Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) for Project Management
Literature Review
The PMBoK is a guide for project management, wherein all the contents constitute a body of knowledge for project managers to follow and use. This document is the product of the work of the Project Management Institute (PMI). It is said that the practices mentioned therein are applicable to most projects most of the time, and that experts have concurred about their utility and value. This means that the direct application of the processes, tools, and techniques can improve the chances of success of a project. PMBoK is process-driven, meaning that it is made out of several groups of processes, which must be accomplished to ensure the project’s success. The processes are described in terms of inputs, tools and outputs. Inputs could be in the form of plans, documents, designs. Tools could be in the form of techniques that are applied to the inputs. The outputs are those documents, plans and designs that result from the processes used to convert the inputs into outputs. The five main process groups are:
Initiating – processes used to create and define a new project or a new phase of an existing project after authorization is taken in order to start the new project or phase;
Planning – the processes that are needed to define the scope of the project, clearly state the objectives, and state the course of action that is needed in order to obtain the objectives of the phase or project;
Executing – the processes that are necessary to bring the phase or the project to completion within the bounds of the specifications of the project;
Monitoring and Controlling – these are the processes that are engaged in to track, regulate and review the progress and status of the project. The areas for change and adjustment are also identified at this point in time, and the process of initiating changes are done here.
Closing – these processes are engaged in so that all the activities across the process set are formally closed (PMI 2016).
In the context of post disaster management, the main output is the change that a project manager would like to bring about after an emergency or a disaster. Along with this outcome are the deliverables that the project would bring to its beneficiaries or recipients. The project must be evaluated using metrics, and the cost and duration of the project to completion must be clearly stated as well.
In addition to these, the PMBoK framework includes several management areas. These are:
Project integration management, which includes all the processes that are needed to make sure that all the elements of the project are coordinated. These are made up of the project plan development, execution, and integrated change control;
Project scope management, which includes the processes needed such that the project has all the work necessary in order to ensure the successful completion of the project. This section includes initiation, scope planning, scope definition, scope verification and scope change control;
Project time management, which covers all what is needed to ensure the timely completion of the project. Activity definition, sequencing, duration estimation of the activities, schedule development and control;
Project cost management, which includes all the processes needed in order to ensure that the project is completed within the necessary time period within the prescribed budget. Included here are the activities of resource planning, cost estimation, cost budgeting and cost control;
Project Quality Management, which includes all the processes which will make sure that the project will satisfy all the needs for which the project was undertaken. The activities here are quality planning, quality assurance and quality control;
Project Human Resource Management, which includes all the processes needed in order to make effective use of the individuals who will be involved in the project. The activities included here are organizational planning, the acquisition of staff and team development;
Project Communications Management, which includes all the processes that are required in order to ensure the generation, collection, dissemination and disposition of all the information pertaining to the project. The activities here include communications planning, information distribution, the reporting of performance and administrative closure;
Project Risk Management, which includes the processes that are needed for the identification, analysis and responding to project risk. The activities included here are risk management planning, risk identification, quantitative and qualitative risk analysis, planning for responding to risk and risk monitoring and control;
Project Procurement Management, which includes the processes that are needed for the acquisition of goods and services outside of the project group. The activities included here are procurement planning, solicitation planning, the selection of sources, the administration of contracts and the closure of contracts.
Thus it is clear that the PMBoK encompasses knowledge that is also related to other management disciplines aside from Project Management. These areas are general management -planning, organization, leading and directing as well as the areas of law, strategic planning, human resource management and logistics (PMI 2016).
What can be said about the PMBoK is that it is quite rigid in nature and that the project manager will have to an expert on the many processes that are required throughout the life of the project. He will have to make sure that the project team members will be well versed in the processes required of their individual groups as well.
