The PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) standard stands as one of the most esteemed global benchmarks in project management, providing an essential framework for assessing project management systems. This standard categorizes project management into ten distinct knowledge areas, detailed as follows:
| Initiation | Planning | Execution | Monitoring | Closure | |
| Integration Management | System Setting | Project Activities & Millstones | |||
| Scope Management | IDC Matrix | Claim Management | |||
| Time Management | Project Schedule | Work Front Plan | Delay Reports | ||
| Cost Management | Cost Control | Cash Flow | |||
| Quality Management | Progress Evaluate | Vendors Evaluation | |||
| Resource Management | Resource Planning | Timesheet
Invoices Document Management |
|||
| Communications Management | Project Entities
Project Flow |
IDC Matrix | Entities Access Level | ||
| Risk Management | Project Delay
Hold Items |
Deviation Reports | |||
| Procurement Management | Project Roles
|
Procurement Schedule
Inspections Calendar |
Procurement Management | Invoices
Bonds Warranties |
Delivery |
| Stakeholder Management | Project Partners
Internal Roles |
Invoices
|
Release Bonds |
These ten knowledge areas are organized into five process groups, which collectively cover all stages from project initiation to completion. Each step’s nature determines specific processes associated with these areas, serving as reference points. The five phases outlined in the PMBOK standard are:
- The initiation phase commences with defining the project and creating its charter.
- After initiating the project, planning becomes the first critical step.
- The execution phase represents where the core activities of the project are carried out.
- Monitoring and controlling constitute another process group that, while not strictly sequential, involves ongoing processes throughout execution to ensure alignment between planning and implementation.
- The closure phase encompasses various processes leading up to a complete handover to stakeholders; due to its crucial processes, it is regarded as a distinct phase in its own right.
Afam Group’s Strategy for System Development by PMBOK Standards
As previously noted, the ten knowledge areas are pertinent throughout each of the five phases of a project. It is incumbent upon the project management team to ensure effective oversight and comprehensive management of the project by adapting these processes for local execution.
The Afam software group has articulated its mid-term vision, focusing on developing all modules associated with project information management systems while integrating the ten knowledge areas at each phase of the project. Their objective is to align each topic with applicable standards while considering local factors and specific conditions relevant to project execution. Although there are no current claims regarding complete coverage of all these topics, their realization is included in the company’s long-term plans. Additionally, many of these topics are notably present in Afam’s products, especially in the following areas.
The accompanying Table effectively demonstrates the characteristics of Afam’s project information management system software and its alignment with both the knowledge areas and process steps outlined in the PMBOK standard.
The article titled “Assessment of the Compliance of Afam Project Information Management Systems with PMBOK Standards” elaborates on Afam’s commitment to following and incorporating the sections of the PMBOK standard. The application of the strategies outlined in this standard serves as a key reference for the company in its product development. This paper specifically analyzes one of the ten knowledge areas within this standard as it pertains to these products.
Integration Management in Afam’s Project Information Management Systems
The initial area within the ten knowledge areas defined by the PMBOK standard is Integration Management. The Afam software group adopts this standard as a guiding principle in the ongoing development and enhancement of its products, consistently prioritizing adherence to it. To align with this approach, which focuses on achieving the first knowledge area of the PMBOK standard discussed in this article, all existing and forthcoming system designs are structured to ensure integrity and cohesion.
Integrated Entities in Project Management
During the implementation of a project and across each of the five phases defined by the PMBOK standard, numerous entities exist that fulfill various roles at different points in time. Recognizing these entities, understanding their functions, assessing their significance, predicting security requirements, and formulating associated processes are essential criteria for Afam’s product design team. Presently, several crucial entities within Afam’s project information management system can play roles in one, several, or all software applications. These entities consistently exhibit a cohesive nature derived from a singular information source and maintain an independent identity while ensuring integrity that supports the interconnection of multiple software modules. Below are some of the primary and key entities found in Afam’s software applications:
Project Team / Users
The members of the project team are fundamental to its structure and serve as users of the related software. At various stages of the project, each user may engage in different aspects of project processes. These team members log into each subsystem of the comprehensive project information management system to perform their roles within the process or to access necessary information.
For instance, a user acting as a project manager can access the engineering project information management system to oversee engineering documents, track document statuses, participate in document revision cycles, access files, and review progress reports, schedules, and available workforce. Simultaneously, this user can evaluate and manage the purchasing status of projects under their supervision by logging into the procurement software or checking on purchased items and project inventory within the warehouse and materials subsystem. In all these subsystems, designated personnel are defined within a single information repository and can be recognized across all subsystems and software while ensuring data integrity.
Project Activities
The core entity of a project is its activities. Defining these activities allows other project processes to operate by them. Scheduling, managing delays, project oversight, progress reporting, and numerous other processes are executed based on these activities, which are consistently identifiable within the software while preserving their integrity and cohesion.
Technical Documentation
In an engineering project, documents constitute part of the activities at the most granular level of activity breakdown. Within an EPC framework, a document that is registered, generated, and revised in the engineering document control software extends beyond just the engineering subsystem. A considerable number of these documents, formatted as procurement documents along with their related attachments, are directed to the workflow of the procurement department within the project information management system for purchasing and procurement purposes. Others are made available for construction and execution within the project phase information management system. For instance, Inspection Test Plans (ITPs) detail the inspection procedures for goods being constructed. This document is issued during the engineering phase by the engineering team and subsequently serves as a guideline for the procurement team during inspections in the construction phase. Throughout all these processes and stages, the document entity retains its integrity as a singular entity that is accessible across all subsystems within a well-structured design framework.
Companies
Companies represent another crucial entity within project information management software. The primary and most significant company is the organization that owns the software license; it necessitates access to relevant information such as its name, address, and role across all modules. In addition to this organization, various companies with diverse roles collaborate on project execution. Key entities include the client, supervising company, consulting contractors, main contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and manufacturers—all of which play essential roles at every project stage. Ensuring the integrity of these entities across all stages and modules of the project information management system is critically important.
A single company may assume different roles in various projects or handle different responsibilities at each stage. While the roles may vary across these phases, the fundamental nature of the company originates from a single source. Furthermore, each company may engage in multiple contracts or issue invoices and may have varied receipts or payments within its financial transactions. Information about companies in these transactions must consistently be sourced from a single repository when generating data from other subsystems of this comprehensive system, such as cost control and contract management.
Letters and Correspondence
While project correspondence, such as letters and meeting minutes, is classified as part of a project’s documentation, these communications must possess an independent nature due to their significance. Consequently, within Afam’s comprehensive information management system, correspondence is managed through a fully separate module known as the Project Automation System.
In Afam’s Project Automation System, all project correspondence can interact with both primary and secondary entities within the project information management system while preserving integrity. Project correspondence is consistently linked to project activities and derives from a single source with a uniform identity. Maintaining this integrity and coherence in managing information related to correspondence is essential for the development of the Project Automation System and ensures that all modules of Afam’s comprehensive project information management system have access to letters and other relevant communications about each phase of the project.