Written by the profession for the profession it offers the key to successful project management and is an essential part of the APM Five Dimensions of Professionalism. It is a scope statement for the profession and a sourcebook for all aspiring, new and experienced project professionals offering common definitions, references and a comprehensive glossary of terms.
We invite everyone to develop the resource by suggesting new ideas or updating existing ones. Save for later. The sourcebook for all aspiring, new and experienced project professionals can be read on most tablets and e-readers, not just Kindle.
Simply download the free app to read Kindle e-books on most Android and Apple devices. The e-book is delivered almost instantaneously, so there is no waiting around for your publication to arrive through the post. This means you can take your APM Body of Knowledge anywhere you go as it is portable making it incredibly easy to access. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Want to Read saving…. But this does not feel worth the money. And, as with the other two publications, it feels as though the link to professional qualification exams means APM has decided to set a high price, knowing people will have to buy it.
The editors and contributors should be proud of what they have created. But I doubt it will. Only the most seasoned Project Managers will find little here to inform them. The rest of us can learn a lot by reflecting on the ideas and picking up some of the recommended reading. If you have, what did you think? Dr Mike Clayton is one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is author of 14 best-selling books, including four about project management.
He is also a prolific blogger and contributor to ProjectManager. Between and , Mike was a successful project manager, leading large project teams and delivering complex projects. This is trademark bad article writing. Very annoying and poor writing. Sorry you did not like it, Will. I could also say that hyperbole is bad writing! Scroll for 20 minutes! However, you have a point. In recent articles, I add links to the content items and I have edited this article to add them in. New readers will be able to click a link at the top of the article and go straight to my conclusions.
Thank you. As someone completely new to the world of project management I am considering extending my knowledge and in turn, hopefully expand work opportunities. As you will be aware there is a large amass of information to sift through online and I was indeed quite confused as to where to start and what guides and reading material are useful.
I enjoyed reading through the article and gained an clear understanding via the perspective of your opinions on the advantages of it and potential limitations. In addition, watching the videos along the way for further explanations on certain terminology was very helpful, clear and informative.
Agile Practice Guide has been developed as a resource to understand, evaluate, and use agile and hybrid agile approaches. This practice guide provides guidance on when, where, and how to apply agile approaches and provides practical tools for practitioners and organizations wanting to increase agility. Project Management Leadership is a comprehensive guide to the human factors involved in Project Management, in particular the leadership skills required to ensure successful implementation of current best practice.
It provides the latest insights on team building, motivation, collaboration, and networking skills, and the way these can be harnessed to manage a successful project. Exercises and worked examples are provided throughout. Projects are risky undertakings, and modern approaches to managing projects recognise the central need to manage the risk as an integral part of the project management discipline.
Managing Risk in Projects places risk management in its proper context in the world of project management and beyond, and emphasises the central concepts that are essential in order to understand why and how risk management should be implemented on all projects of all types and sizes, in all industries and in all countries. Throughout, the goal is to offer a concise description of current best practice in project risk management whilst introducing the latest relevant developments, to enable project managers, project sponsors and others responsible for managing risk in projects to do just that - effectively.
This book will undoubtedly become one of the classics of the project management literature. There will be a growing need for project managers who can look beyond the internal processes of their projects to the organisational, technological and socio-economic contexts in which projects must be managed.
A good starting point would be for all project managers to read this. Over the course of five editions, Gower Handbook of Project Management has become the definitive desk reference for project management practitioners.
The Handbook gives an introduction to, and overview of, the essential knowledge required for managing projects. The team of expert contributors, selected to introduce the reader to the knowledge and skills required to manage projects, includes many of the most experienced and highly regarded international writers and practitioners.
The Fifth Edition has been substantially restructured. All but two of the authors are new, reflecting the fast-changing and emerging perspectives on projects and their management.
Gower Handbook of Project Management is an encyclopaedia for the discipline and profession of project management; a bible for project clients, contractors and students. Those people who are acknowledged as having well-developed interpersonal skills are called upon repeatedly to provide advice, guidance, leadership and creativity to resolve challenges and achieve successful outcomes.
The fundamentals of interpersonal skills do not vary across the domains of project, programme and portfolio. However, the context and organisational structures do change and this leads to different challenges and different emphases on the application of the fundamental skills.
Management of organizational behaviour. London: Prentice-Hall. Stewart, I. TA today: a new introduction to transactional analysis. Chapel Hill, NC: Lifespace. Successful communication occurs when the received meaning is the same as the transmitted meaning.
