Project management frameworks are efforts to understand the scope of a project and project management topics in a holistic sense. They go beyond the constraints discussed above to include all aspects that may influence a project. Schwalbe offers the following framework:
Schwalbe illustrates the relationships between these various aspects of the project management framework in Figure 1-1 below.
Stakeholders can be anyone or any organization that has an interest or involvement in the project. The term "stakeholder" is normally used in a general sense to identify people or organizations that will have some role in a project (e.g., review or approval of project deliverables) or which are more broadly impacted by the project work or results (e.g., employees or management personnel inside the organization carrying out the project). The group or organization which sponsors a project and expects to derive benefits from project results may be considered "customers". Project results and tangible deliverables should focus on the customers' business requirements, which are work assignments and associated resource needs necessary to support an organization's mission and goals.
As described by the Project Management Institute (PMI), project management Knowledge Areas address critical concerns and practices that must be taken into account in project planning and execution. The PMI Knowledge areas are:
A look at our syllabus reveals much of the class is organized based on these knowledge areas. It is not possible to create a project plan without a detailed look at the plan's scope, timing, and cost. In addition to these, we will discuss all of the other important knowledge areas you must be familiar with to be a successful project manager.
Tools and techniques can help to increase understanding in any of these knowledge areas, but are most vital in the core knowledge areas. We will explore a variety of these techniques and discuss their implementation in GIS projects. Although project management software packages can facilitate the use of these tools and techniques, the same techniques have long been used with pencil and paper.
A project portfolio is a collection of projects that are grouped together to facilitate effective management of work to meet the projects' objectives). Project portfolio management integrates the planning and management of individual projects into a larger entity that can be aligned with an organization's mission and business requirements. The process is similar to investment portfolios that look at all holdings and attempt to achieve a balance between risk and potential reward.