Gimme a P!

 

No, PMBOK^® is not a new sports shoe by Reebok specifically made to enable project managers to jump higher, talk faster and keep projects on budget in scope and on time. It is, however, considered by many to be the gospel of project management, the complete listing of the rules of the road for project managers. I have worked on projects where PMBOK, or A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), to be precise, was quoted and referred to as THE oracle by which we would manage projects to the letter, allowing no room for variation.

This got me wondering. Was this the intention of the PMBOK Guide and its author? How should I interpret and use this guide as I manage my projects? What kind of flexibility do I have as a project manager to use methods that aren't described in PMBOK? What can I do about my nasty dandruff problem? And my breath could choke a horse. (Wait a second. I digress...)

So, as a public service to fellow project managers across the country, around the world and in galaxies far, far away, I went straight to the source and spoke to the man who helped pull together all versions of the PMBOK Guide. That man is Steve Fahrenkrog, Project Management Professional (PMP), the Standards Manager for the Project Management Institute (PMI). We talked; I kept my mouth closed and my ears opened. I learned. Hopefully, so will you.

The PMBOK Guide is…

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.