Where do PMBOK and Scrum Framework meet?
The Project Management Institute (PMI) has been providing guidance on traditional and Agile project management methodologies for several years. Project Management Professional (PMP) is a project management certification offered by PMI. PMI's Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a very popular methodology on traditional project management assisting project managers and organizations globally.
Agile frameworks gained popularity in recent years, and they are increasingly being leveraged in modern product development. Especially Scrum is used by nearly 80% of Agile projects to develop complex products incrementally and iteratively.
This blog provides a detailed insight of intersection points of PMP-PMBOK processes within Agile-Scrum Framework practices. The intersection points are few, as Scrum is a framework which contains bare minimum rules and not a prescriptive framework.
Below are the findings based on my practical experiences, understandings and also information collected from various sources of PMI, PMI journals, Agile Methodologies, Scrum Alliance etc.
PMP process activities Versus Scrum practices:
| PMP Knowledge Area | PMP Process Activities | Scrum Framework Practice | |
| Project Integration Management - Initiation | Project Charter Preparation | Outside Scrum Purview. | |
| Identify Stakeholders | In Scrum, Product Owner is responsible to identify stakeholders. Not necessary to document it as per Scrum. | ||
| Project Management Plan | Product Backlog can be used as a Project Management Plan in the Scrum. It is a list of the new features, functionalities, enhancements, bug fixes and other product related changes that a Development Team. This is an evolving artifact, and dynamically updated as long as the product is in development or in other product life cycle stages. Sprint Backlog is helpful in making plans for the respective Sprint. | ||
| Scope, Time/Schedule Management | Collate Requirements, Define Scope, Create WBS and create project plan i.e. schedule plan etc | Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog contain the product features. Any changes are added to the Product Backlog by Product Owner based on the communication with users, stakeholders and Development Team. In Scrum, each Sprint has a fixed duration which is maximum of 30 days ( this addresses the schedule management). No changes to the Sprint Goal are accepted during the Sprints. | |
| Cost Management | Create Budget Plan, Estimations etc | Product Owner takes care of prioritization based on inputs from customers, users, Development Team and other stakeholders. Product Owner creates and manages the Product Backlog. Product Owner will take care of budgeting. It is responsibility of Product Owner about the profitability of the product. | |
| Quality Management | Quality Plan, Manage Quality and Quality Control | Quality is everyone's responsibility. Product Owner role: Define, Manage & Control, Accept & Reject, Release & Content, prioritize the features for quality and profitability to market value.Testing and Validation of the product features through Sprint Review.Quality also depends on the degree of clarity of features provided by Product Owner during discussions, and Scrum Events. ScrumMaster role: Coach, Ensure Self-Organization and Cross Functionality, Help Development Team to create value, Removing the impediments which hampers the team's progress.Encourage to introduce technical practices that can improve quality. Development Team: Self-Organizing and Cross Functional to get desired outcome i.e. potentially releasable functionality Deliver the potentially releasable product Increment by the end of each Sprint. | |
| Resource Management / Human Resources Management | Resource Plan, Manage Team and Control Team Management | Outside Scrum Purview. Product Owner may work with ScrumMaster to form the team, but that is not defined within Scrum. Development Team members may be involved in selecting new Development Team members, but this is not a defined practice in Scrum. | |
| Communications Management | Communication Plan, Manage and Control Communication | Product Owner owns and manages the communication channels most of the time with both internal and external stakeholders. The communication within the Scrum Team is channelized through the 4 Scrum Events - Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective. | |
| Risk Management | Risk Plan, Manage and Control Risk | Not formally defined in Scrum. The Scrum framework rules such as Roles and Events help in implicit risk management. The entire Scrum Team owns the risk management. | |
| Procurement Management | Procurement Plan, Manage and Control Procurement Management | Outside Scrum Purview. In practice, Product Owner owns Procurement. Product Owner works with corporate management for procurement with the help of a Program/Project/Contract/Procurement/Any Other Specialist Consultant or Manager. | |
| Stakeholder Management | Identify Stakeholders, Stakeholder Management Plan, Manage and Monitor Stakeholders | Product Owner takes care of stakeholder management and their expectations. Stakeholder Management is also done through discussions happening during Sprint Review and Product Backlog Refinement. | |
| Project Performance Report (Not a knowledge area) | Performance Reporting | There is no specific process in Scrum. In practice Product Owner take responsibility of tracking the progress or performance of the Release through Release Burndown/Burnup charts. Sprint progress is tracked through Sprint Burndown/Burnup charts by the Development Team. ScrumMaster helps in setting up suitable practices to track the progress. |
Other comparisons:
| PMP-PMBOK Process | Scrum Framework Practice |
| Hierarchical | No formal reporting within Development Team. All skills required to deliver the Increment, are made available as part of driving the cross-functional behaviour. No sub-teams and no sub-roles within the Development Team. |
| SDLC process oriented | Outcome oriented. Progress is measured in terms of the working product. |
| PM is centric role for managing project team | There is no specific role of any in managing the team. The Development Team should be empowered to self-organize. This may not be possible in the initial Sprints. The ScrumMaster should help the Development Team to self-organize. |
| PM is accountable | Scrum Team i.e. Development Team, ScrumMaster and Product Owner are accountable for the overall delivery. Development Team is accountable for the Sprint delivery, while Product Owner is responsible at a Release level. |
| PM allocates the tasks | Development Team picks up the tasks from the Sprint Backlog. This is based on the Sprint Goal determined by the Scrum Team on the first day of the Sprint during Sprint Planning. |
| Work and team managed | Self-organizing and Cross functional. |
| Customer is external in this process | Communication and Collaboration with stakeholders on a regular basis is a key principle of Agile-Scrum. Involve them as early as possible through Sprint Review and Product Backlog Refinement. |
| Changes need formal approval | Product Owner brings changes to Product Backlog, but those changes are outside the Sprint. No changes to the Sprint Goal after the Sprint began. |
| Deadline Negotiable | Product scope is broken into Sprints which are time-boxed development activities. Scope evolves over several Sprints based on stakeholder reviews and Product Backlog refinement. |
| Scope Controlled | Scope is managed through Sprint Planning and Sprint Goal based on Product Backlog, which in turn defined by Product Owner based on customer's requirements. |
| Process and product data | Practices are defined as per Scrum Framework. Product Data are defined by Product Owner from user pain areas, which are listed in the Product Backlog. |
| Quality Audits Mandatory | No defined process. |
| The process is tailored | Organization's team defined process, evolves. Scrum doesn't define the process. Scrum Framework provided few rules in the form of Roles, Events and Artifacts. The organization using Scrum can choose to add more rules that create value and develop products early. |
