Knowledge areas provide a way to collect and understand skills, processes, tools needed to increase chances of success in projects, in professional environment as well as in everyday life. After the first slideshow on project management fundamentals, this presentation would introduce on high level what is required in order to release unique products, services or results efficiently and within time contraints, with the aim to inspire the viewer to analyze past projects and improve the approach to future projects L'insieme delle aree di competenza rappresentano un modo per raggruppare e comprendere al meglio le capacità, le attività, gli strumenti necessari a massimizzare le possibilità di successo in progetti, siano questi inseriti in ambito professionale come nella vita quotidiana. Dopo la prima introduzione sulla gestione di progetti, questa presentazione tratta in termini generali di elementi che possono aiutare a raggiungere l'obiettivo posto, cercando di ispirare lo spettatore ad un'analisi di progetti precedenti e migliorare il suo approccio per quelli futuri

1. KNOWLEDGE AREAS
IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Knowledge requirements and activities for project teams

2. Recap: project management processes
Processes are project management activities tailored to project in order to
achieve project objectives. PMBOK® describes 49 processes divided by:
5 GROUPSintegration 10 KNOWLEDGE AREAS
Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring
& Controlling
Closing

3. It is worth recalling the project definition: a
temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service or result.
While this is a diffused concept in
professional environments, our daylife is full
of activities we do with specific goals and
within typical constraints as cost, time,
resources (can you remember project
constraints?), and great personal benefits
could be obtained if these activities are
managed properly, e.g. when you buy a car or
throw a party. This means at least to never
underestimate the influence of the following
knowledge areas on your chances of success
Everyday life project management
LET’S «PROJECTIZE»
OUR LIVES

4. SCOPE MANAGEMENT
Project scope management includes all
the activities necessary to ensure that
the work required by the project to be
successfully completed is included.
NOTHING MORE
NOTHING LESS
It must be distinguished between
project scope and product scope,
which is usually included into the first
one. While product scope is evaluated
against product requirements, project
scope completion must be measured
against the project management plan
As analysis skills and expertise are
required for project scope management, a
business analyst should be assigned to the
project strictly collaborate with the PM.
SCOPE DEFINITION
AKA BUSINESS ANALYSIS

5. SCOPE MANAGEMENT
Requirements activities are key for success and optimal results from
projects. Please note that requirement concept can be easily
misunderstood as multiple interpretations exist depending on the
field where this is named. The hierarchical approach is one of the
most diffused, where requirements are sorted by their detail level
Project goals and objectives must be inserted in
preliminary documents (project charter), then
project scope is stated on details and work
required identified through decomposition of the
project in activities as the lowest and detailed level
Business
requirements
(objectives)
Features
Requirements
Functional/Non Func.
Functions/Attributes/Behavior
Etcetera
Rework needed for
requirements errors can
account for about 50%
of total project cost !!!
NOTHING IS TRIVIAL

6. STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT
Stakeholders are people, groups, organizations who could impact or be impacted
by the project both positively or negatively. Project stakeholder management
includes activities required to identify ALL the stakeholders and analyze their
expectation, their impact on the project, then develop engagement strategies to
ensure project objectives are met, as well as stakeholder expectations. Processes
should be started as soon as possible in the project life cycle and routinely iterated
Identify Analyze Engage Satisfy

7. COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT
Communication means send and receive
information, both intendedly or involuntary.
Project communication management focuses
first on developing a strategy in order to
have an effective communication within
stakeholders, and then implement this
strategy to ensure successful project
outcomes (and create value)
PM should communicate a lot, considering all communication forms and dimensions:
internal
external formal
informalhierarchical
written
electronic
(written)
face-2-face remote
(oral)
non-verbal
official
unofficial
CHOOSE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

8. COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT
Here a brief insight in some key comm concepts one should never forgot even in everyday life
Communication models elements
SENDER RECEIVER
encoder decoder
noise
feedback
-DON’T FORGET IT-
message
Noise is any barrier that compromises
the understanding, e.g. lack of interest
Misunderstanding may be
reduced, e.g. by the 5Cs
Correct grammar and spelling
Concise expression, avoid excess words
Clear purpose directed at needs of audience
Coherent logical flow
Controlling flow of words and ideas
Fundamental for any communication: Six principle of WORD CHOICE
AVOID WORDS EMPHASIZE CHOSE WORDS
obsolete overused positive strong specific understandable
m. back

9. SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT
Project schedule management includes activities to
manage the timely completion of projects. The
main role this plays on success projects is obvious
as well as a detailed plan is fundamental for an
effective schedule. Scheduling is a highly tailored
activity where multiple factors must be considered
to succeed, and the PM must be in control of
schedule. When possible, schedule must be flexible
in order to be adjusted after experience or take
time for add-value activities (avoiding wastes!)
4Ms must be placed on proj. schedule: MANPOWER MATERIALS MACHINES MONEY
Large projects should follow a logical sequence of single
well-defined activities which have their own tools and
techniques, while on small projects these could be grouped
(PLAN ) DEFINE  SEQUENCE  ESTIMATES  DEVELOP
YOU ‘MEASURE’

10. COST MANAGEMENT
While cost accounting must consider business costs
and operations to support managers’ decisions,
project cost management includes all the processes
which can let the project go ahead until its
completion within the approved budget (or create
awareness and determine future actions on proj).
Activity
estimates
Activity
contingency
reserve
Workpackage
costestimates
Contingency
reserve
COSTBASELINE
A project budget is composed by COST BASELINE and
management reserves, which are well-distinct from
other contingencies; cost baseline is used as reference
against current results in cost control process.
The baseline concept is used also in other areas, at
least for scope and time, in order to let monitor and
control processes to measure process execution.
Baselines must be reported into the project
management plan
TAKE TIMELY ACTION

11. RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
On proj. resources management is important to bear in mind it refers to two kind of res:
PHYSICAL RESOURCES
Equipment, materials,
facilities, infrastructure
TEAM RESOURCES
OR PERSONNEL
The team members
Res. must be allocated and used in
order to effectively and efficiently
bring the project to completion
PM is responsible for team formation,
individual skills development, team
motivation and empowering
Despite resources are so different each others, similar tools are used for
planning, estimates and control (data representation, problem solving, etc.)

12. RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Team members have their own assigned activities, but participation of them to activities
as planning and decision making is beneficial on various levels, as commitment and
expertise. As the PM, they should adhere to ethical and professional behaviors
A brief insight into some personnel management related models
Tuckman’s stages of
groups model
I
FORMING
IV
PERFORM.
III
NORMING
II
STORMING
V
MOURNING
Physiological
Safety
Love &
Belongingness
NEEDS
Esteem
Self-
actualization
Maslow’s motivational theory Herzberg’s motivational theory
DISSATISFIED
AND
DEMOTIVATED
POSITIVE
SATISFACTION
& MOTIVATED
HYGIENE FACTORS:
Salaries and benefits
Company administration
Personal relationship
Quality of supervision
Job security
Working conditions
Work/Life balance
MOTIVATIONAL
FACTORS:
Personal achievement
Status
Recognition
Challenging work
Responsibility
Advancement opportunity
Promotion
Growth
NOT DISSATISF.
NOT
MOTIVATED

13. RISK MANAGEMENT
Project risk management activities have a high
impact on project success as these are involved in
increase probability & impact of positive risks and
decrease the negative ones.
Every project is risky, and risk emerges throughout
the project, then risk management should be
conducted iteratively. High efforts must be spent
to identify and categorize all potential risks
INDIVIDUAL OVERALL
TYPICAL PROJECT RISKS LEVELS
Uncertain event
impacting in one
or more project
objectives
opportunity threat
The effect of
uncertainty on the
whole project;
must be managed
to keep project
exposure within an
acceptable range
EMERGING PRACTICES ON RISK MANAGEMENT
• NON-EVENT RISKS includes VARIABILITY RISKS
as uncertainty with respect to plan, and
AMBIGUITY RISK from imperfect knowledge
• RESILIENCE of project to the ‘unknowable
unknowns’, which can be achieved with right
budget, team power, flexibility , etc.
• INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT to let the
appropriate enterprise level (project,
program, portfolio) to manage the risk
TAKE RISKS AND
WATCH OUT

14. QUALITY MANAGEMENT
According to quality standards (ISO 9000
“family”) quality is the degree to which a set of
inherent characteristics fulfill requirements; this
should not be confused with grade, a category
assigned to products with same functional use
and different technical characteristics.
DIFFERENT GRADES
SIMILAR QUALITY
Quality management has its focus on
customer satisfaction over other things.
Processes are intended to incorporate the
organization’s quality policy for plan,
manage and control project and product
quality requirements, and support
continuous process improvement.
QUALITY IMPLIES
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

15. QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Quality management may use different
approaches and techniques depending on project.
However a key concept have a universal validity:
prevention must be preferred over inspection
LEVEL 1
CREATE QUALITY
CULTURE INTOTHE
ORGANIZATION
LEVEL 2
INCORPORATE
QUALITY INTO
PLAN AND DESIGN
LEVEL 3
EXAMINE AND
CORRECT THE
PROCESS INTSELF
LEVEL 4
DETECT AND
CORRECT DEFECTS
BEFORE RELEASE
LEVEL 5
LET CUSTOMERS
FIND DEFECTS
EFFECTIVEQUALITY
COSTOFQUALITY
COST OF
CONFORMANCE
COST OF NON-CONFORMANCE
INTERNAL:
found by CONTROL
EXTERNAL:
found by CUSTOMER
COST OF QUALITY
includes all costs over the product life cycle.
As projects are temporary, decisions on COQ
are up to portfolios, programs, project
management office, or operations managers

16. PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT
This area includes necessary activities to
acquire products, services or results, and
develop commercial agreements. As a critic
and extremely complex field for certain
project, it requires specific expertise as
regarding laws and regulations. On this area PM
is requested to be familiar enough to keep right
decisions on contractual relationships, and to
ensure procurements meet the project needs
LET EXPERTS GUIDE
Just an example of complexity:
Type of CONTRACT vs. RISK
FIXED PRICE :
FIRM FIXED PRICE
INCENTIVE FEE
ECONOMIC PRICE
ADJUSTMENT
COST REIMBURSABLE:
COST PLUS FIXED FEE
COST PLUS INCENTIVE
FEE
COST PLUS AWARD FEE
TIME & MATERIAL
HIGHER RISK FOR
SELLER
BUYER
NEGOTIATION
To find the best
compromise
between needs
& opportunities

17. PM KNOWLEDGE: INTEGRATION
INTEGRATION is THE project manager knowledge area. Whereas other areas
may be managed by specialists, project integration management cannot be
delegated, as he can have a holistic (complete) view of the project
ALL PIECES IN PLACE
Opened through a Project Charter document
Structured with appropriate life cycle,
project management plan* and other tools
Managed by following project work and
knowledge, monitored and change if needed
Closed if goals are all achieved (or there are
no reasons to go further)
Value-added by knowledge generated and
collected (as lessons learned, results, etc.)
As the only knowledge area involved in each group, by integration projects/phases are:
* the Plan of many Plans, see further presentations

18. Processes Groups
Processes can be also grouped in a logical way by their specific objective. Processes
can be executed following the best path according to the project needs, may
overlap and occur several times. Processes are undertaken into project phases,
which are independent to the processes themselves
Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring
& Controlling
Closing
Define processes with the aim of start a new project/phase
Refine objectives and define the course of required actions
Complete the defined work to satisfy project objectives
Track project performance to identify any change required
Formally complete or close project/phase/contract

19. BONUS SLIDE: processes matrix
Integration Scope Schedule Cost Quality Resources Communication Risk Procurement Stakeholder
Initialize
- Develop
Project Schedule
- Identify
stakeholders
Plan
- Develop
Project
Management
Plan
- Plan scope
management
- Collect
requirements
- Define scope
- Create WBS
- Plan schedule
management
- Define
activities
- Sequence
activities
- Estimate
activities
durations
- Develop
schedule
- Plan cost
management
- Estimate
costs
- Determine
budget
- Plan quality
management
- Plan
resource
management
- Estimate
activity
resources
- Plan comm
management
- Plan risk
management
- Identify risks
- Perform
qualitative risk
analysis
- Perform
quantitative
risk analysis
- Plan risk
response
- Plan proc
management
- Plan
stakeholder
engagement
Execute
- Direct &
Manage Project
Work
- Manage Project
Knowledge
- Manage
quality
- Acquire
resources
- Develop
team
- Manage team
- Manage comm
- Implement
risk response
- Conduct
procurements
- Manage
stakeholder
engagement
Monitor
and
Control
- M&C project
work
- Perform
integrated
change control
- Validate scope
- Control scope
- Control
schedule
- Control
costs
- Control
quality
- Control
resources
- Monitor comm - Monitor risk
- Control
procurements
- Monitor
stakeholder
engagement
Close
- Close Project
or phase
K N O W L E D G E A R E A S
G
R
O
U
P
S

20. And now, why don’t you share one of your goals on comments? This will
help your motivation on following your schedule. Or you can just share it
with one of your friends or colleagues to increase your chances of success
Summary
Projects can be complex and can exploit a huge number
of processes and specific tools, but everything is
enclosed in the knowledge areas and groups cited above
Then it doesn’t matter if your project is a personal or
professional one, or how complex it can be, just tailor
your project’s life cycle the best way and do not forget
any area in order to maximize your success opportunities