There are several project management frameworks around. PMI's PMBOK® is a popular one. PRINCE2 from the UK. And then there are the Agile Software Development methods masking themselves as project management processes.
While we make use of PMBOK® and participate in PMI groups (College of Performance Management and College of Scheduling) and of course our local chapter, there is a comprehensive project management framework applicable to a wide variety of projects, including software.
This comes from the The Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering. Probably not some place you've heard of, at least in the IT and software development business. But AACE is the organization where Project and Program managers for construction hang out. As well they provide the Earned Value Professional certification and the Certified Cost Consultant and Certified Cost Engineer monikers.
Our firm (at my side of the firm) works primarly on Defense programs, but we've entered the Department of Energy realm - where I came from. There the role of project and program management is equivalent to technical and business management.
The TCM provides specific hands on guidance for:
- Strategic asset management
- Project Controls
- Total cost management
These sounds like high ceromony processes. But of course they are not. The construction business is as agile as any software development business - at least any non-trival software development business. Enterprise software, mission critical software, embedded systems software. Software development that spends other peoples money.
Each of these major sections desccribes the processes and outcomes needed for a successful projects. Unlike PMBOK®, TCM is a method. Unlike PMBOK® is targeted to specific types of projects. I've come to realise that PMBOK® is grown to be "one size fits all," and beyond the notion of the process groups and knowledge areas, it pretty much is watered down with the related dumbing down. TCM provides the following capabilities.
What Does This Mean?
For general project work, including software, there are many aspects that have little to do with "engineering" the solution. But mostly to do with "managing" the engineering work. The "management" frameworks are missing, TCM provides one view.
