According to PMBOK guide (2004), the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) can be referred to as the combination of processes and knowledge areas that are widely recognized and generally accepted as the best practice to be applied during project management process (Pg 55). It has a set of guidelines and practices written by project management institute which provide fundamental requirements that can be applied to a set of projects (Pg 60).PMBOK recognizes nine areas of knowledge which include; integration, cost, time, scope, quality, communication, human resources, risk management, and procurement (Pg 70).Considering the trade show of my LRH company, the three most important knowledge areas that should be recognized are; Project time management, Project resource management, and project communication management since they are key areas to the success of the trade show project.
According to James and Thomas (2006), the first area which is important in regard to the trade show project is Project Time Management which is concerned with completion time of a project (Pg 16). The area focuses on the creation of a realistic project schedule, deadlines and it is commonly associated with working on existing deadlines and adhering to them as required (Pg 20). James and Thomas argue that achievement of this area is through six time related process which comprises of activity, definition; activity sequencing, activity resource estimating, activity duration estimating, schedule development and schedule control (Pg 23). They further argue that time knowledge area is a clear cut in which all the processes occur at the same time, and the first step is the definition of the activities, which is followed by the creation of scheduled activities (Pg 25). After the activities have been created, they are placed sequentially where dependencies existing between the activities is identified, followed by resource estimation and duration estimation of activities (Pg 28).Considering the LHR product company, the completion time is ten weeks, and the activities have been clearly identified, which is a clear indication that project time management is a key knowledge area to the trade show project.
The PMBOK guide (2004), recognizes project human resources management as the second important knowledge area is that comprises the acquisition, cultivation, and overseeing human resources functions on the projects (Pg 72). It has its main focus on the project tools, techniques, and the inputs and outputs that comprises the acquisition and development of the project with the managing team of the project (Pg 75). This area is critical to the project since without the project having a staff working on it, then the project cannot be carried out effectively (Pg 78).The PMBOK guide further indicates that this area ensures that all the people working on the project have the necessary skills to carry out the project and it has four processes which consists of human resource planning, acquisition of the project team, development of project team and its management (Pg 80). The main purpose of the area is to organize, develop and manage the project team. The first step is human resource planning which is concerned with the setting up the foundation for the project process, which is followed by the definition of roles and responsibilities of the project team members (Pg 83).
Furthermore, the PMBOK guide indicates that the main reason of human resource planning is to identify and document project roles, responsibilities, and reporting of relationships with the aim of creating a staffing management plan (Pg 86). In addition the PMBOK guide shows that the management system in this area contains several themes such as training needs, compliance, recognition, etc (Pg 88).In regard to the trade show of LRH company, this has been identified as a major area because a small group of people with experience regarding the project have been identified to work on the project within the identified time of sixteen hours.
The third knowledge area is project communication management which mainly outlines the team members’ information needs, delivery schedule and the distribution system (James & Thomas 30).James and Thomas argue that it provides a foundation for maintenance of visibility of the project to the stakeholders and ensures that the information communicated is dynamic, updated which leads to high visibility and control (Pg 36). According to the PMBOK guide the schedule priorities in this area keep on changing. Hence it recommends that complete updates be initiated before the end and beginning of every shift so that updated schedules are disseminated (Pg 40).The guide further indicates that without schedule updates the schedule may immediately change and become meaningless as a tool for managing project scope and execution (Pg 45).This area recommends that information disseminated should be according to the required standards, and all members must be familiar with it to allow team members to easily read and understand the information quickly to avoid misinterpretations (Pg 48).In view of the trade show project, this has been considered as a key area since two people Pat and Terry, who have the necessary experience on the Trade show projects, have been appointed to assist in the preparing of the project. The two will provide necessary past information used by the company, which can be utilized with the present to accomplish the project as this area relies on both the present and past information for the success of any project.
For the trade project to be effective, these areas should be managed properly. To start with poor management of time will lead to the delay in the completion of the project, and sometimes it may lead to the project not being accomplished as defined (James &Thomas 50).The two argue that when the time for project completion is extended, it calls for more funds that were not initially allocated for the project, which makes the company to incur extra expenses that could have been avoided when the project is finished as per the defined time of completion (Pg 52). James and Thomas argue that project success is measured by the ability of its completion as per the desired specifications, within the specified budget and time schedule (Pg 56). In order to avoid poor time management which may have a negative impact on the project events that may have a negative effect on the project should be identified and mitigating plans developed through proper planning and execution process (Pg 59). Poor management of this area might have a great impact on the project activities and deliverables, which may result to low quality of the expected product (Pg 60).
Poor management of project human resources area can have a great influence on the overall project product and planning process (PMBOK guide 90).The guide indicates that poor evaluation and quality planning process may affect the process of implementation, which causes poor evaluation of the processes that eventually leads to undesired output (Pg 95). Poor management of this area may also have a great impact on the performance of the different functional managers who are involved in the project, which can be a major hindrance to the success of the project since planning and scheduling are the key foundations to success of any project (Pg 98).
Communication management is also important because poor project management communication can lead to poor quality project performance (James & Thomas 65).The two argue that poor communication leads to communication problems to the team members since poor communication may cause functional managers not to effectively contribute to the risk management process (Pg 69).The PMBOK guide indicates that poor communication leads to poor organizational training programs not designed for the functional manager since communication is associated with planning which determines the information to be communicated and who needs the information (Pg 115).Poor communication may make it difficult for the project managers to plan effectively (Pg 120).
Work cited
James. H, Thomas. M, Project Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Project Management; Published by Paton Professional, ISBN 1932828079, 9781932828078; Pg 16-69 (2006).
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide).
By Project Management Institute (Newtown square); Published by Project Management Institute; ISBN 1880410230, 9781880410233; Pg 55-120 (2004).