APPENDIX X4
SUMMARY OF KEY CONCEPTS FOR KNOWLEDGE AREAS

The purpose of this appendix is to provide a summary of the sections on Key Concepts for each of the Knowledge Areas in Sections 4-13. It can be used as an aid for project practitioners, a checklist of learning objectives for providers of project management training, or as a study aid by those preparing for certification.

X4.1 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for Project Integration Management include:

• Project Integration Management is the specific responsibility of the project manager and it cannot be delegated or transferred. The project manager is the one that combines the results from all the other Knowledge Areas to provide an overall view of the project. The project manager is ultimately responsible for the project as a whole.
• Projects and project management are integrative by nature, with most tasks involving more than one Knowledge Area.
• The relationships of processes within the Project Management Process Groups and between the Project Management Process
• Project Integration Management is about:

• Ensuring that the due dates of project deliverables, the project life cycle, and the benefits realization plan are aligned;
• Providing a project management plan to achieve the project objectives;
• Ensuring the creation and the use of appropriate knowledge to and from the project;
• Managing project performance and changes to the project activities;
• Making integrated decisions regarding key changes impacting the project;
• Measuring and monitoring progress and taking appropriate action;
• Collecting, analyzing and communicating project information to relevant stakeholders;
• Completing all the work of the project and formally closing each phase, contract, and the project as a whole; and
• Managing phase transitions when necessary.

X4.2 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for Project Scope Management include:

• Scope can refer to product scope (the features and functions that characterize a product, service, or result), or to project scope (the work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions).
• Project life cycles range along a continuum from predictive to adaptive or agile. In a life cycle that uses a predictive approach, the project deliverables are defined at the beginning of the project and any changes to the scope are progressively managed. In an adaptive or agile approach, the deliverables are developed over multiple iterations where a detailed scope is defined and approved for each iteration when it begins.
• Completion of the project scope is measured against the project management plan. Completion of the product scope is measured against the product requirements.

X4.3 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for Project Schedule Management include:

• Project scheduling provides a detailed plan that represents how and when the project will deliver the products, services, and results defined in the project scope.
• The project schedule is used as a tool for communication, managing stakeholder expectations, and a basis for performance reporting.
• When possible, the detailed project schedule should remain flexible throughout the project to adjust for knowledge gained, increased understanding of the risk, and value-added activities.

X4.4 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT COST MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for Project Cost Management include:

• Project Cost Management is primarily concerned with the cost of the resources needed to complete project activities, but it should also consider the effect of project decisions on the subsequent recurring cost of using, maintaining, and supporting project deliverables.
• Different stakeholders will measure project costs in different ways and at different times. Stakeholder requirements for managing costs should be considered explicitly.
• Predicting and analyzing the prospective financial performance of the project's product may be performed outside the project, or it may be part of Project Cost Management.

X4.5 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for Project Quality Management include:

• Project Quality Management addresses the management of the project and the deliverables of the project. It applies to all projects, regardless of the nature of their deliverables. Quality measures and techniques are specific to the type of deliverables being produced by the project.
• Quality and grade are different concepts. Quality is “the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements” (ISO 9000).¹ Grade is a category assigned to deliverables having the same functional use but different technical characteristics. The project manager and team are responsible for managing trade-offs associated with delivering the required levels of both quality and grade.
• Prevention is preferred over inspection. It is better to design quality into deliverables, rather than to find quality issues during inspection. The cost of preventing mistakes is generally much less than the cost of correcting mistakes when they are found by inspection or during usage.
• Project managers may need to be familiar with sampling. Attribute sampling (the result either conforms or does not conform) and variable sampling (the result is rated on a continuous scale that measures the degree of conformity).
• Many projects establish tolerances and control limits for project and product measurements. Tolerances (the specified range of acceptable results) and control limits (the boundaries of common variation in a statistically stable process or process performance).
• The cost of quality (COQ) includes all costs incurred over the life of the product by investment in preventing nonconformance to requirements, appraising the product or service for conformance to requirements, and failing to meet requirements (rework). Cost of quality is often the concern of program management, portfolio management, the PMO, or operations.
• The most effective quality management is achieved when quality is incorporated into the planning and designing of the project and product, and when organizational culture is aware and committed to quality.