General Communication is fundamental to the P3 environment. Poor communication can lead to misunderstood requirements, unclear goals, alienation of stakeholders, ineffective plans and many other factors that will cause a project, programme or portfolio to fail.
None of the tools and techniques described in this body of knowledge will work without effective communication. Communication takes many forms.
It can be verbal, non-verbal, active, passive, formal, informal, conscious or subconscious. How communication is executed affects understanding and feelings, both of which impact the meaning received. This is why all projects, programmes and portfolios have a communication management plan that spells out what needs to be communicated: why, how, when and to whom. There are many factors that affect the effectiveness of communications.
The effective communicator is sensitive to the prevalent atmosphere and structures the message and method of delivery accordingly.
Language should be neutral, clear, objective and avoid unnecessary emotive terms. However, there may be occasions where appropriate emotion and associated delivery mechanisms such as body language can generate a specific, desired effect. There are often barriers to effective communication.
These can be physical, as in the team location or the working environment. They can be cultural, arising perhaps from lack of a common language or understanding across disciplines.
Barriers can lead to negative perceptions and related emotions such as envy, fear, mistrust and suspicion. The range of media available for communication is greater than ever. Paper, telephone and face-to-face meetings are often replaced by email, intranets, social media and SMS messaging.
The wide range of media available provides great opportunity but also increases the risk of poor communication through poor choice of medium. Poor structure and weak delivery obstruct meaning and have the potential to create barriers to understanding or communication that can hasten or aggravate failure.
Professionals must recognise different needs within their audience and use appropriate and specifically targeted media. Effective communication is a two-way process. Actively seeking out and listening to feedback are integral parts of good communication.
This feedback should inform and make the next round of communication more effective. Most organisations have well-established communications functions, systems and standards. These should be exploited to the full. By adhering to organisational standards, projects, programmes and portfolios will be aligned with the organisation as a whole.
Such standards may have been developed in relation to specific audiences, both internal and external. Communications with government and regulators often need to follow a particular standard and format.
The importance of tailoring the message and medium to the target audience cannot be overestimated. The communicator must always consider the intended impact of the communication and fashion it accordingly. Project A project communication management plan should be prepared as part of the project management plan and is subject to the approval of the sponsor. This is a live document and will be subject to updates as the project progresses and communication requirements change.
A project communication management plan must conform to policies set out in the communication management plans for programmes or portfolios of which the project forms part. Communication skills will initially be used in gathering stakeholder requirements and preparing a business case.
The resulting specifications, plans and governance arrangements must be communicated effectively to obtain approval for the project. Once it is under way, progress must be communicated and stakeholder support maintained. The project team must understand what is required of them and be confident that appropriate mechanisms are in place to communicate and resolve issues.
All of these factors require the project manager to be a highly competent communicator. This makes carefully planned communication with the increased range and diversity of stakeholders even more vital. Programme-level communication will initially focus around the vision. The aim is to ensure that all those affected by the programme have a common understanding of why it is necessary and beneficial. As more detailed information is developed, the benefits of the programme and how the necessary changes will affect business-as-usual must be communicated.
The levels of change instigated by a programme are often difficult to accept by some groups of stakeholders. Effective communication is central to mitigating the effect of opposition and marshalling support for the programme. The programme management team must maintain an overview of project communication. Projects will be responsible for their own plans.
The programme communication plan must coordinate and harmonise project communications and deal with matters outside the scope of individual projects. Portfolio Communication is most effective when it is relevant and targeted. Some communications are better handled at project level, some at programme level and some at portfolio level. The portfolio management team must establish policies for communication. They must set standards to maintain consistency and determine principles for how each entity within the portfolio will engage with its stakeholders.
Inevitably, there will be overlaps in stakeholder groups. Individuals could find themselves swamped with communications from various projects and programmes.
The portfolio must oversee communication across the board without attempting to manage communications on behalf of individual projects and programmes. London: Doubleday. DeVito, J. Human communication: the basic course. Harlow: Allyn and Bacon. The interpersonal communication book. Boston, MA: Pearson. Goleman, D. Social intelligence: the new science of human relationships. London: Hutchinson.
Conflict management is the process of identifying and addressing differences that, if left unresolved, could affect objectives. General The P3 environment is one where many people come together to achieve objectives. There will inevitably be degrees of conflict concerning all aspects of what needs to be done, how it will be done, and who will do it etc.
