Criteria for a project-management body of knowledge

Abstract The paper sets out criteria for the development of a project-management body of knowledge ( pmbok ). It describes the nature and history of project management, why there is need for a body of knowledge, and why the knowledge gained over time must be more effectively transferred in future. It notes that the underpinning of project management is ‘getting things done’, and yet that the essential need is to address the ‘manner of how people do it’. This shows the conflict between the scientific approach of ’reductionism’ and the psychological disciplines which respond more to the environmental-systems approach of ‘relationships’. The proposed pmbok model organises the contained knowledge for systematic examination and scope evaluation to produce a firm foundation. Inclusive and exclusive criteria are presented together with a broad, open basis for the collection of content. Specific criteria are abstracted to a convenient reference ‘sidebar’.