Praxis and the APM BoK v6 - Praxis Framework

Introduction

The knowledge section of Praxis follows the structure of the Association for Project Management’s Body of Knowledge 6th edition (BoK) very closely.

While the overall structure of Praxis will be very familiar to users of the BoK, each topic has been rewritten and there are a few changes to the structure. These changes were driven by the objective of maximising the integration of the knowledge section with the method, competence and capability maturity and library sections of Praxis.

The rewritten text retains the essence of everything described in the BoK but includes the following enhancements:

Most of the functions now have a one-to-one relationship with competencies and capabilities. This ensures the overall integrity of the Praxis framework when being used to develop organisational capability maturity.
Each function has a set of goals. These goals provide a common point of reference for functions, competencies and capabilities.
Wherever relevant, a procedure is described for each function. This provides additional compatibility with ISO21500 and the PMBoK Guide®.
The three separate project, programme and portfolio sections of the BoK have been merged into a single section that better describes the continual progression from simple project to complex project and on to programme and portfolio.
The new text for each function makes frequent references to the Praxis method and incorporates many additional references to the tools and techniques described in the encyclopaedia. These references are all hyperlinked to the relevant pages in the framework.

The Praxis approach does not contradict any element of the BoK.

Structural changes

The following tables describe some of the specific structural differences in more detail. 'No change' indicates where the structure is unchanged.

Praxis	APM BoK (6th edition)	Comparison
Context	1. Context	The content of the context section has been adjusted in Praxis to encompass all the contextual functions that do not have a corresponding competency or capability.
Setting	1.2 Setting	No change
Environment	1.2.1 Environment	No change
Projects, programmes and portfolios	Projects, programmes and portfolios	The BoK version of this topic is included as an introductory chapter and is not part of the functional structure.
Complexity		Complexity is not explicitly covered by the BoK but is a concept fundamental to the Praxis view of projects, programmes and portfolios.
Governance	1.1 Governance	No change
Project, programme and portfolio management	1.1.1 Project management 1.1.2 Programme management 1.1.3 Portfolio management	The BoK introduces the idea that projects, programmes and portfolios are simply points on a continuum rather than distinct entities. Praxis takes this concept one stage further by avoiding any separation of the three in the functions and simply describing the difference in terms of increasing complexity.
Life cycle	1.1.6 Life cycle	No change
Sponsorship	1.1.8 Sponsorship	No change
Support	1.1.4 Infrastructure	The Praxis support function focuses on the technical and administrative support often provided by a project, programme or support office. The concept of a PMO (project management office) is akin to the Praxis concept of a portfolio and is covered accordingly by references to the portfolio organisation.
Knowledge management	1.1.5 Knowledge management	No change
Capability maturity	1.1.7 Success factors and maturity	This function has been restructured to accommodate the principle that capability applies to functions, while maturity applies to processes. Success factors are, in effect, the attributes described within the capability maturity model.
Professionalism	2.2 Professionalism	This section has been moved from interpersonal skills to context because the functions are more about the context and do not have corresponding competencies or capabilities.
Communities of practice	2.2.1 Communities of practice	No change
Competence	2.2.2 Competence	No change
Ethics	2.2.3 Ethics frameworks	No change
Learning and development	2.2.4 Learning and development	No change
Management		This section was created in the Praxis structure to encompass all those functions that have a corresponding competency and capability.
Interpersonal skills	2.1 Interpersonal skills	No change
Communication	2.2 Communication	No change
Conflict management	2.3 Conflict management	No change
Delegation	2.4 Delegation	No change
Influencing	2.5 Influencing	No change
Leadership	2.6 Leadership	No change
Negotiation	2.7 Negotiation	No change
Teamwork	2.8 Teamwork	No change
Delivery	3. Delivery	No change
Integrative management	3.1 Integrative management	No change
Organisation management	3.1.4 Organisation	No change
Stakeholder management	3.1.6 Stakeholder management	No change
Business case management	3.1.1 Business case	No change
Planning	3.1.5 Planning	No change
Control	3.1.2 Control	No change
Information management	3.1.3 Information management	No change
Assurance	3.6.1 Assurance	No change
Scope management	3.2 Scope management	No change
Requirements management	3.2.5 Requirements management	No change
Solutions development	3.2.6 Solutions development	No change
Benefits management	3.2.1 Benefits management	No change
Configuration management	3.2.3 Configuration management	No change
Change control	3.2.2 Change control	No change
Schedule management	3.3 Schedule management	No change
Time scheduling	3.2.1 Time scheduling	No change
Resource scheduling	3.2.2 Resource scheduling	No change
Financial management	3.4 Financial management	No change
Investment appraisal	3.4.3 Investment appraisal	No change
Funding	3.4.2 Funding	No change
Budgeting and cost control	3.4.1 Budgeting and cost control	No change
Risk management	3.5 Risk management	No change
Risk context	3.5.1 Risk context	No change
Risk techniques	3.5.2 Risk techniques	No change
Change management	3.2.4 Change management	The delivery section of the functional framework lists the fundamental components that need to be managed in projects, programmes or portfolios. Praxis treats change as one of those fundamental components rather than part of scope management as in the BoK.
Resource management	3.7 Resource management	No change
Procurement	3.7.3 Procurement	No change
Contract management	3.7.1 Contract	No change
Mobilisation	3.7.2 Mobilisation	No change

The following APM BoK topics are not included in the Praxis framework

APM BoK Topic	Praxis approach
3.6 Quality management	Quality is inherent in every aspect of P3 management. Everything that a framework like Praxis describes is aimed at achieving quality. Therefore, while ‘assurance’ has been relocated to governance to better reflect its purpose, other aspects of quality have been distributed across the functional framework. This is an approach first taken by “ISO10006:2003 Quality management systems – Guidelines for quality management in projects.”
3.6.2 Reviews	Reviews are covered by assurance and the Praxis processes.
3.7.2 Provider selection and management	Selecting suppliers (Praxis’s preferred term for ‘provider’) is deemed to be part of procurement. Managing suppliers is covered by contract management.
1.2.2 Operations management	P3 management works alongside many other disciplines and it is always a matter of judgement where the line should be drawn in a P3 body of knowledge. Praxis limits the scope of the functional framework to be closer to the scope of the other three parts. It is not considered appropriate for Praxis to describe competencies nor capabilities in these areas. Hence, they have been omitted from the knowledge section.
1.2.3 Strategic management
4. Interfaces
4.1 Accounting
4.2 Health and safety
4.3 Human resource management
4.4 Law
4.5 Security
4.6 Sustainability

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