Not all conflict is negative. Facilitating healthy conflict without suppression can support group development and learning experiences. Conflict is a necessary component of some team development models but, even there, it must be carefully managed to prevent it becoming counterproductive. Whenever negative conflict arises it needs to be tackled before it causes damage.
Having clearly defined processes will minimise the negative effects of differences and stop them developing into conflict. The emergence of conflict can be gradual or sudden. Obvious indications include open hostility, lack of cooperation or direct challenge.
Discreet or hidden conflict is more subtly expressed through changes in style or volume of communication, opting out, passive resistance, rumour-mongering or thinly veiled negative remarks.
Unresolved conflict can be expensive. It increases uncertainty, damages morale and undermines long-term team harmony. Ultimately this may lead to failure to deliver objectives and an unhealthy corporate culture. When addressing conflict it is important to distinguish between the personalities involved, the culture of the organisation and the positions being taken.
This can defuse tension and facilitate an objective approach. While facts are readily identifiable, assumptions and emotions are often more difficult to elicit. In resolving conflict, an appropriate mediator is often required. This can sometimes be necessary where employment issues are concerned and expert knowledge is required. A mediator must be able to set aside beliefs and values to focus upon the issues.
This requires the ability to listen actively, succinctly reflect understanding, and facilitate negotiation towards a resolution. Managing conflict requires sensitivity and empathy, in conjunction with objectivity and an ethical stance. Project Conflict can be reduced at the outset of a project through good project planning and communication. The clear definition of scope, time, costs and risks creates a base document, understood by all the stakeholders, which then provides a common starting point for exploring any future conflict.
Clear governance policies enable communication of dissent and improvements in a formal, constructive way. This will include defined escalation procedures, upwards through the programme or portfolio organisation, or to an external function such as HR. A project manager needs conflict resolution skills but must also know when to ask for help.
Regardless of the approach used to manage or resolve conflict, the project manager must ensure that the outcome is communicated to all those affected. As well as dealing with programme-level conflict, programme management also needs to provide support for project teams who are unable to resolve conflicts at the project level. Although on a different scale from projects, the nature of conflict within a programme is little different from that in a project.
The main difference is the potential for internal conflict between projects. This may arise, for example, from inputs to one project being outputs from another, or competition over limited resources. Programme managers need to address conflict through effective planning and control. They must also provide arbitration and clear, timely decision-making.
Portfolio Interdependencies between projects and programmes within the portfolio will inevitably lead to conflicts over priorities and limited resources. The portfolio manager needs to provide an escalation route for conflict resolution that cannot be resolved within the component programmes or portfolios. It is also conceivable that some conflict may need to be escalated to the appropriate level within the host organisation.
A typical example is industrial relations. Ursiny, T. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks. General While delegation is primarily a mechanism for distributing work, it is also a tool for motivating and training teams and individuals to realise their full potential. Delegation underpins a style of management that encourages project team members to use and develop their skills and knowledge.
The objective of delegation is to get work done by someone else. This is not just a matter of giving instructions on what needs to be done.
It also involves matching the work to the behaviour and competences of the delegated resources, as well as giving them the authority to react to situations and make decisions. The same basic principles and process apply at project, programme and portfolio level. Like leadership, delegation is a mix of process and skill.
In preparation for the delegation process, P3 managers should ensure that they can delegate, are clear that they should delegate, and that time is available to delegate effectively. In doing so they need to recognise that some key functions and activities must remain with them, and that delegation will enable the work to be done better or cheaper by another resource. Work then needs to be allocated to a team or an individual.
Before doing this, the skill of delegation adds four further steps. Project The structure of a typical project management organisation is based upon implied delegation. While a project sponsor is accountable for the business case, responsibility for its preparation will be implicitly delegated to the project manager or to another role if the project manager has yet to be appointed.
If a project is being run without a formal methodology, then the sponsor and project manager must carefully set out a scheme of delegation. In turn, the project manager may delegate responsibility for packages of work to individuals. This may be a team leader who becomes responsible for delivering certain products, or a specialist who is responsible for managing a particular aspect of the project, e.
Programme A programme delegates responsibility for delivering many and varied outputs to its component projects. In many ways delegation encompasses the essence of programme management: the focus on managing delegated work. A programme delegates the creation of outputs to projects and the realisation of benefits to change management teams. It then monitors the work of both groups.
