Project management knowledge areas

Project management knowledge areas describe the key competencies a project manager must have. PMBOK (up to the 6th edition) defines ten knowledge areas: four core areas that lead to specific project objectives, five facilitating areas and one integrating area.

Core knowledge areas (objectives)

1. Scope management: defines and controls what is and is not in the project. Processes: plan scope management, collect requirements, define scope, create WBS, validate scope, control scope.
2. Time (schedule) management: ensures timely completion. Define activities, sequence them, estimate durations, and develop and control the schedule.
3. Cost management: estimate, budget and control costs so the project finishes within budget. Technique: earned value.
4. Quality management: ensures the product satisfies requirements. Plan quality, perform quality assurance, control quality.

Facilitating knowledge areas

5. Human resource management: plan, acquire, develop and manage the team.
6. Communications management: plan communications, manage communications and control communications.
7. Risk management: identify and analyse risks, plan responses to them and monitor them.
8. Procurement management: buy goods and services from outside the organisation: plan, conduct, control and close procurements.
9. Stakeholder management (added in the 5th edition): identify stakeholders, plan stakeholder management, and manage and control stakeholder engagement.

Integrating area

10. Integration management: coordinates all the other areas. Develop the charter and plan, direct and manage work, monitor and control work, perform integrated change control, close the project.

       Integration
  ---------------------------
  Scope  Time  Cost  Quality     <- objectives
  HR  Comm  Risk  Procure  Stake <- facilitators

Each area has processes belonging to the five process groups. The manager needs to balance them because decisions in one area affect others.