Sep 6, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Project Management Institute Encourages Project Managers to Embrace Entire Landscape of Project Management Approaches

Project Management Institute (PMI) today reinforced its position that industry professionals should consider the full range of project management approaches in determining which method will deliver the best project outcomes. By bundling its PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition with its Agile Practice Guide, PMI has provided practitioners with critical information spanning many approaches to ensure industry professionals can select the method that is best suited to an individual project.

This holistic approach is in response to what organizations have reported that they need to maintain a competitive advantage regardless of market conditions and other considerations. This first-time bundling of the two guides serves as a powerful tool for all project managers, regardless of their practice preferences, and will help enable organizations to be more successful in all environments.

Agile is a topic of growing importance in project management. PMI’s 2017 Pulse of the Profession®, released earlier this year, found that 71 percent of the organizations surveyed are using agile approaches more often than in the past. PMI’s Pulse of the Profession research also discovered that using agile approaches was identified as one of the reasons that, for the first time in five years, more projects met original business goals while being completed within budget. The study also found that, globally, organizations wasted an average of $97 million for every $1 billion invested in projects and programs in 2016, compared to an average of $122 million per $1 billion in the year prior ― with more agility serving as one of the reasons why organizations are wasting less money.

“Organizations are competing under increasingly varied market conditions and the need to master a full range of project delivery approaches is essential,” said PMI President and CEO Mark A. Langley. “As organizations strive to be more nimble and respond faster, they recognize there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to delivering successful projects. We are excited — as the leading voice for the project management profession ― to bring a holistic approach to the forefront that will enable professional project managers to use the best method regardless of the project.”

Since its initial release, the PMBOK® Guide has focused primarily on predictive project management processes and techniques, sometimes referred to as “waterfall” by project management practitioners; however, the PMBOK® Guide now includes more agile practice information that is bolstered by the companion Agile Practice Guide.

First published in 1996, PMI’s PMBOK® Guide is the preeminent global standard for project management. It provides project professionals with the fundamental practices needed to achieve organizational results and excellence in the practice of project management. A consensus standard, the latest PMBOK® Guide identifies generally recognized good practices applicable to a majority of projects.

The Agile Practice Guide, created in partnership with Agile Alliance, is a fitting companion to the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition and is intended to serve as a bridge to connect waterfall and agile approaches. In addition, for the first time, specific and detailed approaches to agile project management appear in the PMBOK® Guide itself and its appendix.

PMI’s expansion to represent the full spectrum of project management practices has not led the organization to endorse particular approaches. The organization believes that both agile and waterfall approaches, as well as other methods, are effective in specific scenarios and situations.

About Project Management Institute (PMI)

Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world's leading association for those who consider project, program or portfolio management their profession. Founded in 1969, PMI delivers value for more than three million professionals working in nearly every country in the world through global advocacy, collaboration, education and research. We advance careers, improve organizational success and further mature the project management profession through globally-recognized standards, certifications, communities, resources, tools, academic research, publications, professional development courses and networking opportunities. As part of the PMI family, ProjectManagement.com creates online global communities that deliver more resources, better tools, larger networks and broader perspectives. Visit us at www.PMI.org, www.projectmanagement.com, www.facebook.com/PMInstitute and on Twitter @PMInstitute.