The 12 Project Management Principles
Principles guide behavior and mindset. They serve as foundational truths for successful execution.
01 Stewardship
Be a diligent, respectful, and caring steward. Act responsibly with resources.
02 Team
Create a collaborative project team environment built on trust.
03 Stakeholders
Effectively engage with stakeholders proactively to understand their needs.
04 Value
Focus on value. Evaluate and adjust project alignment to business objectives.
05 Systems Thinking
Recognize, evaluate, and respond to dynamic system interactions.
06 Leadership
Demonstrate leadership behaviors. Adapt your style to the situation.
07 Tailoring
Tailor based on context. Design an approach that fits the specific project.
08 Quality
Build quality into processes and deliverables from the inception.
09 Complexity
Navigate complexity. Continually evaluate and respond to unknowns.
10 Risk
Optimize risk responses. Accept, avoid, mitigate or transfer continuously.
11 Adaptability
Embrace adaptability and resilience. Bounce back from challenges quickly.
12 Change
Enable change to achieve the envisioned future state of the organization.
The 8 Performance Domains
A group of related activities that are critical for the effective delivery of project outcomes.
1. Stakeholders
Includes all activities related to identifying, understanding, and engaging people who influence or are influenced by the project.
2. Team
Addresses the activities and functions associated with the people who are responsible for producing project deliverables.
3. Development Approach
Determines whether a predictive, adaptive, or hybrid life cycle is best suited for the specific project context.
4. Planning
Involves organizing, elaborating, and coordinating all the work required throughout the project's life cycle.
5. Project Work
Focuses on the physical execution of processes, managing resources, and fostering an environment for learning.
6. Delivery
Ensures the activities directly meet the scope expectations, quality standards, and generate the expected business value.
7. Measurement
Involves assessing project performance across various metrics and taking necessary corrective actions.
8. Uncertainty
Addresses the activities and functions associated with risk, ambiguity, and complex unknowns navigating to success.
Tailoring the Approach
Because no two projects are identical, PMBOK 7 places immense heavy emphasis on tailoring. This involves intentionally adapting the processes, tools, templates, and methodologies to the specific environment.
- Select Initial Approach: Predictive vs Agile.
- Tailor for the Organization: Align with governance.
- Tailor for the Project: Custom project constraints.
- Continuous Improvement: Adapt during execution.