals with professional Project Management trainings and articles.

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