PEOPLE KEEP ASKING ME: Is the PMI publication titled A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge a standard? Well, yes and no.
The American Heritage Dictionary (AHD), the reference dictionary used during development of the PMBOK Guide, defines a standard as “an acknowledged measure of comparison for quantitative or qualitative value.” Among its purposes, the PMBOK Guide lists providing a common lexicon within the profession, providing a basic reference for anyone interested in the profession, and providing a consistent structure for PMI's professional development programs. All of these purposes imply some form of comparison, so it is a standard.
The AHD also says that a standard may be “a degree or level of requirement, excellence, or attainment.” Nowhere in the PMBOK Guide does it say that anyone is required do anything. In fact, it says, “the project management team is always responsible for determining what is appropriate for any given project.” Nor does it claim to define best practices. So by this second definition, it is not a standard.
If the dictionary doesn't help, maybe the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) can.
In its Code of Good Practice, ISO defines a standard as a “document approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for products, processes or services with which compliance is not mandatory.” Since the PMBOK Guide has been approved by a recognized body (PMI), since it is intended for common and repeated use, since it provides a description of the characteristics of the project management process, and since compliance is not mandatory, it is a standard.
But just in case you thought the problem was solved, ISO's Web page says that standards are “documented agreements containing technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines, or definition of characteristics, to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose.” The PMBOK Guide does not contain technical specifications, nor does it contain precise criteria, so by this definition, it is not a standard.
So, is the PMBOK Guide a standard or isn't it? Well, yes and no—it depends on the definition you use. When a word has multiple, potentially contradictory meanings, I say it is a word requiring modification, or worm for short. The word standard is a worm. So the next question is, What modifiers might we use? The standards development community recognizes three major categories of standards:
Descriptive standards. These are documents that tell the facts, details, or particulars of something. A document that described the characteristic symptoms of a flu sufferer would be a descriptive standard.
Normative standards. These are documents that provide guidelines (norms) to be used as a basis for measurement, comparison, or decisions. A document that listed alternative approaches to treating the flu would be a normative standard.
Prescriptive standards. These are documents that define a particular way of doing something. A document that specified a two-week course of a specific antibiotic would be a prescriptive standard.
These distinctions help, but there is still room for confusion. For example, the first two chapters of the PMBOK Guide are primarily descriptive—they tell the facts, details, and particulars of certain aspects of project management. Chapters 3 through 12 are primarily normative—they provide a description of generally accepted knowledge and practice that you can use to measure your own. And the glossary was intended to be prescriptive—these are the definitions you should use, and if you use others, you should alert your fellow professionals to that fact.
SO, ONE LAST TIME: Is A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge a standard? Yes, it is. And it is but the first of many that PMI's Standards Committee will produce to help promote worldwide excellence in the practice of project management through standards that are consistently applied. ■
William R. Duncan, PMP, is a principal in Project Management Partners, a project management consulting and training firm headquartered in Lexington, Mass., USA. He is also director of standards for the Project Management Institute, and a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Project Management Journal.
PM Network • April 1998