APM项目管理知识体系的真身：APMBok (4th Edition)

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APMBOK(4TH)

The Association for Project Management (APM) first began developing
a Body of Knowledge in the late eighties, with the first edition being
published in . While there have been a number of updates since
then, this is the first fundamental revision the Association has undertaken.
This new edition was commissioned because project management is
changing, and the body of knowledge needs to reflect this.
The prime input for this new edition was a research project undertaken
by the Centre for Research into the Management of Projects at
the University of Manchester’s Institute of Science and Technology,
co-sponsored by the APM,¹ and led by Professor Peter Morris.
The importance of this research was that it carried out an independent
survey of the practice of project management in relation to the elements
of knowledge that project management professionals in a range of
industries felt they needed.
This Body of Knowledge is thus a practical document, defining
the broad range of knowledge that the discipline of project management
encompasses. It is not however a set of competencies, nor does
it say much about the behavioural characteristics that are important
in project management. Indeed, to be successful as a project
management practitioner requires a combination of the right
knowledge (allied to personal experience) and attitude (or behaviour).
An indication of important behavioural characteristics is given on
the next page.
The APM, together with many other organisations, uses its
Body of Knowledge as the basis for its various professional development
programmes. As continuity in such programmes is vital, a comparison
to the topics in the previous version is given at the end of this document.
Behavioural Characteristics of Project Management Professionals
Characteristics of an individual’s personality generally recognised as
important in project management are:
 The full report on the research can be obtained from UMIST or via the APM
Body of Knowledge 8
 Attitude – an open positive “can do” attitude which encourages
communication and motivation, and fosters co-operation.
 Common sense – the ability to spot sensible, effective, straight
forward, least risky, least complex solutions i.e. % right on time
is better than % far too late!
 Open mindedness – an approach where one is always open to new
ideas, practices and methods and in particular gives equal weight
to the various disciplines involved on the project.
 Adaptability – a propensity to be flexible where necessary and avoid
rigid patterns of thinking or behaviour, to adapt to the requirements
of the project, the needs of the sponsors, its environment and people
working on it – to ensure a successful outcome.
 Inventiveness – an ability to discover innovative strategies and
solutions from within oneself or by encouragement with other
members of the project team, and to identify ways of working
with disparate resources to achieve project objectives.
 Prudent risk taker – a willingness and ability to identify and
understand risks but not to take a risky approach in an unwise
or reckless fashion.
 Fairness – a fair and open attitude which respects all human values.
 Commitment – an over-riding commitment to the project’s success,
user satisfaction and team working. A strong orientation towards goal
achievement.
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Introduction to the BoK
This APM Body of Knowledge (BoK) represents the topics in which
practitioners and experts consider professionals in project management
should be knowledgeable and competent. It has been derived from earlier
versions updated and developed through an extensive research programme
conducted by the Centre for Research in the Management of Projects
(CRMP) at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and
Technology (UMIST) on behalf of industry and the APM.
The scope of this APM Body of Knowledge incorporates not only
inward focused project management topics, such as planning and control
tools and techniques, but also those broader topics essential to the effective
management of projects. These cover the context in which the project is
being managed, such as the social and ecological environment, as well as
a number of specific areas, such as technology, economics and finance,
organisation, procurement, and people, as well as general management.
Practice and research show these all have a significant influence on the
likelihood of the project being conducted successfully [Morris, ].
The topics are described at a high level of generality. Detailed
description of the topics can be found in texts, teaching and research
institutions, companies, and other specific places. The intent here
is principally to give an overall “scoping” guide to the topics that
professionals in project management consider are essential for
a suitable understanding of the discipline.
The topics are those that are generic to project management. The way
they are described likewise is generic. Although ideas, language and even
illustration may be derived from particular application, the intent is that
each topic is potentially applicable in all project management situations.
Though intended as a generic guideline for project management,
the BoK may come to be used, as other BoKs already are in many
organisations, as the basis of the project management element of a
general competencies framework.
The BoK is not a textbook. While it reflects what the research team
and its advisors were able to discover to be the state of professional opinion
(not just in the UK but with considerable input from outside the UK),
Body of Knowledge 10
the information presented has been filtered by the APM and the expertise
of its members.
The topics have been grouped into seven sections.²
 The first section deals with a number of General and introductory items.
The remaining six sections deal with topics to do with managing:
 the project’s Strategic framework, including its basic objectives;
 Control issues that should be employed;
 the definition of the project’s Technical characteristics;
 the Commercial features of its proposed implementation;
 the Organisational structure that should fit the above;
 issues to do with managing the People that will work on the project.
(Though there is nothing fixed about this sequence, it is logical insofar
as a strategic framework should first be established. The processes,
practices and systems required for effective Control – in the sense of
planning, reporting and taking corrective action – should be established
from the outset. The project’s technical definition should then be defined
and developed with commercial conditions developed in parallel – but
sometimes slightly lagging the technical definitional work. And then the
organisational and people issues need to be factored in. These latter two
are by no means the least important however: many consider, quite
understandably, people issues to be at the very heart of successful
project management.)
Many of the topics listed under these sections are closely linked or are
interdependent. They are treated separately here however due to their
individual significance. Teamwork and leadership for example, although
they could be treated as a part of communications, are independently
addressed due to their inherent importance in project management.
In reality, many of the topics fit in more than one section. Remember
therefore that the categorisation is not intended to be too limiting.
The section groupings are for convenience and clarity. But as in any
sophisticated topic, high level groupings can become misleading. The
granularity of the detail behind the ideas in this document is important.
 For a long time we were reluctant to categorise the BoK topics into sections. Our surveys
however showed a very strong desire for people to have a structure in which to group and
provide a framework for the  odd topics. Research backs up the need for people to limit
information without a structure of more than seven major topics [Miller, ]
The grouping of topics is shown in the diagram on the frontispiece.
Each topic in the BoK has its own description together with a short list of
useful references. (A list of Further References is additionally given at the
end of the BoK.)
