Project Management Best Practices and Sustainability

Advocates of sustainability emphasize re-use whenever possible. In project management, establishing the repeatable technology and processes for the nine knowledge areas of the PMBOK can significantly reduce the "effort" in the execution of multiple projects.

The idea of best practices, in any industry, can enable efficiency and re-use. Developers have understood the concept for decades, employing code and object re-use in their programs.

The added advantage of a good best practice is in its simplicity and possible viral nature. If someone shows you the most efficient way to sew a stitch, throw a baseball, or change brakes on a car, you may be likely to repeat the best practice to others, in effect adding to its sustainability.

Youtube has become a leader in sustainability, with videos provided by the internet community and has a number of project management best practice videos. Viewers save time and cost in the execution of their project by spending upfront viewing time. Video on Time/Cost/Scope Triple Constraint: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EDG6rEidRc. 

These are the nine knowledge areas: Scope Management, Time Management, Cost Management, Communications Management, Quality Management, Human Resources Management, Risk Management Management, Integration Management, Procurement Management.

An organization's Communications Management plan my include the standards of Email, Instant Messaging, Voice/Video Conferencing, Texting, Facebook (or internal equivalent), Twitter (or internal equivalent), weekly status reports, agendas, and face to face meetings. When the infrastructure and processes are established, it can be sustainable with minor support.

During the Initial, and Planning stages, part of the Communications plan may include just some Communications components, such as email, and document sharing.

During the Excecution phase, other components would be introduced such as an Intranet website for reporting. In the Control phase, an established Change Management package, would be another communication vehicle, which also includes the Scope, and Integration knowledge areas.

Project management best practices can be a Key Success Factor (KSF). The constant dependable application of PM best practices can be a differentiator and contribute to sustainability.

A martial artist can think, "Why wouldn't I want to know the best way to break a one-inch board?"
Why wouldn't I, as a delivery-minded Project Manager, want to know the BEST way to add VALUE to my customer(s).

Mike Diaz, PMP
925-575-0125
email: mdiaz@dragonbyte.biz