The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), produced by the Project Management Institute, is the gold standard for the project management profession. It divides project management into the following ten Knowledge Areas:
- Project Integration Management
The stuff that doesn’t fit in any other category, like developing the project management plan itself, making changes to the project, etc. - Project Scope Management
Scope is the work that is included in the project. It should be defined in the planning phase (i.e. the project management plan) and changes should be well defined. - Project Time Management
Creating, monitoring and enforcing the project schedule, milestones, and completion dates. - Project Cost Management
Estimating the project costs, and monitoring and controlling them throughout the project. - Project Quality Management
Determining the quality standards that apply to the project, and monitoring the quality of work produced. - Project Human Resource Management
Ascertaining the people requirements of the project, acquiring them, and developing them to ensure they produce the required results. - Project Communications Management
Establishing the communication needs of each stakeholder, and making sure they are involved to the required degree. - Project Risk Management
Figuring out who the biggest alligators under the bed are, and how to make sure you never see them. - Project Procurement Management
Hiring the outside consultants and contractors necessary to get the job done, and managing them. - Project Stakeholder Management
Identifying each stakeholder and making sure they’re happy.