Dubbed as 'the Wikipedia' of Project Management - Find out how the Praxis Framework portfolio of resources can help you
Project, Programme and Portfolio Management
There are numerous portfolio, programme and project management methodologies on the market and depending on your professional development journey; you may have completed individual courses to improve knowledge, methods, competency and capability. This takes considerable time, effort and investment. Those who are fortunate enough, endeavour to achieve appropriate accreditations across the three layers to better understand the practical applications of how each layer interacts with each other in an organisational context.
However, rather than undertake individual courses in project, programme and portfolio management, organisations and people could consider studying and using Praxis - a free and community-driven framework that has no equal. What sets the Praxis Framework apart is that it addresses all the direction, management and delivery aspects of project, programme and portfolio management into a single guide. The content - with no intellectual property restrictions - is available in seven languages and publicly accessible online.
What makes Praxis different?
Praxis is the first global framework to integrate project, programme and portfolio management by focusing on the four core pillars of knowledge, method, competency and capability common to each layer. Unlike other methodologies, the continued evolution and improvement of Praxis in real-time depends upon the continuous feedback of users and practitioners alike. Praxis provides generic guidance that equally applies to any sector, industry or environmental setting. It’s one of the compelling reasons why the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) selected the Praxis Framework as the basis of a new knowledge management system available to Project and Programme Managers in Australia. It also helps to reduce training costs and decreases the time needed to maintain a project delivery infrastructure where the website can be referenced as is. This enables the required information to be accessed by those who need it most, the program and project people in charge of successful delivery of organisational (including strategic investment) objectives.
A key concept of Praxis is that the delineation between projects, programmes and portfolios is blurred. The premise being that the terms project, programme and portfolio simply represent points on a continuum that is described by the complexity of the work being managed. As such, Praxis is the first all-encompassing framework that not only integrates the four elements of knowledge, methods, competency and capability but also combines this with the latest thinking in areas such as complexity and capability maturity through the availability of an easy to use Maturity 360 assessment tool.
The 4 pillars underpinning the Praxis Framework
Having said that, let’s explore the four core pillars that uniquely underpin the Praxis Framework:
Knowledge is commonly known in other frameworks as Bodies of Knowledge and refers to the contextual and management functions. The contextual functions are not directly responsible for achieving project, programme or portfolio objectives but are part of the context which supports that endeavour. Context is comprised of three things - the setting, governance and professionalism. While management functions are the ones applied in the completion of projects, programmes and portfolios. Management looks at both interpersonal skills and delivery.
Method comprises of the process models and descriptions of documentation. These lie at the heart of governance for a project, programme and/or portfolio. It’s the processes and documentation in the method that provides the mechanism for the integration of functions (and therefore capabilities) which leads to actual organisational maturity improvements.
Competence as the term implies refers to the ability to do something successfully or efficiently. With Praxis, it defines the required abilities of individuals who apply the functions and methods. There is only one competency for each function or process and in practice each of these will need to be adapted to suit the setting in which it is to be applied.
Capability Maturity refers to an organisation’s ability to deliver projects, programmes and portfolios effectively and efficiently. As such, viewing capability maturity internally is simply about developing the organisation’s ability so that more projects and programmes deliver their objectives (effectiveness) and less investment is wasted (efficiency). While viewing capability maturity externally concerns the reassurance of key stakeholders.
As the adage goes, practice makes perfect and to improve knowledge, method, competency and capability there is no better start than Praxis. Since Praxis is the exception to the rule where one size does actually fit all by successfully integrating project, programme and portfolio management into a single guide and certification pathway. A framework with no equal that views changing the organisation by the complexity of the work being managed. Sometimes the best things in life are free.
