Case Studies and Project Briefs - September/October 2004
The APM Body of Knowledge Research Project - A Progress Report
The project to update the Association for Project Management’s (APM) Body of Knowledge (BOK), led by Professor Peter Morris from University College London with Ashley Jamieson as the principal research officer, has been running since the beginning of 2004.
The APM BOK is intended to indicate the areas in which project and program management professionals should be knowledgeable; it is not intended as a detailed guide to best practice. It quite deliberately looks at the broad range of factors that need to be managed in developing and defining projects and programs, as well as delivering them successfully. And, as far as possible, it is based on well-grounded, solidly researched practice and principles.
To determine in what areas the APM BOK needs to be updated (it was last updated in 1999) the research team has been gathering data by means of reviewing the literature, conducting interviews, carrying out a web-based survey, holding a workshop, and holding meetings with APM’s Specific Interest Groups (SIGs). The literature search was undertaken initially concentrating on developments since the publication of the 4th edition of the BOK. Almost 30 interviews have been conducted with senior project management professionals in more than 20 UK based global and international organizations from the telecommunications, aerospace, defense, energy, financial, construction, IT, computing, petrochemical, pharmaceutical sectors and UK government departments; and another 20 interviews are planned. Experts, who had participated in the interviews, attended the workshop at which the requirements of the BOK were reviewed and developed.
A preliminary analysis of the information and data gathered from the interviews was carried out during May. The findings indicated that while the 4th edition is highly regarded, and many of the existing topics (and proposed new ones) are ‘relevant’ or ‘highly relevant’ to practitioners, most of the descriptions need revising significantly. The size of the BOK, and the number and level of detail of the topics are seen as very important factors in determining its usage.
The current BOK gives a succinct explanation of project management and is viewed as describing the essence of each topic upon which people skills are emphasized and developed, and this approach should not be lost. But the BOK also needs to cover the differing degrees of difficulty of projects and accordingly the need to have higher levels of project management competencies. Program management is generally seen as a major focus in addition to project management, and while the topics may be the same, their treatment may be different in certain ways.
The BOK should not be separated into a number of industry specific documents but preserved as a single generic document which sits along side, and is linked to, standards such as UK’s BS6079 and OGC publications, and the PMI BOK®.
The project team (including the Steering Group) concluded from the preliminary findings that the essence of the existing BOK approach should probably be maintained in the next edition. Business sector application should be broadened but care must be taken on how additional topics are incorporated. Some changes to the current structure and lay out of the BOK are also required.
A questionnaire was used as a framework for the first series of interviews from which a web-based questionnaire was developed and launched on the web at the beginning of July. You can read more about the questionnaire and access it on the Association for Project Management’s web site at www.apm.org.uk We urge everyone to participate in the survey as we feel the more respondents we get, the better the credibility of the BOK. The level of detail to which the BOK discusses the topics needs to be clearly established.
The data gathering activities are scheduled for completion in October. The findings of the data analysis will be used in drafting the 5th edition of the BOK in the autumn. The updated APM BOK is due to be published in early 2005.
 |
About the Prinicipal Research Officer Ashley Jamieson worked for many years as a business manager, senior program manager, and project manager with global aerospace and defense companies on British, European, North American, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Australasian aircraft programs and projects. He then took up a career in research and academia. He has worked at the Centre for Research in the Management of Projects (CRMP) at UMIST, where he carried out research into design management in major construction projects and was a visiting lecturer in project management. He is currently updating the Association of Project Management’s Body of Knowledge (BOK) with Peter Morris. He holds an MSc in Engineering Business Management and is the co-author (with Peter Morris) of Translating Corporate Strategy into Project Strategy (2004), published by PMI. He is a contributor to the The Wiley Guide to Managing Projects (2004). |
AT&T WirelessSelf Destructs
http://www.cio.com/archive/041504/wireless.html?printversion=yes
The Canadian Government On Line Program
Other reading "An Operational Definition of E-Government a Defense Acquisition University paper from the GCN site