The Logical Framework Approach (LogFrame)
The LogFrame approach is an approach that is commonly used in designing, monitoring and evaluating international development projects. It was developed in the late 1960s for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This method for project management is commonly used by many international donor agencies, and is likewise popular with non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and the private sector. The main framework of LogFrame takes the form of a four-by-four table. The main essence of LogFrame is:
carefully defining each element of the project, and how each element is related to one another;
provisions for evaluating the project which the manager can put to good use (Practical Concepts, Inc. 1979)
In the LogFrame, there are three levels of responsibility:
Inputs – the resources that are used, and the activities that are undertaken;
Outputs – the things that the managers produce, and are stated as the end results;
Purpose – the reason for producing the outputs. For instance, if the outputs are products or services, then the reason may be profits. If the output is services, then the reason may be the improvement of the quality of life of those receiving the services (FAO 2016).
What is important about the LogFrame is that there are two major phases: the planning and the analysis phases. The first part of the analysis portion is the analysis of the project context. What is the general rationale for the project? The project is supposed to help the project manager move a current situation toward the desired situation via the use of the project. For the rest of the analysis phase, there are the stakeholder analysis, problem analysis, the objective analysis and the strategy analysis. For the Planning phase, there are the resource and activity scheduling and the development of the LogFrame Matrix (LFM). (Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management 2015). In the stakeholder analysis, the project manager has to make a list of each and every stakeholder, and list the problems, the needs and the influence of each stakeholder in the project. The four major stakeholders are the beneficiaries of the project, the project management team, the implementers and the financiers of the project. The experts in the project have to decide on what information would be necessary for the project. In the context of disaster and emergency management, the situation or problem analysis would call for the analysis of the current and future risks of the stakeholders and the current capacities that these stakeholders have in order to manage the situation. The objectives analysis seeks to provide answers to the questions of what the desired situation is, what the overall goal would be, and what the expected results would be. The long-term effects of the project would have to be determined at this point in time.
The formulation of strategy begins with the creation of a plan of activities. There may be a mix of activities needed to achieve the goals and objectives of the project. A comprehensive plan will come from a carefully-crafted objectives analysis. The plan may have mixed activities, but clearly what will also have to be stated are which activities must be accomplished first before the next set of activities may be engaged in. Next is the resource planning step. In this step, there must be a detailed plan of what resources must be allocated in order to implement all the activities in the plan. All the resources should be included, whether they be in the form of cash or funding, or non- cash entities such as volunteering to pay for the salaries for some of the people working on the project. It should also be determined which stakeholder control what resources, such that the responsibilities for the funding can be designated as well. Finally, essential to the LogFrame analysis is the analysis of risk in the project and its management. Questions such as what can happen that can have a negative impact on the project, the likelihood of these occurring, and if these indeed happen, what the consequences would be for the project (UNDP 2004).
It appears that the LogFrame analysis method is more appropriate to use when it comes to post-disaster/emergency projects. This is because the steps in the process allow for some measure of flexibility, which will surely be needed in post-disaster situations. Oftentimes just right after a disaster, the magnitude of the scope of the project is not clearly defined. There has to be a careful assessment of the situation on hand, but oftentimes, after a disaster, there are many elements that come into play as the project unfolds. Thus the structure of the LogFrame analysis is more suited to the flexibility needs of post-disaster situations.
Comparison
The PMBoK method is processed-based. That is, processes are described in terms of the inputs, tools and techniques, and the outputs. There is also the formal recognition of the 44 processes organized around five basic process groups and nine knowledge areas. Looking at the literature of LogFrame analysis, the focus is on the development of the discipline of clear and critical thinking about the aims of the project, and emphasizing the aspects upon which the project depends. Thus the PMBoK method is said to be rigid in the sense that the 44 processes are to be utilized in the management of the project.
The PMBoK method concentrates on the use of the processes, and therefore it would be useful to have the body of knowledge present already prior to the project. In the situation of an emergency or a disaster, this would translate to the information on the victims, supply chain information for the delivery of relief, budgets and plans for reconstruction if necessary, and other information. For LogFrame analysis, it would appear that the body of knowledge may be present already, but more information is to be gathered in order to add to the body of knowledge as the analysis cascades down and proceeds. For the purposes of post disaster projects, it would appear that the LogFrame analysis would be more applicable as the logic of the method may help facilitate the delivery of goods and services in more timely manner.
