12 Project Management Principles

Mudassir IqbalJanuary 24, 2024PMP Articles1 comment

A principle is usually defined as a statement of:

moral or ethical value;
agreed conduct; or,
an underlying law or assumption

PMI’s guiding definition of a principle is:
A statement that captures and summarizes a generally accepted objective for the
practice of the disciplines and functions of portfolio, program, and project management.

These 12 Project Management Principles include stewardship, teamwork, stakeholder engagement, value creation, systems thinking, leadership, tailored approaches, quality focus, managing project complexity, risk management, building adaptability and resiliency, and change management.

* Stewardship/Leading refers to acting responsibly, with integrity, trustworthiness, respect and compliance.

* Teamwork involves working collaboratively to achieve shared objectives by creating a productive team environment. It’s impossible to deliver sustainable outcomes without a team that works together, different skills working together toward a single objective. Professional collaboration towards working together to get to the objectives of the project.

* Stakeholder engagement involves engaging stakeholders to contribute to project success. Stakeholders can, directly and indirectly, influence the project and not engaging them could lead to threats and Risk of failure.

* Value creation involves maximizing value by focusing on outcomes. Value is not only focusing on managing Scope, Cost, Time and Quality, it is about delivering the outcome and benefits that would bring results/returns to an organization. Value also means that as a PM you are willing to terminate any project which is not in line with the organization’s goal (System of Value Delivery). Successful projects are all about delivering value, it goes above and beyond the simple delivery.

I mentioned earlier that all principles are interconnected and are in action at the same time. Who sees the value and the outcomes? It’s the stakeholders that receive that benefit. If you are not delivering value, you are at risk of early termination of the project.

Keywords like outcomes, success, business results, and benefits, are all about not simply being on time, and on budget, but delivering in moving the organization towards its strategic position or decision.

* Systems thinking focuses on taking a holistic view of a project. You, Your Project, Your Department, Your company, your province/State, and your country are not alone. System thinking helps you break Silos, things happening around impact your project which could make your project lose value.

System thinking views a project as an interconnected system with its own working parts. It emphasizes understanding the project within the context of larger systems and how it interacts with them. This approach helps project teams to systematically discover system dynamics, constraints, and conditions, enabling them to suggest improvements and run experiments with an understanding of potential side effects.

Holistic View: Understand the project as part of a larger system
Interdependencies: Recognize how different elements of the project influence each other
Dynamic Interactions: Acknowledge that project elements interact dynamically over time
Adaptability: Be flexible and adaptable. Systems thinking helps in responding effectively to changes and uncertainties.

Every single principle is interconnected and everything happens at the
same time with the same level of relevance

* Leadership involves adapting to the situation and demonstrating the desired behaviour. Aspects like motivation, focus, self-awareness, and facilitation are critical to align this. Leadership is the ability to motivate, to get the people working together, to help people focused and remain aware of everything

* Tailored approaches involve adapting project development to the unique context of the project. There is no One-size-fits-all and have mentioned earlier in the introduction of PMBOK it is not prescription and can work with any methodology. So focus on value delivering. There is no best approach, but the right approach to any solution. How you resolve a conflict with your spouse and with your professional colleague; I am sure are two different ways.

* Quality focus involves meeting acceptance criteria and ensuring effective project processes to ensure the delivery of project value. Quality should be focused on Detection and Prevention rather than reaction. Keywords like “satisfied the needs”, “no defects”, “fit for purpose”, and “conformity” define the quality deliverable.

* Managing project complexity and risks involves identifying and addressing elements of complexity and risk.

Complexity can arise from different factors. And most of them are outside of your control. Therefore, you need to shift your focus from avoiding complexity to understanding that this is part of your environment and you need to assess and react and assess and react.

Understanding Risk based on the stakeholders and delivering organization is important for effecting managing the risk, as risk definitions change from person to person and organization to organization.

You need to understand that there are many things that you need to prepare and react, and that’s it because you cannot control many external events like Covid, Seuz Canal Incident, Global Warming

* Building adaptability and resiliency involves responding to changing conditions and recovering quickly from setbacks.

Resilience is your ability to absorb a shock and come back, observe a shock and come back, and with every shock you receive, you come back better. I hope we all are better prepared to tackle any other pandemic because of the learning during Covid years

* Finally, change management involves helping individuals, groups, and the organization transition from the current state to a future desired state.

Change is inevitable and only constant item in life. No change means Stakeholders are not taking any interest in the project. You are a catalyst, a change agent who disturbs the Status Quo

Human’s instinct is to remain in a comfort zone and avoid change, but this mindset hits hard as we never prepare for the future. So don’t avoid the changes but work on creating an environment which is a psychologically safe environment where all the participants can talk about their minds without any fear.

Principles of Project Management And General Management Principles.

