Foreword
This article is reproduced for those who are interested in the origin of the
Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge, now affectionately
known as "pimbok" ("PMBoK").
"ESA" stands for "Ethics, Standards and Accreditation",
a report originally prepared back in 1982 by the late Matt Parry,
Past-president of the Project Management Institute, and his team
of thirty-plus volunteers. His report set out recommendations for
these three arms of a professional organization. At that time there
were only six management topics: Human Resources; Cost; Time; Communication;
Scope; and Quality. It is interesting to note that this report correctly
referred to these six topics as "Functions", consistent
with the term used for similar corporate management functional responsibilities.
In the Institute's current documents, these are now referred to
merely as "knowledge areas."
By 1984, I felt that it was time to bring more order and content
to the body of knowledge. You will see that I added Procurement
Management to the list. In a Special Summer Issue of the Project
Management Journal August in1986, the late Linn Stuckenbruck added
a further section entitled "Project Management Framework".
Interestingly, Risk Management was not included until I persuaded
the Institute's Board to include this topic in "The Revised
PMBOK" distributed to all members in August 1987, which is
why I wrote the Institute's "Project and Program Risk Management"
handbook to go with it.
I should mention that the version of the Project Management Body of Knowledge
published by the Project Management Institute in 1987 included many
additions and improvements to the charts included with this paper.
Nevertheless, readers may reflect today on how far we have advanced
since then, or regressed, depending on your perspective!
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