Progress
Following last year's presentation and discussion, our original concept map
can be improved. But the real world deals in real projects, so how do we get
from general principles to specific areas of project management application?
For example, where is the place for program management? By what criteria should
we include, exclude, or place specific labels? And so on.
However, before moving on, we should clarify what we mean by Areas of Project
Management Application.
The traditional way for segregating business activities is by industry, of
which there are many. The Project Management Institute, in its membership application
form, lists seven categories and no less than seventy-five sub-categories. Clearly,
developing project management specifics for each and every industry would be
both unwarranted and futile.
The problem is that most of these industry categories could just as easily
be involved in, say, a construction project as a systems project. The observation
that the Project Management Institute has flourishing Specific Interest Groups
supporting each type indicates that these are different kinds of project that
are not differentiated by industry.
To distinguish different types of project from different industries the term
'Area of Project Management Application' has been used. Area of Project Application
(or APMA) has been defined simply as
"The environment in which a project takes place, with its own particular
nomenclature and accepted practices" (PMBoK 1987.)
Each APMA tends to have its own necessary management style and competency requirements.
But what are the distinguishing features of projects in each area?
|
Why
should we care?
