Evolution of the PMI Model

PMI was founded in 1969 by a group of industry professionals who believed that a professional focus on project management processes was the right strategic answer for improving the manage­ment of projects. That view was further defined in 1975 with their goal statement to

foster recognition of the need for professionalism in project management; provide a forum for the free exchange of project management problems, solutions and applica­tions; coordinate industrial and academic research efforts; develop common terminol­ogy and techniques to improve communications; provide interface between users and suppliers of hardware and software systems; and to provide guidelines for instruction and career development in the field of project management.

(Chumas)

Over time, PMI continued to formalize their view of the management process. By the 1990s it had grown to 90,000 members and the need to provide more standard definition to their mes­sage led to the 1996 issuance of a document called the Project Management Body of Knowledge, PMBOK® Guide, which is known in the industry today as the PMBOK. Over the next 20 years, six editions of this specification document have been released, with the sixth edition in late 2017. Each version expanded the view of project management in a term that PMI calls progressive elabo­ration. This is meant to imply that the topic is ongoing and admittedly has not reached what one would view as equivalent to an engineering discipline.

The evolution of PMI as an organization continued after the first PMBOK edition. In 1984, a credentialing effort was announced to formally recognize a project management skill level. This credential is called Project Management Professional (PMP) and is judged to be the gold standard in the industry today. The number of worldwide PMPs has grown exponentially over the 20-year time period. During this same period PMI continued to introduce various other certifications within the project management domain. The interested reader can trace further details on this aspect of the organizational evolution through www.pmi.org.

Through its 20 years of evolution the PMBOK became viewed as somewhat of a bible defining project management. Each iteration recognized some additional subtlety in the overall process and the size of the specification grew. In order to keep the material current, new editions of the PMBOK are planned for every four years. In its present state, this reference describes models and defines the project management life cycle processes and activities that should be evaluated and utilized in executing a project. The structure of this model is the guiding architecture for much of this text. Throughout these text chapters the goal is not to duplicate the technical material in the PMBOK, rather to show how it actually represents real-world type activities. Realize that the text material follows this model structure in sufficient detail to illustrate how it works in a real-world project environment, but should be considered a supplement to the full technical descriptions contained in the PMBOK.

The advent of a formalized view of project management has created an organized, intelligent, and analytical approach toward not only tackling large projects but the associated human and organizational issues as well. Since its inception, the guide has grown to become a standard that is recognized worldwide in terms of the knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques that collectively relate to the management and oversight of projects. The PMBOK® Guide (pronouncedpimbok) is defined by PMI as

…a term that describes the knowledge within the profession of project management.

The project management body of knowledge includes proven traditional practices that are widely applied as well as innovative practices that are emerging in the profession.

(PMI2017, p. 1)

This model defines relevant project management processes and activities that should be utilized in executing a project. The text follows this model structure in sufficient detail to illustrate its management role in a real-world project environment. Those who wish to see the full PMI model processes and activity detailed descriptions can purchase the PMBOK® Guide through www.pmi. org, or other commercial sources.

Source: Gary Richardson L, Jackson Brad M. (2018), Project Management: Theory and Practice, Auerbach Publications; 3rd edition.