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"PMBOK 7" and the Future State of Project Management

August 10, 2020 | by Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

Principles and processes are not "either/or". They are "both/and".

Welcome back to our series where we respond to those questions asked by attendees at our webinar, which we did not have time to respond to during the event. (You can access the recording of the webinar here.) This week, I've grouped three questions that circle around the future state of project management:

  • As an educator I try to keep up with the trends in the industry.  In reviewing the proposed PMBOK® 7th edition, I see a shift from processes to principles.  What is your take on that?
  • How are the changes in the upcoming PMBOK® 7th edition changes supported by these results?  Are organizations ready?  How can they start being ready?
  • What types of projects will be in demand for the near future?

The State of Project Management 2020 survey did not specifically ask about the new PMI standard because, at the time it was launched, PMI had not yet released the exposure draft. So, there is no specific guidance from the results that addresses the "principles vs. processes" debate. However, I've just finished doing a great deal of reading about the 7th edition (part of work on the new, fourth edition of The Project Management Maturity Model), and while there is definitely a sense of "OMG how much more major change can we absorb in one year??!" to some of the analyses on the Web, by and large I think the project management community sees that what PMI is doing merely reflects the reality on the ground.

We have to remember that standards not only form the way we practice; they also reflect it. In a dynamic environment, work practices often shift faster than the standards or textbooks that describe them. This has been the case with project management for perhaps the last decade: PMI endeavored to reflect some of that shift when, in the PMBOK® Guide Sixth Edition, they included pointers on agile and adaptive processes. Now the organization is making a greater leap, acknowledging that the dizzying array of project types out in the marketplace are more united by general principles of practice than they are by specific sets of processes. It's not that we worked by process alone up until now, or that processes are going the way of the dodo in the future. Now, the standard will be more realistic, adding a visionary blueprint to the nuts and bolts. When it comes to project management principles and processes, it isn't "either/or". It's "both/and".

As to whether organizations are ready for this change, the best answer is "it depends." Organizations that are mature in their project management practice are more able to absorb more, and new, changes. Like the case study example provided in the webinar, they can even implement major new initiatives in the midst of crisis, because they have not only institutionalized processes, but also a larger vision of the purpose of their work, their industry, and their organization's desired future state.

I won't even attempt to answer a question about what projects will be in demand in the near future. In 2020? Are you kidding? Just know this: whatever life throws at you, if you have a strong grasp of how to manage projects and a clear view of your organization's strategic goals, you'll be better prepared and more able to respond adaptively. Because if 2020 has told us anything, it's "be agile."

About the Author

Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin is editor-in-chief for PM Solutions Research, and the author, co-author and editor of over twenty books on project management, including the 2007 PMI Literature Award winner, The AMA Handbook of Project Management, Second Edition.

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Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

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