Certification Summary

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This chapter detailed the framework of projects. Project managers operate within the framework of a project to coordinate all of the parts and to move the project toward completion. A project achieves momentum by completing project phases. Project phases comprise the project life cycle. The project lifecycle corresponds to the project management framework and provides several benefits:

• Each phase results in some type of deliverable.

• Phase completion shows accomplishment and progression.

• Phase completion allows time for review to determine if the project should move forward.

• Phases allow the project to be progressively elaborated.

Before projects can move into the implementation there must be a project plan. A project plan details what the project will accomplish and how it will be accomplished. Project plans, like project deliverables, pass through progressive elaboration. The project manager and the stakeholders work together to ascertain the priorities of the project requirements, the project constraints, and the project assumptions.

Projects must operate with the organization structure. Organizational structures control how the project manager can obtain resources, the level of authority the project manager can expect, and the participation of the project team. There are five organizational structures: functional, weak matrix, balanced matrix, strong matrix, and projectized.

The project management framework is like the skeleton of any project. It makes up the bones that support the project and provides strength and rigidity. The project management framework holds up the project and allows it to operate in the environment within which it was created.

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