Thoughts on Language, Content and Referencing
Before closing this discussion, I would like to cover three other related topics that I believe are a source
of some vexation for many project management practitioners.
First: I believe that developments of PMrBoKs need to consider and uniformly address the question of
language usage, particularly the use of tenses, verbs and pronouns. The nature of project management is
that of a positive, vibrant field where people want to get things done and get on with it. In addition, the
practice has traditionally placed responsibility for action, movement and progress at the lowest feasible
level. Consequently, the language used must be action-toned and positive to insure that no participant in
a position to act is left uncertain and waiting. Therefore, terms describing progress and status (past
tense), activity or action (present tense), and forecast, future plan, work or activity (future tense) all need
particular attention. Therefore, there would be great benefit from including a brief discussion on the
choice of style, language, tone, tense, verb, etc. in the documentation of communication. Some of my
thinking on the content was described in Part 2 of this paper.
Second: There is potential for conflict and confusion over the work breakdown structure (WBS)
language currently used on many projects. Unfortunately, the language used while intended to reflect the
product of project activities is entered as the activities themselves and is either confused with a PMrBoK
structure, or looks like an easy substitute. A sharp distinction should be made between the two. The
WBS is a very effective PM technique for defining unequivocally either the product elements and the
delivery system, or the execution plan for the project. Because the WBS technique is so powerful, but
only when applied to a specific project, it cannot really be used to structure an entire PMrBoK.
Third: There is a wealth of project management literature available, but there is no effective relationship
between the best or most appropriate readings and any particular PMrBoK. While any reference listing
can never be entirely authoritative, complete, current and useful to all application areas, nonetheless
some sort of sourcing guidance would be invaluable. An indication of what is needed can be found in
the site plan on Max Wideman's web site at http://www.maxwideman.com/sitemap.htm
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On the Content of Plane C