In project management, there is an overlap between project management principles and general management principles. Here’s a breakdown of how they overlap:

Guidance for navigating complexity: Both project management and general management principles can provide guidance for navigating complexity. This can include recognizing, evaluating, and responding to system interactions or optimizing risk responses.
Focus on delivering value: Both projects and businesses in general focus on delivering value. The methods may be somewhat different in projects as opposed to operations, but the underlying principle associated with focusing on value can apply to both.
Delegating decisions: Both project management and general management principles can involve delegating decisions as far down in the hierarchy as possible. For this to work, every person has to know what end result the management is aiming at.

Overall, project management principles and general management principles overlap in several areas, including guidance for navigating complexity, focus on delivering value, and delegating decisions. This overlap can help ensure that projects are completed successfully and that businesses are run efficiently.

Principles are fundamental values that guide project managers’ behaviour. These principles are not something you can learn through exercises; they need to be understood and experienced

Details on 12 Project Management Principles

Stewardship:

Project stewards, an elder/adult, must act responsibly, maintain compliance with internal and external guidelines, and demonstrate a broad commitment to financial, social, and environmental impacts of the projects they support. They must have integrity, trustworthiness, and compliance and a holistic view of stewardship considers financial, social, technical, and sustainable environmental awareness. It encompasses responsibilities within and external to the organization.

Team:

Projects are delivered by project teams who work within organizational and professional cultures and guidelines, often establishing their own “local” culture. A collaborative project team environment facilitates alignment with other organizational cultures and guidelines, individual and team learning and development, and optimal contributions to deliver desired outcomes.

Stakeholder Engagement:

Stakeholders influence projects, performance, and outcomes. Project teams serve other stakeholders by engaging with them. Stakeholder engagement proactively advances value delivery. Engage stakeholders proactively and to the degree needed to contribute to project success and customer satisfaction.

Value:

Value is the ultimate indicator of project success, and it can be realized throughout the project, at the end of the project, or after the project is complete. Value and the benefits that contribute to value can be defined in quantitative and/or qualitative terms. A focus on outcomes allows project teams to support the intended benefits that lead to value creation. Project teams evaluate progress and adapt to maximize the expected value.

Systems Thinking:

A project is a system of interdependent and interacting domains of activity. Systems thinking entails taking a holistic view of how project parts interact with each other and with external systems. Systems are constantly changing, requiring consistent attention to the internal and external conditions. Being responsive to system interactions allows project teams to leverage positive outcomes

Leadership:

Effective leadership promotes project success and contributes to positive project outcomes. Any project team member can demonstrate leadership behaviors. Leadership is different from authority. Effective leaders adapt their style to the situation. Effective leaders recognize differences in motivation among project team members. Leaders demonstrate desired behavior in areas of honesty, integrity, and ethical conduct.

Tailoring:

Each project is unique, and project success is based on adapting to the unique context of the project to determine the most appropriate methods of producing the desired outcomes. Tailoring the approach is iterative and is a continuous process throughout the project. 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.

Quality:

Project quality entails satisfying stakeholders’ expectations and fulfilling project and product requirements. Quality focuses on meeting acceptance criteria for deliverables. Project quality entails ensuring project processes are appropriate and as effective as possible. Maintain a focus on quality that produces deliverables that meet project objectives and align to the needs, uses, and acceptance requirements set forth by relevant stakeholders.

Complexity:

Complexity results from human behaviour, system interactions, uncertainty, and ambiguity. Complexity can emerge at any point during the project. Complexity can be introduced by events or conditions that affect value, scope, communications, stakeholders, risk, and technological innovation. Project teams can stay vigilant in identifying elements of complexity and use a variety of methods to reduce the amount or impact of complexity.

Risk:

Individual and overall risks can impact projects. Risks can be positive (opportunities) or negative (threats). Risks are addressed continually throughout the project. An organization’s risk attitude, appetite, and threshold influence how risk is addressed. Risk responses should be appropriate for the significance of the risk, cost-effective, agreed to by relevant stakeholders, and owned by a responsible person.

Adaptability and Resilience:

To ensure project success, it is crucial to build adaptability and resiliency into an organization’s and project team’s approaches. Adaptability enables quick adjustments to changing conditions, while resiliency allows for quick recovery from setbacks. To achieve this, a focus on outcomes rather than outputs is recommended. This approach helps maintain flexibility and focus on the project’s goals and objectives. Overall, building adaptability and resiliency into an organization’s and project team’s approaches can help achieve the desired project outcomes, even in the face of challenges and setbacks.

Change Management

To successfully manage a transition to a new future state, it’s important to prepare individuals and groups for the adoption of new behaviors and processes. Change can come from various sources and not all stakeholders may be receptive to it, so a structured approach to change management is recommended. It’s crucial to engage stakeholders and motivate them to embrace change to ensure success. Attempting too much change at once can lead to resistance or change fatigue, so a gradual approach is recommended.

In summary, successful project management requires a holistic approach that encompasses a range of principles and practices. This includes stewardship, collaborative teamwork, stakeholder engagement, a focus on value and outcomes, systems thinking, effective leadership, tailored project development approaches, quality management, navigation of complexity and risk, adaptability and resilience, and effective change management. By applying these principles and practices, project teams can deliver successful outcomes that meet the needs and expectations of stakeholders while maximizing value and minimizing risk.