IS THERE WIDE SPREAD CONSENSUS? – An appeal for a Second Public Exposure Draft
Jim BrandenSenior Project Manager| Retired from UNC Charlotte - IT Services - PPMOCharlotte, Nc, United States
I believe the drafting committee who wrote the 7th Edition update to The Standard for Project Management made a good faith effort to bring the Standard in line with their vision of the state-of-the-profession. They obviously worked very hard and dedicated themselves to completing the document within the constraints of a volunteer team working in a virtual environment with sensitivity to schedule.
PMI Standards has always prided itself on developing consensus-based standards and guides that promote the practice of project management. To accomplish this, standards development committees seek open participation and multiple rounds of input. It is only through a robust effort to elicit and incorporate feedback can a true consensus view be obtained.
Unfortunately, in my professional opinion, (having contributed to the public exposure drafts of the third, fifth and seventh editions) the document as it stands today, does not reflect a consensus of the reviewers. The document suffers from flaws in the process of content development more than from the efforts of the drafting committee.
THIS POST RESPECTFULLY REQUESTS THE STANDARDS CONSENSUS COMMITTEE IN ITS JUNE MEETING TO VOTE AGAINST APPROVING THE DOCUMENT AS AN ANSI STANDARD FOR THE FOLLOWING FIVE REASONS.
Reason one: CONTENT DOES NOT REFLECT THE SPECIAL ASPECTS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT AS A SUBSET OF GENERAL ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT. The heart of the document focuses on twelve principles which can apply to any business without regard for the demands of projects producing changes in those organizations. There is no basis for those twelve principles identified, no discussion of market studies or literature reviews, or even a bibliography or an example of a study focused on principles of pm-practice. There is no justification made for defining these 12 principles as the Project Delivery Principles
A Google search of “PM Principles” yielded some surprising findings. From fifteen sources (not counting PMI) 29 principles were identified that do not correlate to the twelve principles in the Standard. Two observations:
First, of the twelve principles in the Standard, two did not occur a single time in those fifteen sources:
1. Recognize and respond to systems’ interactions
2. Build quality into processes and results
Second, five of the twelve principles in the Standard were mentioned between one and five times out of fifteen sources. THE ABOVE TWO OBSERVATIONS INDICATE TO ME, THAT THE TWELVE PRINCIPLES ARE NOT UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED (I.E., THERE IS A LACK OF CONSENSUS) IN A MAJORITY OF THE DIGITALLY AVAILABLE RESOURCES FOR THE PMI MEMBERSHIP.
Reason two: THE CONTENT DOES NOT INCLUDE A SINGLE REFERENCE TO THE PM BODY OF KNOWLEDGE, THE LIFE CYCLE / TEMPORARY NATURE OF PROJECTS AND CONFLATES PM-VOCABULARY INTO ALMOST MEANINGLESS AND CONFUSING DISCUSSIONS. For example, repeated uses the phrase “projects, programs and portfolios” as if they are equivalent value delivery systems. In my opinion, only projects deliver value, while programs and portfolios MANAGE projects to magnify the coordinated value of multiple projects.
Reason three: APPROXIMATELY 500 REVIEWERS SUBMITTED OVER 5,000 COMMENTS ON 1,492 LINES. I.E. 3.35 COMMENTS PER LINE! As to the process of establishing consensus, the feedback I received from my 87 suggestions for improvements or clarifications of content resulted in 77 (89%) “Accepted with Modification” which is actually a misnomer because the vast majority received this standard reply: “Our justification: SEVERAL COMMENTS WERE RECEIVED FOR THIS SEGMENT OF CONTENT. IN RESPONSE WE HAVE ELIMINATED THE SENTENCE.” That is not “accepting and modifying”; that is REJECTING suggestions for improvement or clarification. Only one of MY 77 comments was implemented and my comment pointed out that the original statement was not ‘true’, so it was rewritten!
Of the 87 responses to my input, I appealed 56 (64%) because I objected to the elimination of content that needed clarification of simple additions to make it appropriate to the PM environment. The response to my appeals was shocking to me: “SINCE THE DISPUTED TEXT WAS REMOVED FROM THE DOCUMENT, THE APPEAL IS REJECTED.” Why cannot a person appeal for the reinstatement of content that was originally deemed worthy of inclusion to be improved rather than omitted?
