Chapter 2

The organization behind the PMBOK® Guide – The Project Management Institute (PMI)

2.1   PMI’s facts and figures

PMI is a worldwide not-for-profit professional association for advancing the practice, science and profession of project management throughout the world. Its mission is:

Making project management indispensable for business results.

PMI serves practitioners and organizations with standards that describe good practices, globally recognized credentials that certify project management expertise, and resources for professional development, networking and community.

The official announcement of PMI’s founding came on October 9, 1969 during a project management seminar in Atlanta, Georgia (USA). It was recognized that there were many good management practices shared in different types of projects, and it was seen as beneficial in having an organization supporting the development of such practices. From then PMI developed into the largest project management organization worldwide, based on the commitment of volunteers who were just as passionate about developing and supporting the profession of project management. Crucial in this development has been a publication in the Project Management Journal in 1983. There the first ‘Standards baseline for project management’ – being the predecessor of the current PMBOK® Guide – were issued alongside a Code of Ethics for project management professionals and guidelines for accreditation and certification. The long-term growth of PMI membership has been remarkably steady, averaging close to 19% per year; 1,000 members in 1975, 10,000 in 1994, 100,000 in 2003, with numbers growing towards 700,000 in 2013 and credential holders in more than 185 countries.

The PMI organization and its initiatives are primarily run by volunteers, working with a relatively small professional staff organization required for managing such an extensive membership association. ‘For its members and by its members’ is a major PMI managing principle.

2.2   Available global standards of PMI

One of the continuous and highly recognized initiatives of PMI is the development of global standards. A standard provides guidelines, rules and characteristics for the topic it is covering. Global standards are crucial to the project management profession. They ensure that a basic project management framework is applied consistently worldwide, which reinforces a common ‘language’ and approach and simplifies communication between stakeholders. This is especially important when managing international and cross-organizational initiatives, where different stakeholders have different backgrounds.

The currently available PMI standards are broken down into three categories:

•   Foundational Standards;

•   Practice Standards and Frameworks;

•   Standards Extensions.

Foundational Standards

These standards provide a shared foundation for project management and represent the four key areas of the profession: project, program, portfolio and the organizational approach to project management:

•   A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), including translations into 10 different languages;

•   The Standard for Program Management;

•   The Standard for Portfolio Management;

•   Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3®).

Practice Standards and Frameworks

Practice standards are guides to a tool, technique or process identified in the PMBOK® Guide or other standards:

•   Practice Standard for Project Risk Management;

•   Practice Standard for Earned Value Management;

•   Practice Standard for Project Configuration Management;

•   Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures;

•   Practice Standard for Scheduling;

•   Practice Standard for Project Estimating;

•   Project Manager Competency Development Framework.

PMI Standards Extensions

Standard extensions expand upon standards for specific project types or industries:

•   Construction Extension to the PMBOK® Guide;

•   Government Extension to the PMBOK® Guide.

PMI’s standards are continuously maintained and updated to incorporate the latest developments and insights in the profession, while new standards are also under development. A high level of consistency has been achieved between all these standards, especially regarding terminology and definitions, which reinforces the application of a common language.

In general, personalized digital copies are available to PMI members free of charge!

2.3   Available certifications

Certification is valued by both individuals and organizations for the development, and assessment of compliance with professional project management standards. Recognizing this, PMI administers a globally recognized professional certification program that promotes the development of the project management profession. It supports business professionals in commencing, building or advancing their careers in project, program and portfolio management. It provides organizations with a good reference for assessing the expected knowledge and experience level of individuals labeling themselves as ‘project managers’, as this is not a restricted term. It also supports HR managers in setting up career paths in the area of project management.

PMI offers the following globally accredited certification programs for project practitioners, reflecting different educational and skills levels and areas of experience:

•   Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®;

•   Project Management Professional (PMP)®;

•   PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP2)®;

•   Program Management Professional (PgMP)®;

•   PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)®;

•   PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)®.

•   OPM3® Professional Certification

Code of Ethics

As a typical characteristic of ‘professions’, PMI issued the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct which applies globally. When dealing with any stakeholder, practitioners should be committed to honest and fair practices and respectful dealings. Certified project managers have explicitly accepted this code of ethics, as it is a requirement for certification by PMI.

Figure 2.1 PMI credentials

2.4   Geographical representation of PMI and translations

Local chapters

Next to the global organization, most PMI members also join a local chapter, which connects them with a local network of professional expertise. The members receive support and opportunities to meet with peers from various industries through meetings, activities and educational programs. There are currently more than 250 chapters supported by PMI, active in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Other local representation

For effective and simplified communication with its members and other stakeholders, PMI has set up Customer Care, Regional Service Centers, Representative Offices and Relationship Offices around the globe for Americas, Asia Pacific, China, Europe-Middle East-Africa (EMEA) and India.

Translations

Being PMI’s most important standard, the PMBOK® Guide, is officially available in 10 different languages in addition to English:

•   Arabic;

•   Brazilian Portuguese;

•   (Simplified) Chinese;

•   French;

•   German;

•   Italian;

•   Japanese;

•   Korean;

•   Russian;

•   Spanish.

Although all examinations certification are administered in English, language aids are available for PMP and CAPM certifications in these languages, as well as Hebrew and traditional Chinese. In addition to this some local chapters took the initiative of creating their local translations of the PMBOK® Guide. These ‘unofficial’ translations are, however, not supported for examination, unless the local chapter also has made arrangements for that separately.

2.5   Other PMI initiatives

Research program and publications

PMI has a dedicated research arm, responsible for advancing the profession of project management by initiating, funding, guiding and coordinating academic research around the world. PMI has already invested over US $18 million in project management research. PMI also organizes the PMI Research and Education Conference bringing together academics and senior practitioners committed to the advancement of empirically-based knowledge in the field.

PMI publications devoted to advancing the discipline of project management include:

•   Project Management...