Both methods, however, emphasize the need for clearly-stated objectives that will define the future activities and tools to be selected to ensure a successful project. Without the objectives, there can be no clearly defined project scope using the PMBoK methodology, and in the LogFrame methodology, one cannot determine the new situation that the stakeholders want to be in after the project is finished (Ika 2009).
As for the common success factors of both methodologies in the context of disaster or emergency project management, some factors are cross-cultural collaboration and the competency/experience of the project management team. Cross-cultural collaboration is especially important when the project has funders and beneficiaries who come from various cultural backgrounds. Cross-cultural communication is an essential aspect of the collaboration. If there are barriers to cross-cultural communication between the project team and the recipients, then the project may be unsuccessful (International Project Management Association 2010). Another common success factor is the competency and experience of the project management team. The project manager must be able to best represent the interests of the project. Also, he must be able to display excellent leadership skills. In fact, the skill level and experience of the project team manager should be a key competency when first recruiting the person for this position. Sometimes project managers are selected primarily for their technical skills. In a disaster/emergency situation, the principal areas of competence for a project manager would be: planning, communicating, negotiating, coaching and decision-making aside from overall leadership. The project manager must be able to be a good integrator, facilitator and communicator. He must be able to foster productive relationships between and among all the stakeholders in the project (PM4DEV 2007).
Project Success vs. Project Management Success
It should be noted that there is indeed a difference between project success and project management success. Successful project management contributes to the achievement of project success, but project management cannot stop a project from failing. Whether or not a project is a success depends on two critical areas: the first is that all the success criteria of the project must have been met. Success criteria are those principles and standards by which a judgement is to be rendered whether a project is successful. The second area is the area of success factors, which are the elements that are necessary in order to deliver the success criteria, and are the influences, facts or other elements that contribute to the achievement of the success criteria. Success criteria may therefore involve the project time, cost, quality and the reception by the beneficiaries. The project success factors may pertain to the human leadership, process, organization and the contractual elements used to achieve the project success criteria (Abdullah and Ramly 2006).
Project Monitoring vs. Project Evaluation
Project monitoring is the process of ensuring that the steps in the project management process have all been taken, and that a previous step has been performed and action has been taken on the results prior to the movement to the next step. Monitoring is thus a continuous assessment with the objective of providing all the stakeholders of the project with specific data and information on the activities that are ongoing (European Commission 2016). It is actually the oversight stage of the implementation phase of an project. Usually monitoring seeks to find out if the outputs and other deliverables of a project so that the next steps can be undertaken, or so that adjustments can be made in case there are deficiencies.
Evaluation, on the other hand, is the systematic examination about the relevance, effectiveness and the impact of the activities as compared to the objectives mentioned. Evaluations are also done in order to report to the stakeholders the status of the project. Also, errors or inadequacies in the project are identified during the evaluation stage, such that they are not repeated in the future or in the succeeding steps. A goal of evaluation is to provide lessons and recommendations to project managers who worked on the project and project managers who will work on similar projects in the future. Evaluations also serve as reports to the donors about the activities that have been implement up to a certain period of time. The donor can make use of this evaluation in order to determine if the funds are used efficiently and if they are well-spent indeed. While they are both management tools, the tracking of the progress of the project is the general objective, whereas in evaluation, data gathering may focus on a certain area depending on the objective of the evaluation (IFRC 2011).
Project monitoring and evaluation are important elements of any project. In the context of post-disaster project management, the funds for projects such as these are usually private donor-funded and government-funded, such that it would be a requirement to see to it that the funds utilized in any program or project are well utilized and are used efficiently as well. These tools will help any project manager ensure that the project is on track, and is leading the stakeholders or the beneficiaries towards the new and desired situation post any disaster or emergency situation (UNICEF n.d). In the context of post-disaster aid-based projects, the process of monitoring and evaluation are valuable elements in order to procure adequate funding for these aid-based post-disaster projects. While the LogFrame approach is more commonly used at the moment for these projects, the specifics and processes of the PMBoK approach is also beginning to be used for these kinds of projects. This is so project managers of these kinds of programmes can be allowed to learn and implement the management tools and processes utilized in the PMBok as well.
Bibliography
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