It is the responsibility of the programme management team to define the monitoring and reporting mechanisms, specify tolerances and provide support to resolve escalated issues. Project management teams should be permitted to manage within their remit, while the programme management team concentrate on the interdependencies between projects and any work that lies outside the scope of individual projects.
The ways in which these strategic objectives may be achieved has to respond to changing external influences. This raises the likelihood that the work delegated by the portfolio management team to the individual programmes and projects may be subject to large-scale change. As the scale of the delegated work increases, so does its susceptibility to change driven by external factors.
The portfolio management team must therefore be adept at revisiting the specification of delegated work, adjusting priorities and rebalancing resources whilst retaining a robust culture of delegation and escalation. Further reading Goleman, D. Primal leadership. General P3 managers can rarely achieve their objectives through direct authority alone, so their ability to influence others is a core skill.
Even in those instances where authority can be exercised, it is better to temper it through influence. In this way, actions and behaviours become willing rather than simply obedient. Successful intervention can be measured though changes in attitude, behaviour and decision-making that reflect the aim of the influencer. In order to be effective in influencing others, individuals or groups need to be able to assess and understand their own patterns of attitude, behaviour, emotion and decision-making.
Such patterns will be formed from a complex range of experiences, cultural aspects, contextual situations and emotional states. Influencing, at all levels, is inextricably linked with negotiation, conflict management, leadership, communications and teamwork. Influencing can be overt, discreet, conscious or subconscious and can be applied to any, or all, stakeholders.
The actions of an individual or group can also indirectly influence others who are not stakeholders. For example, a team working on a new product or service may be very positive about their task. This enthusiasm then becomes general knowledge and leads others in the wider organisation to ask about the work and even to seek to participate in it or use its products. It can be related to job title, position in the organisation and perceptions of power and control, but does not have to be.
Influence evolves as relationships are built between parties. Relationships can be based on positive factors such as shared values, ethical positions, trust and genuine liking and respect. In some situations influencing is wholly based on perceived authority. This can be negative as it provides an ability to influence based upon fear and insecurity. This, in turn, can easily become a form of control that leads to compliance without commitment.
Project A project manager has nominal authority over the members of a project team. However, in a matrix environment team members may also report to line managers who are responsible for their conditions of employment.
In leading the team, the project manager cannot rely on authority alone. Influencing skills will be required with individual team members and also with their line managers in the case of conflicting demands. The relationship between the project manager and the project sponsor is central to the success of a project. The two roles have different perspectives on the project so they will use influencing skills with each other to develop a common approach to the project.
Some will be supportive and others will be antagonistic. The project manager will use influencing and communication skills to encourage active support from some stakeholders and mitigate the objections of others.
Programme The programme manager employs similar influencing skills but has to temper these efforts based upon the level of interaction they are able to achieve with their project managers and stakeholders. Given the more strategic nature of programme management, the ability to influence can be more dependent upon job title and the reputation of the individuals involved.
The range of stakeholders that need to be influenced on a programme is large. A programme manager needs to ensure that stakeholders are engaged at the appropriate level. Whilst a particular stakeholder may only be concerned with one project, the relevant project manager may be of insufficient status to exert the necessary influence.
Where a stakeholder is affected by multiple projects, it may be best for influence to be applied at programme level to ensure that different projects do not attempt to influence in different directions. This is an area where the use of influencing skills is important. Organisations cannot be effectively changed through authority alone.
Influencing is a primary skill in establishing change that is durable and long lasting. Programmes will have business change managers, who will be responsible for influencing the many stakeholders who need to actively embrace change in order to achieve the required benefits. Portfolio The strategic nature of portfolio management inevitably requires the involvement and support of executive teams and management boards throughout the organisation.
They must establish corporate visibility and create the right environment to enable the benefits from portfolio management to be realised across the business.
Strong influencing skills will be required to facilitate decision-making and action in all phases of the portfolio life cycle. A portfolio is the most visible aspect of P3 management to the outside world. If the host organisation wishes to influence shareholders, public opinion, customers, etc. Further reading Cialdini, R. Influence: science and practice. London: Pearson.
Dent, F. Influencing, skills and techniques for business success. London: Palgrave Macmillan. General There are many theories of leadership and the subject can be approached in a variety of ways. One simple approach to understanding different leadership styles is the comparison of transactional leaders and transformational leaders. Transactional leaders ensure that requirements are agreed and that the rewards and penalties for achievement, or lack of it, are understood.