Reason Four: BOTTOM LINE of my participation: my original review covered 211 (14%) of the 1,492 lines. Based on the identified text tied to the ‘eliminated sentence’, APPROXIMATELY 20% OF THE TEXT WAS ELIMINATED INCLUDING A DISCUSSION OF THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE KEY PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND ONLY ABOUT 10% WAS REWRITTEN, INCLUDING A NEW FIGURE, WITHOUT PUBLIC EXPOSURE. If one extrapolates the number of appeals based on my experience, the magnitude of objections does not indicate consensus because of the significantly changed document.
Reason five: THE DELETIONS AND UNPUBLISHED REPLACEMENTS CONSTITUTE A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO THE PUBLIC EXPOSURE DRAFT; A DOCUMENT ONLY THE DRAFTING COMMITTEE HAS SEEN. Without a broader review by the larger project management community, for additional feedback, I do not believe PMI can claim the document has a consensus of the membership / profession. Changes of this magnitude warrant a full public exposure of the revised draft to support any valid claim there is broad consensus for the content of the new document.
Thus, I feel the document needs a second public exposure to establish that the new Standard has the consensus of the membership who have devoted so much effort to help the drafting committee reach its goals of a current Standard that will serve the profession for the foreseeable future.
I welcome other views as to whether the proposed draft Standard for Project Management-Seventh Edition as it now stands is a true consensus-based standard and its content reflects the pm context.
Jim Branden, MBA, PMP Saving Changes...
Is this an ongoing discussion? Has PMI replied with a positive or negative about an additional review? Saving Changes...
Marvin NelsonProduct Specialist| PMIExton, Pa, United States
Hello everyone. We know that you are eager for updates on the development of the PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition. Thank you for the robust conversation thus far. We have been listening, but per the standards development procedures, we have been unable to comment until now. As you know, PMI maintains an ANSI-accredited policy for the development of standards, and the development team has worked diligently to follow this policy. Based on where we are in the process, we can now share that there is no plan to re-expose the draft standard and that we continue to follow the procedures outlined in the policy.
For the latest updates, please follow along via our monthly Getting Under the Hood webinars and other online and social media updates.
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2 replies by Karen R. White and Sergio Luis Conte
Aug 28, 2020 7:45 AM
Sergio Luis Conte
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The point is not to re-expose the Standard. The point is the PMI will not expose the PMBOK Guide. That´s the point. It is a big mistake.
Aug 30, 2020 11:57 AM
Karen R. White
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Marvin, Please provide the full URL to the official community communications regarding this standard and the guide. My graduate students are concerned they are not being taught what they need for PMP exams in 2 years.
Thank you Karen
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Aug 28, 2020 7:42 AM
Replying to Marvin Nelson
...
Hello everyone. We know that you are eager for updates on the development of the PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition. Thank you for the robust conversation thus far. We have been listening, but per the standards development procedures, we have been unable to comment until now. As you know, PMI maintains an ANSI-accredited policy for the development of standards, and the development team has worked diligently to follow this policy. Based on where we are in the process, we can now share that there is no plan to re-expose the draft standard and that we continue to follow the procedures outlined in the policy.
For the latest updates, please follow along via our monthly Getting Under the Hood webinars and other online and social media updates.
The point is not to re-expose the Standard. The point is the PMI will not expose the PMBOK Guide. That´s the point. It is a big mistake. Saving Changes...
Marvin NelsonProduct Specialist| PMIExton, Pa, United States
Hi Sergio, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge – or what we like to call the “guide portion” of the PMBOK® Guide – is separate from the standard and is not subject to the same development policy, hence why we did not make it available for review. With the current update, we made a decision to align the development process for the guide portion with the development process for other guides in PMI’s Standards Library. I want to assure you that the guide portion will still reflect all project management approaches and provide a framework in which the standard can be applied to managing projects.
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Aug 29, 2020 3:37 AM
Sergio Luis Conte
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I know the guide and the standard are not the same. The problem is the guide will not published for public review. Is not about approaches. Is about to review what it is inside the guide listed as best practices in the context of what the guide stated as best practice which is taken from the community practices then it must be reviewed by the community itself in my opinion.
