LN: PMI (2021) — PMBOK Guide 7th Edition
Bibliographic Reference
Citation: Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (7th ed.). PMI. https://www.pmi.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok
Pass 1 — Bird’s Eye View (5 Cs)
| C | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Category | Professional standard / reference guide |
| Context | PMI’s flagship standard, revised every 4–6 years. The 7th edition (2021) represents a major philosophical shift: from prescriptive process groups to principles-based and outcomes-focused |
| Correctness | Authoritative — developed by 300+ contributors, subject to structured ballot |
| Contributions | (1) 12 Project Management Principles (replacing the 5 Process Groups of PMBOK 6); (2) 8 Project Performance Domains; (3) Value Delivery System framework; (4) Integration of agile, hybrid, and predictive approaches |
| Clarity | Very good — more accessible than PMBOK 6; principles-based language is less prescriptive |
Relevance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
PUMA’s scope is bounded by PMBOK concepts: issue triage maps to Scope/Quality domains; story point estimation maps to the Schedule domain; the Value Delivery System frames SmartPMO’s purpose.
Pass 2 — Key Concepts
The 12 Project Management Principles
The 7th edition replaced process groups with 12 behaviour-focused principles:
- Stewardship
- Team
- Stakeholders
- Value
- Systems Thinking
- Leadership
- Tailoring
- Quality
- Complexity
- Risk
- Adaptability and Resiliency
- Change
Principles 4 (Value), 8 (Quality), 11 (Adaptability), and 12 (Change) are most relevant to PUMA: AI agents must deliver value, maintain quality, and adapt to new issue patterns.
The 8 Performance Domains
| Domain | PUMA Mapping |
|---|---|
| Stakeholders | Developers, PMs, sponsors as agent interaction surfaces |
| Team | BMAD multi-agent team as a “project team” |
| Development Approach | Agile (sprint-based) — TAWOS, Jira SR |
| Planning | Sprint planning as an estimation task (H2) |
| Work | Issue triage workflow — PUMA Stage 1 (H1) |
| Delivery | Throughput: issues triaged per sprint |
| Measurement | F1-macro, MAE, MTTD — PMBOK-aligned metrics |
| Uncertainty | Issue priority uncertainty — HITL escalation |
The Value Delivery System
PMBOK 7 frames the entire PM function as a Value Delivery System: a portfolio of interconnected projects designed to deliver strategic outcomes. This framing positions PUMA’s SmartPMO not as a technical tool but as a Value Delivery subsystem — the automated PM layer that enables human PMs to focus on high-value decisions.
PMBOK 7 vs. PMBOK 6
| Aspect | PMBOK 6 (2017) | PMBOK 7 (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Organisation | 5 Process Groups, 10 Knowledge Areas | 12 Principles, 8 Performance Domains |
| Approach | Prescriptive (waterfall-oriented) | Principles-based, method-agnostic |
| Agile | Separate PMI-ACP certification | Integrated throughout |
| Focus | Process compliance | Value delivery |
PUMA Integration
- PUMA SmartPMO (Stage 5): Frames automated PM as a Value Delivery System component
- Ch.1 Introduction: PMBOK 7 Quality and Work domains as the context for triage and estimation
- Ethics Chapter: PMBOK Principles 1 (Stewardship) and 4 (Value) as ethical bounds on AI agent deployment
Related Notes
- LN-Axelos-2019-ITIL4 — ITIL 4 as the service management complement to PMBOK
- PN-IssueTriage-StoryPoints — PMBOK Work/Measurement domains
- Smart-PMO-Vision — SmartPMO as PMBOK Value Delivery System layer
- KW-Category2-Project-Management-Smart-PMO — PMBOK glossary terms