Preparing for the Exam with PMBOK Guide—Fifth Edition (Part 8): Human Resource Management

Following 20 years at a large Canadian telecommunications firm, Bruce established the project management consulting firm Solutions Management Inc (SMI). Since 1999, he has provided contract project/program management services, been a source for project management support personnel and created/delivered courses to over 7,000 participants in Canada, the United States and England.

  Career Development   Resource Management   Using PMI Standards  

Project Human Resource Management [Chapter 9 of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)—Fifth Edition] addresses the second most critical role of the project manager (communications is #1!). It is through the four HR management processes that the project manager determines the team members that are required, acquires them and then manages them through the project lifecycle.

Returning to the comparison of the PMP exam preparation with personal fitness development, studying the Project HR Management knowledge area is like going to the gym and not working up a full sweat. Not every day has to be difficult in a person’s quest to improve their fitness level. Perhaps the person doesn’t run as fast or far on the treadmill, or they back off on the amount of weight.

It doesn’t mean they didn’t continue making progress. It simply means not every day has to be difficult. Likewise, when doing PMP exam prep, it’s a nice break to have an easier chapter. A word of caution, however: skipping the easier days (whether in fitness development or exam preparation) could mean missing out on a chance to be better.

When PMI created the fifth edition of PMBOK Guide, it did a great job of improving consistency. Almost every knowledge area starts with “Plan XYZ Management”, where XYZ is the name of the particular …

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