"PMI BoK Does it Work?"

Event Report

On 15th November 2005 at the London office of the British Computer Society (BCS) Peter Gammon, Senior Consultant at ContacttoContRact, engaged a group of members of the BCS Project Management Specialist Group by explaining the structure and reasons for becoming familiar with the Project Managers’ Book of Knowledge (PMBOK).

Peter started with the excuses we sometimes make as project managers. With heads nodding, he moved on to why PM is important: effects change, offers variety and is a challenge and then worked through the reasons it still goes wrong. He discussed qualifications comparing British and American training and the reason why American qualifications are more widely recognized. Peter compared the qualities indicated by the different syllabuses and illustrated this with allusion to the Project Management Institute which relies on experience as well as theory. The PMBOK reflects this by offering five process groups (initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing) based on 39 processes divided into 9 knowledge areas. The PMBOK has been enhanced for the IT&T industry sector. Peter analysed the five process groups emphasising the need for a business led and business reporting approach.

After sharing with the group some words of wisdom Peter reminded participants of his expectations of what IT projects must deliver and what they must not. There were also questions about the position of PRINCE 2, APM and other British qualifications.

The presentation is available for download (1071k).