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Effective project management has become crucial for organizations aiming to deliver results efficiently, on time, and within budget. The 12 Principles of Project Management provide a comprehensive framework that guides project managers in achieving these objectives.
Let’s deep dive and learn what are the Principles of Project Management!
What is a Principle?
Irrespective of the profession you are part of, principles serve as a foundational guideline for strategy, decision making and problem solving.
Professional standards are often based on principles and in some, law or rule based.
However, the project management principles aren’t rule based instead they are a prescription or call it a guide for the people involved in projects.
The PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is based on four values that were identified as most important to the project management community:
- Responsibility
- Respect
- Fairness
- Honesty
Before you move on to read the comparison between the PMBOK 7th edition vs the 6th What’s New in the PMBOK 7th Edition Compared to the 6th Edition?
12 Principles of Project Management
Listed below are the 12 principle without any specific order. To remember these 12 principles easily, I have highlighted the key words you need to remember as part of the 12 Project Management Principles:
- Be a diligent, respectful, and caring steward
- Create a collaborative project team environment
- Effectively engage with stakeholders
- Focus on value
- Recognize, evaluate, and respond to system interactions
- Demonstrate leadership behaviors
- Tailor based on context
- Build quality into processes and deliverables
- Navigate complexity
- Optimize risk responses
- Embrace adaptability and resiliency
- Enable change to achieve the envisioned future state
If you are beginner in Project Management and would like to learn the basics please do check out this article Project Management for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide to Success
Now let’s look into the 12 Principles of Project Management a bit more detailed
1. Stewardship
Be a diligent, respectful and caring steward
In simple words, follow the code of conduct and ethics.
Also, this is one of most common requirement while working with other fellow human beings, like treating them with utmost respect, care about them, value them and build mutual respect irrespective of the individuals you work with.
Keywords to remember: responsibility, operating in alignment, value, commitment to respectful engagement of project team members including their salaries, fair treatment, diligent across organizational finances, accountability, integrity, care, compliance
2. Team
Create a collaborative project team environment
Like it or not, it’s all about collaboration and strong communication which makes you win the hearts of people and achieve the project targets.
Project teams are made up of individuals who hold diverse skillsets, knowledge, and experience.
Project teams that work collaboratively can accomplish a shared objective more effectively and efficiently than individuals working on their own.
Keywords to remember: team agreements, organizational structures, processes, authority, accountability, responsibility
Check out this article on how to How To Build Magical Employees In Our Projects and Build a strong foundation and togetherness within and your teams
3. Stakeholders
Effectively engage with stakeholders
With strong collaboration and building effective trust and relationships with your stakeholders, it builds strong customer satisfaction.
Engage your stakeholders proactively and to the degree needed to contribute to project success and customer satisfaction.
Keywords to remember: scope, requirements, schedule, cost, plans, project teams, outcomes, culture, benefits realization, risk, quality, success, taking initiatives, honesty, collaboration, respect, empathy and confidence.
Here is an article I have written about How to build solid stakeholder engagement
4. Value
Focus on value
Value is the ultimate indicator of project success and without value there is no success in what we do.
Keywords to remember: business need, project justification, business strategy, informed decisions to meet or exceed business value
Here is my article about Chasing Problems And Creating Value Out Of It
5. System Thinking
Recognize, evaluate, and respond to system interactions
Recognize, evaluate, and respond to the dynamic circumstances within and surrounding the project in a holistic way to positively affect project performance
Here it’s all about breaking and silos and bringing the systems, people together to solve the project problems and win together as a team.
Systems thinking also considers timing elements of systems, such as what the project delivers or enables over time. For example, if project deliverables are released incrementally, each increment expands the cumulative outcomes or capabilities of previous versions. Project teams should think beyond the end of the project to the operational state of the project’s deliverable, so that intended outcomes are realized.
Keywords to remember: empathy, critical thinking with big picture, proactive management, modelling and scenarios building, early considerations of uncertainty and risk, adjust assumptions, project life cycle, ability to see synergies and savings between aligned projects,
6. Leadership
Demonstrate leadership behaviors
One of the most important qualities to win people’s hearts and achieve project success.
Leadership comprises the attitude, talent, character, and behaviors to influence individuals within
and outside the project team toward the desired outcomes.
Effective leadership draws from or combines elements of various styles of leadership like autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire (indecisive and uninvolved), directive, participative, assertive, supportive, and autocratic to consensus.