In contrast, transformational leaders do everything possible to help people succeed in their own right and become leaders themselves. They help those people to transform themselves and achieve more than was intended or even thought possible. By definition, the P3 environment is one of change. New teams come together to achieve objectives and are disbanded when the work is complete.
As a consequence, the P3 manager should focus on different aspects of leadership throughout the P3 life cycle and set the pace accordingly.
Early phases require expertise in influencing stakeholders and creating vision but may need a more transactional style with the P3 team. As the work progresses, the leadership focus shifts to maintaining momentum, responding to change and applying a more transformational approach. The position of leader is granted by followers who make the decision to follow. That decision will be influenced by the leader using an appropriate style of leadership that takes account of both the situation and the readiness of people to follow.
The motivation of individuals is the subject of many theoretical models, such as those proposed by Maslow, Herzberg and McGregor. To enable continual improvement, lessons learned will be shared and success celebrated. They should be aware of how their authority will be perceived by stakeholders at different phases of the life cycle.
The authority required may be based on expert knowledge, or may originate from other forms of influence such as gaining trust, confidence, inspiration and the development of teamwork. Leaders must adapt their approach according to the needs of those being led.
Leadership should be exercised at all levels within projects, programmes and portfolios and can be exercised by all or some of the team. For instance, team members will provide leadership to their colleagues and this has a positive impact on the organisation. Project The role of leadership in a project is to promote the project objectives, encourage positive relationships, support effective teamwork, raise morale, and empower and inspire individuals.
Leaders require followers, but leaders must also themselves be able to follow. Many projects will be part of a programme or portfolio that also has its leader. A project manager will need to be a strong leader but must also be able to be an effective team member in respect of the programme or portfolio.
Most projects will use resources from the host organisation. These team members will come from functional departments which have their own managers who also provide leadership. The environment where individuals are simultaneously part of a project team and a functional team is called matrix management. A pragmatic project manager must balance the theories of leadership with the practical need to deliver the project objectives and the limits on their authority to lead.
A vision is more difficult to communicate than a set of product specifications. A programme manager is less likely to gain credibility and authority through technical expertise than through visionary leadership that is visible to all programme and project team members. The programme manager needs to develop strong leadership skills to establish credibility with a team of committed leaders in their own right. This is especially true where actions that best serve the programme are in conflict with what a project manager believes are in the best interests of the project or a business change manager believes are not in the best interests of business-as-usual.
The fact that a programme implements change means that some of those directly affected by the programme will be affected in ways that they do not see as personally beneficial. Leadership will be needed to champion the organisational benefits of the programme and influence others to accept, if not actively support, the necessary change. Leadership must ensure that there is a mechanism for prioritisation and balancing of resources.
It must maintain clear decision-making and accountability. Above all, the commitment of senior management to the changes implemented by the portfolio will clearly reflect good leadership.
The portfolio manager will reinforce the strategy through other leaders who are involved in the portfolio. Strong leadership at the portfolio level will set the scene for leadership throughout the component programmes, projects and relevant areas of business-as-usual.
Lewis, J. Project leadership. General Negotiations can take place at any time in a project, programme or portfolio and may be formal or informal in nature. Formal negotiations are typically with providers on such issues as agreeing contracts.
Informal negotiations include discussions to resolve conflict, or discussions to obtain internal resources. Negotiation skills are used in many areas of P3 management such as conflict management, contract management, requirements management and stakeholder management. Competitive negotiation implies getting the best deal regardless of the needs and interests of the other party.
This form of negotiation can easily become a battle where the winner takes all. While competitive negotiation should be avoided, it may not always be possible. This approach tends to produce the best results, helps build long-term relationships and minimises the opportunity for conflict.
Set goals and ensure that they accord with the tolerances which have been agreed. Investigate relevant social conventions if planning to negotiate with people from different cultures.
Project Project managers need to apply negotiation skills throughout the project life cycle. Early on in a project, as requirements are being captured and initial plans produced, the project manager may need to balance the time, cost, quality and scope requirements of the project and negotiate with stakeholders.
As the project progresses, conflicts will arise. The project manager will need to negotiate solutions to conflicts, whether they are informal or contractual. In some environments, there may be specialist support available. It is important for project managers to know when to ask for help from, for example, the HR or legal departments within the host organisation.
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