An examination of the theory and practice of project management knowledge and its transferability in Western Australia

Abstract

Acceptance and understanding of project management tends to be limited by project managers (PMs) who have a specific technical training and follow one or two major theories on project processes. Consequently, project managers may encounter difficulty in being ‘recognised’ by employers and moving from one professional discipline to another. The current research examines knowledge areas applied ‘in the field’ by project managers (PMs), and provides them with knowledge about the constancy of application of project theories; further, a new model of what constitutes PM and enables flexibility for PMs is suggested. As there was little extant literature about PMs being able to transfer from one professional discipline to another, or to what degree different knowledge areas were applied, it was determined that exploratory research was appropriate. The results strongly indicate that organisations that rely on programs and projects to support the delivery of their strategic objectives will benefit from implementation of the project management revised hypothetical model (Figure 13). The model incorporates the nine knowledge areas of The Project Management Institute (USA) and six knowledge areas extracted from the PM methodology PRINCE2. Further, the additional focus of People Specific Management (PSM) at Level 3 of the revised hypothetical model (Figure 13) is recommended. Qualifications for PMs do make a difference! In addition to demonstrating the importance of PM qualifications to augment PM’s successful transfer across disciplines, further research is suggested regarding the need for training to be ‘compulsory’ and follow the developmental levels described in the up-to-date model developed during the research (Figure 13).