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1 - INTRODUCTION

s Political and cultural awareness, and
s Negotiation. 1

1.8 Project Management Body of Knowledge

As stated in Section 1.8 of the PMBOK Guide, “project management standards do not address all details of
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every topic. This standard is limited to single projects and the project management processes that are generally
recognized as good practice. Other standards may be consulted for additional information on the broader context
in which projects are accomplished.”

In a similar manner, this Software Extension is limited to individual software projects and the software project
management processes that are generally recognized as good practice. Good practices in this Software Extension
are generally applicable to most software projects, most of the time. In addition, this Software Extension provides
information about ISO/IEC/IEEE standards for software and systems development that reflects good practices in the
software industry. These standards are cited throughout this Software Extension.

The following observations summarize some of the key points made in this section and provide pointers to the
following sections of this Software Extension.

s Because software is an intangible product, there are many possibilities for software project life cycles
and many different approaches to applying the techniques of software project management to those life
cycles. Section 2.4.2 of this Software Extension describes the continuum of software project life cycles
that vary from highly predictive to highly adaptive.

s The principle of “most projects, most of the time” is modified to accommodate variations within the
continuum of life cycles for developing software; software project managers adapt the methods, tools,
and techniques for project management to the particular aspects of various software project life cycles.
s Software project managers are not expected to have the in-depth knowledge and skills of their team members,
but they should understand the issues and concerns their team members deal with and should be familiar
with the terminology used by the team members. Software project managers should also understand various
approaches to managing software projects within the continuum of software project life cycles.
s Software project managers may have technical backgrounds, but not always in software. Those project
managers who do not have strong software skills may need to work closely with a technical leader on
their software projects. Those with strong software skills may need to focus on developing their business,
project management, and interpersonal skills.
s Two important aspects for software project managers are interpersonal skills and management of
software quality. Section 1.7.1 of this Software Extension lists interpersonal skills that are particularly
important for software project managers. Quality considerations are introduced in Section 1.9 of this
Software Extension and presented in detail in Section 8 of this extension.

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©2013 Project Management Institute. Software Extension to the PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition 15