Over the ages communication has been key to our ability to convey information so that others can make decisions on the actions they take in life. Having used Agile software development practices I am aware of its benefits and its limitations. We can all look at Agile and see that it has grown and has had its share of success, I think that’s great. What concerns me are some of the messages that promulgate to the Project Management community. Take the information in the image above, the text reads …
“Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) project management methodology, Developed by the US-based Project Management Institute (PMI). It is an internationally recognized standard providing the fundamentals of project management, not limited to IT-projects. Similar to Prince2, the PMBOK describes many processes and activities, though the PMBOK can be seen as being descriptive (what), while in contrast Prince2 is more prescriptive (how). Their main similarity is that both are criticized for not being agile.”
I really want to say this politely and with the utmost respect to the Agile and Project Management communities, so I ask that you think about my message with an open mind. I have done a fair amount of research on this subject and I have yet to find any information in the PMBOK that states that it is a project management methodology. In fact, the PMBOK Guide – Third edition states that it contains the fundamental, baseline practices that drive business results for any organization. It also states the change to “generally recognized as good practice on most projects most of the time.” My point is that the PMBOK is not a methodology.
If the PMBOK is not a methodology and contains project management practices, is there the possibility that Agile actually incorporates some of the PMBOK practices? I would certainly like to read your thoughts on this topic.
Bill Thom - IT Project Management 