X4.6 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for Project Resource Management include:

• Project resources include both physical resources (equipment, materials, facilities, and infrastructure) and team resources (individuals with assigned project roles and responsibilities).
• Different skills and competences are needed to manage team resources versus physical resources.
• The project manager should be both the leader and the manager of the project team, and should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering team members.
• The project manager should be aware of team influences such as the team environment, geographical location of team members, communication among stakeholders, organizational change management, internal and external politics, cultural issues, and organizational uniqueness.
• The project manager is responsible for proactively developing team skills and competences while retaining and improving team satisfaction and motivation.
• Physical resource management is concentrated on allocating and utilizing the physical resources needed for successful completion of the project in an efficient and effective way. Failure to manage and control resources efficiently may reduce the chance of completing the project successfully.

X4.7 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for Project Communications Management include:

• Communication is the process of exchanging information, intended or involuntary, between individuals and/or groups. Communications describes the means by which information can be sent or received, either through activities, such as meetings and presentations, or artifacts, such as emails, social media, project reports, or project documentation. Project Communications Management addresses both the process of communication, as well as management of communications activities and artifacts.
• Effective communication creates a bridge between diverse stakeholders whose differences will generally have an impact or influence upon the project execution or outcome, so it is vital that all communication is clear and concise.
• Communication activities include internal and external, formal and informal, written and oral.
• Communication can be directed upwards to senior management stakeholders, downwards to team members, or horizontally to peers. This will affect the format and content of the message.
• Communication takes place consciously or unconsciously through words, facial expressions, gestures and other actions. It includes developing strategies and plans for suitable communications artifacts, and the application of skills to enhance effectiveness.
• Effort is required to prevent misunderstandings and miscommunication, and the methods, messengers, and messages should be carefully selected.
• Effective communication depends on defining the purpose of communication, understanding the receiver of the communications, and monitoring effectiveness.

X4.8 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for Project Risk Management include:

• All projects are risky. Organizations choose to take project risk in order to create value, while balancing risk and reward.
• Project Risk Management aims to identify and manage risks that are not covered by other project management processes.
• Risk exists at two levels within every project: Individual project risk is an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more project objectives. Overall project risk is the effect of uncertainty on the project as a whole, arising from all sources of uncertainty including individual risks, representing the exposure of stakeholders to the implications of variations in project outcome, both positive and negative. Project Risk Management processes address both levels of risk in projects.
• Individual project risks can have a positive or negative effect on project objectives if they occur. Overall project risk can also be positive or negative.
• Risks will continue to emerge during the lifetime of the project, so Project Risk Management processes should be conducted iteratively.
• In order to manage risk effectively on a particular project, the project team needs to know what level of risk exposure is acceptable in pursuit of project objectives. This is defined by measurable risk thresholds that reflect the risk appetite of the organization and project stakeholders.

X4.9 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for project procurement management include:

• The project manager should be familiar enough with the procurement process to make intelligent decisions regarding contracts and contractual relationships.
• Procurement involves agreements that describe the relationship between a buyer and a seller. Agreements can be simple or complex, and the procurement approach should reflect the degree of complexity. An agreement can be a contract, a service-level agreement, an understanding, a memorandum of agreement, or a purchase order.
• Agreements must comply with local, national, and international laws regarding contracts.
• The project manager should ensure that all procurements meet the specific needs of the project, while working with procurement specialists to ensure organizational policies are followed.
• The legally binding nature of an agreement means it will be subjected to a more extensive approval process, often involving the legal department, to ensure that it adequately describes the products, services, or results that the seller is agreeing to provide, while being in compliance with the laws and regulations regarding procurements.
• A complex project may involve multiple contracts simultaneously or in sequence. The buyer-seller relationship may exist at many levels on any one project, and between organizations internal to and external to the acquiring organization.

X4.10 KEY CONCEPTS FOR PROJECT STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

Key concepts for project stakeholder management include:

• Every project has stakeholders who are impacted by or can impact the project in a positive or negative way. Some stakeholders will have a limited ability to influence the project's work or outcomes; others will have significant influence on the project and its expected outcomes.
• The ability of the project manager and team to correctly identify and engage all of the stakeholders in an appropriate way can mean the difference between project success and failure.
• To increase the chances of success, the process of stakeholder identification and engagement should commence as soon as possible after the project charter has been approved, the project manager has been assigned, and the team begins to form.
• The key to effective stakeholder engagement is a focus on continuous communication with all stakeholders. Stakeholder satisfaction should be identified and managed as a key project objective.
• The process of identifying and engaging stakeholders for the benefit of the project is iterative, and should be reviewed and updated routinely, particularly when the project moves into a new phase, or if there are significant changes in the organization or the wider stakeholder community.

¹ International Standards Organization. 2015. Quality Management Systems—Fundamentals and Vocabulary. Geneva: Author.