"Adaptive methods are generally preferred when dealing with a rapidly changing environment, when requirements and scope are difficult to define in advance, and when it is possible to define small incremental improvements that will deliver value to stakeholders". - ref. PMBOK 5th Ed (Pg.46) Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Plese, search inside the PMBOK itself the definition about what a BOK is (any type of BOK, PMBOK/BABOK/SWEBOK/EABOK/etc follow the same definition). PMBOK IS NOT A METHOD OR METHODOLOGY (sorry about the capital letter is to enphatyze only). We need to stop to use things like "PMI Methodology) Saving Changes...
Agree with Sergio. PMBOK is not a Method or Methodology
May be the question need to be rephrased :)
"The body of knowledge includes both published and unpublished materials. This body of knowledge is constantly evolving. PMI's PMBOK Guide identifies a subset of the project management body of knowledge that is generally recognized as good practice". - ref. PMBOK 5th Ed Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Ross, I agree with Sergio and Anupam. PMBoK Guide is not a methodology. PMBoK Guide is not comparable to waterfall. PMBoK Guide included iterative and incremental thinking even before the agile manifest was published (2000 edition), concepts like 'progressive elaboration' of deliverables and the cycle of process groups, build after PDCA are examples.
Some more thoughts you can find in a LinkedIn post by me: www.linkedin.com/pulse/pmis-pmbok-process-flow-iterative-incremental-walenta-pmi-fellow Saving Changes...
Greg GithensAuthor, "How to Think Strategically." Executive & Leadership Coach| Catalyst & Cadre LLCLakewood Ranch, Fl, United States
The suffix, "ology" means "study of" (eg geology is study of the earth), so from a scientific perspective methodology is the study of methods. That is why scientific papers include a section on methodology: to understand the results, you need to understand the method used to collect data.
This is relevant because different project management methods produce different results. If you use the wrong method in the wrong situation, you're likely to get poor results. Saving Changes...
From my point of view PMBoK is based on the idea that you can put together a checklist of the topics you need to do or to take into account in almost every project management situation (explicit knowledge - plan driven).
Agile is based on a broader approach where principles and practices are set as something you have to interpret in your situational context (tacit knowledge - adaptive).
cp also Charles G. Cobb "The Project Manager's Guide to Mastering Agile: Principles and Practices for an Adaptive Approach", John Wiley & Sons, 2015, Chapter 8 where he made great comparison between plan-driven and adaptive approach based on the PMBoK knowledge areas. Saving Changes...
I agree with Anupam's, Sergio's, and Thomas' comments. PMBok is not a methodology. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Hi Stephan,
the PMBoK Guide is concerned about the project management activities and not the product creation activities. The project management activities in e.g. the SCRUM method mostly comply with PMBoK:
- create a Charter - acknowledge there is a EPIC or sprint, understand who the sponsor (product owner) is and assign a project manager (this is the full though small team in SCRUM)
- plan a project - sprint/release planning and/or backlog grooming
- execute - daily work
- monitor and control - daily standups, track velocity and burndown/up, remove impediments
- close - do a retrospective
I reviewed SCRUM projects and found them much more compliant and under control than waterfall projects.
The PMBoK Guide defines and elaborates on adaptive project lifecycles, compared to phased approaches, plan driven, iterative and incremental.
In the next edition due 2017 it will include elaborations in each knowledge area how it is to be seen in adaptive projects.
As PMBoK is intended to cover and to guide through all PM knowledge (used in most projects, most of the time), it is clear that it will include agile. And it does in my view. Saving Changes...