Of all these, no single leadership style has proven to be the universally best or recommended approach. Instead, effective leadership is shown when it best fits a given situation.
Practicing a combination of various skillsets deepens leadership acumen.
Do check this article on How to become a leader from a manager
Key points to remember: Focusing a project team around agreed goals, Generating consensus, Overcoming obstacles, Adapting communication style, Facilitating collaborative decision making, Employing effective conversations and active listening, Showing empathy for project team and stakeholder perspectives, role model, blending styles, continuing skill growth, grow the project team, regardless of role or position
7. Tailoring
Tailor based on context
This is nothing but there is no one size fits all approach.
Every project is unique, so the success is based on adapting to the unique context to determine the most appropriate models or methods.
Design the project development approach based on the context of the project, its objectives, stakeholders, governance, and the environment using “just enough” process to achieve the desired
outcome while maximizing value, managing cost, and enhancing speed.
keywords to remember: Deeper commitment from project team members, customer oriented focus, increased innovation efficiency and productivity, lessons learned, increased adaptability
Please do see this article about Why is Innovation Essential to your business growth
8. Quality
Build quality into processes and deliverables
By building strong quality system and proper governance processes, will ensure the customers are always delighted and hold higher net customer satisfaction.
Maintaining a focus on quality produces deliverables that meet project objectives set forth by relevant stakeholders.
Keywords to remember: performance, conformity, reliability, resilience, satisfaction, uniformity, efficiency, sustainability
9. Complexity
Navigate complexity
Continually evaluate and navigate project complexity so that approaches and plans enable the project team to successfully navigate the project life cycle.
There is no doubt that the complexity is the result of human behavior, system interactions, uncertainty, and ambiguity.
Using the strategies, techniques effectively will solve the complex problem and navigate towards achieving the projects success.
keywords to remember: human behavior, system behavior, uncertainty and ambiguity, technological innovation
10. Risk
Optimize risk responses
like it or not, Risk needs to be continually evaluated and monitored throughout your process, technology, people. It could be a positive which is an opportunity or a negative a threat.
Risk should be continually addressed throughout the project.
keywords to remember: Risk appetite, uncertainty, Risk threshold, Variation, Plan
11. Adaptability and Resiliency
Embrace adaptability and resiliency
- Adaptability is the ability to respond to changing conditions.
- Resiliency is the ability to absorb impacts and to recover quickly from a setback or failure.
- A focus on outcomes rather than outputs facilitates adaptability.
So it is highly important to build adaptability and resiliency into your project teams to help them accommodate to changes faster and recover from the setbacks of course advances the work of the project.
keywords to remember: feedback loops, continuous learning and improvement, regular inspection and adaptation, identify improvement opportunities, open and transparent planning
12. Change
Enable change to achieve the envisioned future state
Change in inevitable. A structured approach to change helps individuals, groups, and the organization transition from the current state to a future desired state.
Ensuring to clearly communicate the future change is important to ensure the stakeholders, teams understand the core purpose of the change and how to adjust to these everlasting changes.
As a project manager it is important to be transparent, document the changes and communicate those changes timely and appropriately.
Recommended Books to Pass the PMP Exam
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A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition
Amazon Rating: 4.6/5 (3.7 on Goodreads)
Language: English
Publisher: Project Management Institute; Seventh edition (August 1, 2021)
Number of Pages: 250 pages (paperback)
Best Sellers Rank: #648 in Books
If you want to pass the PMP exam – you have to read it atleast once
- #1 in Business Project Management (Books)
- #1 in Business & Finance
To learn the difference between PMBOK 6th vs 7th Edition – read my detailed article on PMBOK Guide 7th Edition
Agile Practice Guide
Amazon Rating: 4.6/5 (3.7 on Goodreads)
Language: English
Publisher: Project Management Institute (October 1, 2017)
Number of Pages: 210 pages (paperback)
Best Sellers Rank: #2,575 in Books
The end goal is not to be agile for its own sake, but rather to deliver a continuous flow of value to customers and achieve better business outcomes.
- #2 in PMP Exam
- #3 in Business Project Management (Books)
- #50 in Leadership & Motivation
Conclusion
In conclusion, the 12 Principles of Project Management are not just a list to be memorized but a roadmap to be followed diligently. By incorporating these principles into every facet of project management, professionals can steer their projects toward success, delivering value, innovation, and lasting impact.
Now, consider how well you apply these principles and share your thoughts on the main challenges you encounter in project management. Your experiences and insights can provide valuable lessons for all readers.
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