Introduction
I created a Project Management (PM) reference/cheatsheet outlining the processes from Project initialisation to closeout.
I wanted a knowledge-based reference to jot down anything of interest related to PM. I ran with the PMBOK® outline as it is an Approved American National Standard recognised internationally and a copy of the Fifth Edition was sitting on my bookshelf.
The PMBOK® or A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge1 lays out some guidelines for, you guessed it, Project Management 101.
I consider this guide as a good foundation to reference. The idea was to lay it out visually to see all the connections between the knowledge areas and process groups.
Most companies these days have their own flavour of Project Management mythologies and are more or less an extension of the core processes outlined in the guide.
Tools and some sort of Logic
The template consists of the processes, inputs and outputs of the process flow diagrams provided in the guide, reorientated into a text-based linear structure.
Using Obsidian, a text editor, which can provide graph views all the interactions at a local level (page level) or as wide as the overall guide level (all pages). The depth of linkages can also be toggled to suit. All the pages are wikilinked together for ease of navigation and backlinks are a breeze with Obsidian.
These files are plain text files so one can be moved about easily and can be opened with any text editor on any operating system. This is important to me as I have had issues with other proprietary based systems which lock up my content and is a bugger to get out.
The Setup of each Process Template Page
I set up each page with the following structure. H1 stands for heading 1 and so forth. The Data Flow Diagrams in the Guide run from left to right: Input Processes > Process > Output > Output Processes. Using a text file format, I had to rotate it 90° to run top-down.
H1 – Name of the Process
H2 – Inputs into the Process
First – List of input Processes within a Knowledge Area
Second – List of input Processes outside of the knowledge area / External to the Process
H2 – Outputs
- Bullet point(s) of the outputs from the process.
First – List of output Processes connections within a Knowledge Area
Second – List of output Processes connections outside of the knowledge area / External to the Process
Rest of the page left blank to be filled up with relevant notes for knowledge retention or possibly studying for the certification exams.
Download a copy
Feel free to grab a copy of the lot (~64 text files) by cloning my GitHub repo by banging the following into your favourite terminal or just download the zip file.
# GitHub CLI command gh repo clone bradleysawler/project_management_notes # or basic git command git clone https://github.com/bradleysawler/project_management_notes.git
Please excuse any typos as I used the assistance of the Mac dictation. If you see any gleaning errors or typos, I welcome any pull requests and will merge them as soon as practical.
Table 3–1 Project Management Process Group and Knowledge Area Mapping, 5th ed.
| Knowledge Areas | Initiating Process Group | Planning Process Group | Executing Process Group | Monitoring and Controlling Process Group | Closing Process Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 PROJECT INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT | 4_1 Develop Project Charter | 4_2 Develop Project Management Plan | 4_3 Direct and Manage Project Work | 4_4 Monitor and Control Project Work 4_5 Perform Integrated Change Control | 4_6 Close Project or Phase |
| 5 PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT | – | 5_1 Plan Scope Management 5_2 Collect Requirements 5_3 Define Scope 5_4 Create WBS | – | 5_5 Validate Scope 5_6 Control Scope | – |
| 6 PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT | – | 6_1 Plan Schedule Management 6_2 Define Activities 6_3 Sequence Activities 6_4 Estimate Activity Resources 6_5 Estimate Activity Durations 6_6 Develop Schedules | – | 6_7 Control Schedule | – |
| 7 PROJECT COST MANAGEMENT | – | 7_1 Plan Cost Management 7_2 Estimate Costs 7_3 Determined Budget | – | 7_4 Control Costs | – |
| 8 PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT | – | 8_1 Plan Quality Management | 8_2 Perform Quality Assurance | 8_3 Control Quality | – |
| 9 PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT | – | 9_1 Plan Human Resource Management | 9_2 Acquire Project Team 9_3 Develop Project Team 9_4 Manage Project Team | – | – |
| 10 PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT | – | 10_1 Plan Communications Management | 10_2 Manage Communications | 10_3 Control Communications | – |
| 11 PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT | – | 11_1 Plan Risk Management 11_2 Identify Risks 11_3 Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis 11_4 Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis 11_5 Plan Risk Responses | – | 11_6 Control Risks | – |
| 12 PROJECT PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT | – | 12_1 Plan Procurement Management | 12_2 Conduct Procurements | 12_3 Control Procurements | 12_4 Close Procurements |
| 13 PROJECT STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT | 13_1 Identify Stakeholders | 13_2 Plan Stakeholder Management | 13_3 Manage Stakeholder Engagement | 13_4 Control Stakeholder Engagement | – |
What’s New In the 6th edition
I based this outline on the fifth edition, and PMI published the 6th edition in 2017. I think the same principles remain.
PMI provided this video update on What’s New in the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition?
- Introduction
- Organisational Influences and Project Life Cycle
- Project Management Processes
- New content added to the first 3 sections.
- A New Section
- The Role of the Project Manager
- Project Integration Management
- New process: Manage Project Knowledge
- Project Scope Management
- Few changes.
- Project Time Management
- Renamed to Project Schedule Management
- Project Cost Management
- Nothing mentioned in the video.
- Project Quality Management
- Perform quality assurance replaced with Manage Quality
- Project Human Resource Management
- Renamed to Project Resource Management
- Project Communications Management
- Elaborated on the differences between communication and communications with an ‘s’
- Project Risk Management
- Added a new risk response called Escalate
- Project Procurement Management
- Makeover to cover international instead of North American based.
- Project Stakeholder Management
- Changed Stakeholder Management to Stakeholder Engagement
References
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition. 2013 Project Management Institute ↩