PMBoK Knowledge Areas

PMBoK Knowledge Areas: 9
Must Know Aspects

Project management has evolved from few simple principles to a wide
subject with many complex concepts. To make it easier for people to
understand project management, all PMBoK knowledge areas are classified
into nine categories by PMBOK Guide. It is one of the most comprehensive
model documents for project managers. In this article, we will take a deeper
look at each of these knowledge areas to give you a better perspective of
project management.
1. Project Integration Management
PMI defines project integration

management as, “Processes and activities needed to identify, define,
combine, unify and coordinate different processes and activities with
project management process groups.” In short, project managers will
have to keep an eye on every aspect of a project and check if everything is
going according to the plan.
Good project integration is not possible without good teamwork. In order to

be successful, you should have the resources who know their role and
responsibilities. It is the responsibility of project managers to make project
objectives clear and manage the inter-dependencies effectively to complete
projects successfully. Therefore, project managers should focus on the bigger
picture and follow a strategic approach to project management. Keep an eye
on the obstacles and address them quickly before the problem gets out of
hand.
2. Project Scope Management
Scope creep and lack of proper scope document is one of the main reasons
behind project failure. Furthermore, defining and documenting all the work
comes under scope management. Your project team should know what the
deliverables are and what problems your project will solve. All this makes it
easier for your team members to achieve the goals and helps clients in
knowing what to expect from the projects. Therefore, project scope should
also contain milestones related to projects.
There are five sub-processes involved in the project scope management

process.
 Collect requirements (Document stakeholder requirements)

 Define scope (Detailed description of project and what it will do)
 Create work breakdown structure (Dividing projects into smaller
tasks)
 Verify scope (Getting acceptance of project deliverables from
stakeholders)
 Control scope (Difference between actual and approved scope)
3. Project Time Management
One of the biggest challenges for

project managers is to complete projects on time. However, most project
managers do not understand this knowledge area. Hence, most projects
under their supervision fail to complete before the deadline. There are six
sub-processes associated with the project time management knowledge area
that every project manager should know in order to complete projects on
time.
Here are the six sub-processes:
 Define activities
 Sequence activities
 Estimate the resources required
 Estimate the time required
 Develop a schedule
 Control schedule
4. Project Cost Management
Most project managers consider

managing costs against their project as their biggest challenge. However,
cost management can be a difference maker between a successful project
and a project failure. Many projects are abandoned due to budget
constraints. If you do not want this to happen to your projects, then you
should learn the art of effective project cost management and complete
projects within the specified budgets. Latest tools and techniques can help
you in this regard.
Here are three main sub-processes involved in project cost management.
 Estimate costs
 Determine budget
 Control costs
Make sure that you keep an eye on budget and expenditures so that you do
not end up exceeding the budget. Unfortunately, most project managers do
not pay attention to cost management from the beginning, spends a major
chunk initially without any record and struggles to keep the project inside the
budget later on. To keep project costs in check, you should track every dollar
and where it is spent.
5. Project Quality Management
No matter how you define quality, a

high-quality project is one which satisfies the customer needs and does not
contain any defects and deficiencies. In order to achieve the highest project
quality, project managers and their team should focus on customer
requirements they have gathered initially, try to know what the customer
wants and which problems your project will solve.
Develop a prototype of the project and give it to the end user to use it. Their
feedback will allow you to make necessary adjustments before you deliver
the final product to the customer. At the end of it all, the project should
completely align with the user requirements in order to be called a high-
quality project. Hence, all the requirements should be well documented so
that your team can deliver a project that satisfies customer’s requirement.
6. Project Human Resource Management

Another knowledge area of project
management that usually is ignored is project human resource management.
It is the set of processes and activities involved in organizing, leading and
managing project teams. It is how you manage the most valuable asset of
your company i.e. people. To be successful at it, project managers should
have a clear strategy when it comes to hiring and staffing people and
inducting them into project teams. Hiring the right people can increase the
chances of your success.
Project Human Resource Management process involves following sub-

processes:
 Developing a human resource plan

 Hire the project team
 Develop a project team
 Manage project team
7. Project Communication Management
Poor project communications can wreck havoc on your project progress.

Moreover, it can take your project towards failure. So, if you want to
complete projects successfully, all team members should be on the same
page. Moreover, they should work as a team to achieve the common
objective. If you want that to happen, then you will have to communicate
effectively and regularly. Project managers can enhance collaboration and
communication among their team members by using task management
software that offers communications and collaboration features. Here are
some of the key activities that project managers need to undertake to ensure
uninterrupted communications throughout the project:
 Identify stakeholders
 Plan communications
 Distribute information
 Manage stakeholder expectations
 Report performance
8. Project Risk Management
Most project managers consider risk management as the most important

factor in completing projects successfully. Therefore, effective risk
management plays an important role in preventing your projects from
failure. In addition to this, project managers can reduce the risk by following
a proactive approach and managing risks at the initial stage. Project
managers who ignore minor risks have to suffer from project failure because
these minor risks can turn into major risk and can lead to a project disaster if
left unattended. Here are some of the activities that project managers will
have to undertake in project risk management:
 Plan risk management

 Identify risks
 Perform qualitative and quantitative risk analysis
 Plan risk response
 Monitor and control risks
9. Project Procurement Management
The Project Procurement Management

knowledge area covers all the aspects related to purchase and acquiring of
products and services needed to complete projects effectively. Although, the
procurement process is quite transparent and conducted through a contract
or agreement, it important for project managers to ensure that there are no
discrepancies. Whether you are a buyer or seller, you need to understand
both perspectives to get a better knowledge of the project procurement
process. Additionally, cost benefit analysis, cost utility analysis, and risk
analysis also comes under project procurement management.
 Plan procurement
 Conduct procurement
 Administer procurement
 Close procurement

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PMBoK Knowledge Areas: 9

Must Know Aspects

1. Project Integration Management

PMI defines project integration

Good project integration is not possible without good teamwork. In order to

There are five sub-processes involved in the project scope management

 Collect requirements (Document stakeholder requirements)

3. Project Time Management

One of the biggest challenges for

4. Project Cost Management

Most project managers consider

Here are three main sub-processes involved in project cost management.

5. Project Quality Management

No matter how you define quality, a

6. Project Human Resource Management

Project Human Resource Management process involves following sub-

 Developing a human resource plan

7. Project Communication Management

Poor project communications can wreck havoc on your project progress.

8. Project Risk Management

Most project managers consider risk management as the most important

 Plan risk management

9. Project Procurement Management

The Project Procurement Management

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