Saving Changes...
Mahabubur RahmanProject Manager Structures-Bridges| Department of Infrastructure, Government of Nothwest TerritoriesYellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
I think, for those who will appear in the PMP exam based on 7th ed they will need to consult the PMBOK Guide as well as the PMI's Standards Library! The exam content will be expanded and wondering what would be the strategy for exam preparation! How long the preparation time would be! Is it one year, two year or more? Is PMI planning that they will offer courses into their accreditted university?
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1 reply by Kiron Bondale
Aug 29, 2020 10:21 AM
Kiron Bondale
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Mahabubur -
The updated PMP exam being launched in January 2021 is not tied to the PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition changes and PMI certification staff have stated that there won't be a direct update of the PMP exam questions based on the launch of the Seventh Edition.
Over time, as is normally the case, PMI does refresh questions in the PMP exam "pool" and those will use the Seventh Edition as well as many other project management books as references.
Kiron
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Aug 28, 2020 6:47 PM
Replying to Marvin Nelson
...
Hi Sergio, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge – or what we like to call the “guide portion” of the PMBOK® Guide – is separate from the standard and is not subject to the same development policy, hence why we did not make it available for review. With the current update, we made a decision to align the development process for the guide portion with the development process for other guides in PMI’s Standards Library. I want to assure you that the guide portion will still reflect all project management approaches and provide a framework in which the standard can be applied to managing projects.
I know the guide and the standard are not the same. The problem is the guide will not published for public review. Is not about approaches. Is about to review what it is inside the guide listed as best practices in the context of what the guide stated as best practice which is taken from the community practices then it must be reviewed by the community itself in my opinion. Saving Changes...
I think, for those who will appear in the PMP exam based on 7th ed they will need to consult the PMBOK Guide as well as the PMI's Standards Library! The exam content will be expanded and wondering what would be the strategy for exam preparation! How long the preparation time would be! Is it one year, two year or more? Is PMI planning that they will offer courses into their accreditted university?
Mahabubur -
The updated PMP exam being launched in January 2021 is not tied to the PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition changes and PMI certification staff have stated that there won't be a direct update of the PMP exam questions based on the launch of the Seventh Edition.
Over time, as is normally the case, PMI does refresh questions in the PMP exam "pool" and those will use the Seventh Edition as well as many other project management books as references.
Hello everyone. We know that you are eager for updates on the development of the PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition. Thank you for the robust conversation thus far. We have been listening, but per the standards development procedures, we have been unable to comment until now. As you know, PMI maintains an ANSI-accredited policy for the development of standards, and the development team has worked diligently to follow this policy. Based on where we are in the process, we can now share that there is no plan to re-expose the draft standard and that we continue to follow the procedures outlined in the policy.
For the latest updates, please follow along via our monthly Getting Under the Hood webinars and other online and social media updates.
Marvin, Please provide the full URL to the official community communications regarding this standard and the guide. My graduate students are concerned they are not being taught what they need for PMP exams in 2 years.
Stelian ROMANProject Manager| MicroSafetyCarlingford, New South Wales, Australia
I fond interesting that the discussion shifted from the content of the PMBOK7 as a standard and the benefits of wider consultation, to the impact to training and certification.
PMBOK is and should remain a collection of practices, not a certification guide. PMP require practice, not only knowledge acquired in a training course. That's why PMP holds a high prestige in the market. As a practitioner I believe that a change was needed and there was an expectation from the market for a significant change to align the practice with the standard.
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1 reply by Marcus Udokang
Sep 02, 2020 3:25 AM
Marcus Udokang
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Good points.
Saving Changes...
Marcus UdokangProject Manager| Aivaz ConsultingCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Sep 01, 2020 10:03 PM
Replying to Stelian ROMAN
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I fond interesting that the discussion shifted from the content of the PMBOK7 as a standard and the benefits of wider consultation, to the impact to training and certification.
PMBOK is and should remain a collection of practices, not a certification guide. PMP require practice, not only knowledge acquired in a training course. That's why PMP holds a high prestige in the market. As a practitioner I believe that a change was needed and there was an expectation from the market for a significant change to align the practice with the standard.
