Principles for a profession serve as foundational guidelines for strategy, decision making, and problem solving.

The
principles of project management are not prescriptive in nature. They are intended to guide the behaviour of people
involved in projects. They are broadly based so there are many ways individuals and organizations can maintain
alignment with the principles. Principles can, but do not necessarily, reflect morals. A code of ethics is related to
morals. A code of ethics for a profession can be adopted by an individual or profession to establish expectations for
moral conduct. The PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct [2] is based on four values that were identified as
most important to the project management community:

▶ Responsibility,

▶ Respect,

▶ Fairness, and

▶ Honesty.

The principles of project management were identified and developed by engaging a global community of project
practitioners. The practitioners represent different industries, cultural backgrounds, and organizations in different
roles and with experience in various types of projects. Multiple rounds of feedback resulted in 12 principles that
provide guidance for effective project management.

Because the principles of project management provide guidance, the degree of application and the way in which they
are applied are influenced by the context of the organization, project, deliverables, project team, stakeholders, and
other factors. The principles are internally consistent, meaning that no principle contradicts any other principle.
However, in practice there may be times when the principles can overlap. For example, guidance for navigating
complexity can present information that is useful in recognizing, evaluating, and responding to system interactions or
optimizing risk responses.

Principles of project management can also have areas of overlap with general management principles. For example,
both projects and business in general focus on delivering value. The methods may be somewhat different in projects
as opposed to operations, but the underlying principle associated with focusing on value can apply to both. Figure 3-
1 demonstrates this overlap.

The principles are listed here without any specific weighting or order. The principles are:
 1. BE A DILIGENT, RESPECTFUL, AND CARING STEWARD

Stewardship has slightly different meanings and applications in different contexts. One aspect of stewardship involves
being entrusted with the care of something. Another aspect focuses on the responsible planning, use, and
management of resources. Yet another aspect means upholding values and ethics.

Stewardship encompasses responsibilities both within and external to the organization. Within the organization,
stewardship includes:

▶ Operating in alignment with the organization, its objectives, strategy, vision, mission, and sustainment of its long-
term value;

▶ Commitment to and respectful engagement of project team members, including their compensation, access to
opportunity, and fair treatment;

▶ Diligent oversight of organizational finances, materials, and other resources used within a project; and

▶ Understanding the appropriate use of authority, accountability, and responsibility, particularly in leadership
positions. Stewardship outside the organization includes responsibilities in areas such as:

▶ Environmental sustainability and the organization’s use of materials and natural resources;

▶ Organization’s relationship with external stakeholders such as its partners and channels;

▶ Impact of the organization or project on the market, social community, and regions in which it operates; and

▶ Advancing the state of practice in professional industries. Stewardship reflects understanding and acceptance of
trust as well as actions and decisions that engender and sustain that trust. Stewards also adhere to both implicit and
explicit duties. These can include the following:

▶ Integrity. Stewards behave honestly and ethically in all engagements and communications. Stewards hold
themselves to the highest standards and reflect the values, principles, and behaviors expected of those in their
organization. Stewards serve as role models, building trust by living and demonstrating personal and organizational
values in their engagements, work activities, and decisions. In the project management context, this duty often requires
stewards to challenge team members, peers, and other stakeholders to consider their words and actions; and to be
empathetic, self-reflective, and open to feedback.
▶ Care. Stewards are fiduciaries of the organizational matters in their charge, and they diligently oversee them. Higher-
performing projects feature professionals who diligently oversee those matters, beyond the confines of strictly defined
responsibilities. Stewards pay close attention and exercise the same level of care over those matters as they would for
their personal matters. Care relates to the internal business affairs of the organization. Care for the environment,
sustainable use of natural resources, and concern for the conditions of people across the planet should be reflected in
the organizational policies and principles. Projects bring about changes that may have unanticipated or unwanted
consequences. Project practitioners should identify, analyze, and manage the potential downsides of project outcomes
so that stakeholders are aware and informed. Care includes creating a transparent working environment, open
communication channels, and opportunities for stakeholders to raise concerns without penalty or fear of retribution.

▶ Trustworthiness. Stewards represent themselves, their roles, their project team, and their authority accurately, both
inside and outside of the organization. This behaviour allows people to understand the degree to which an individual
can commit resources, make decisions, or approve something. Trustworthiness also entails individuals proactively
identifying conflicts between their personal interests and those of their organization or clients. Such conflicts can
undermine trust and confidence, result in unethical or illegal behaviours, create confusion, or contribute to suboptimal
outcomes. Stewards protect projects from such breaches of trust.

▶ Compliance. Stewards comply with laws, rules, regulations, and requirements that are properly authorized within
or outside of their organization. However, high-performing projects seek ways to integrate compliance more fully into
the project culture, creating more alignment with diverse and potentially conflicting guidelines. Stewards strive for
compliance with guidelines intended to protect them, their organization, their stakeholders, and the public at large. In
instances where stewards face conflicting guidelines or questions regarding whether or not actions or plans align with
established guidelines, stewards seek appropriate counsel and direction.

Stewardship requires leadership with transparency and trustworthiness. Projects affect the lives of the people who
deliver them as well as those who are affected by the project deliverables and outcomes. Projects can have effects,
such as easing traffic congestion, producing new medications, or creating opportunities for people to interact. Those
effects can produce negative impacts and consequences, such as reduced green space, side effects from medications,
or disclosure of personal information. Project teams and their organizational leaders carefully consider such factors
and impacts so they can make responsible decisions by balancing organizational and project objectives with the larger
needs and expectations of global stakeholders.

Increasingly, organizations are taking a holistic view to business that considers financial, technical, social, and
environmental performance simultaneously instead of sequentially. Since the world is interconnected now more than
ever and has finite resources and a shared environment, stewardship decisions have ramifications beyond the project.

2. CREATE A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT TEAM ENVIRONMENT

Creating a collaborative project team environment involves multiple contributing factors, such as team agreements,
structures, and processes. These factors support a culture that enables individuals to work together and provide
synergistic effects from interactions.

▶ Team agreements. Team agreements represent a set of behavioral parameters and working norms established by
the project team and upheld through individual and project team commitment. The team agreement should be created
at the beginning of a project and will evolve over time as the project team continues to work together and identify
norms and behaviors that are necessary in order to continue to work together successfully.

▶ Organizational structures. Project teams use, tailor, and implement structures that help coordinate the individual
effort associated with project work. Organizational structures are any arrangement of or relation between the elements
of project work and organizational processes.

These structures can be based on roles, functions, or authority. They can be defined as being external to the project,
tailored to fit the project context, or newly designed to meet a unique project need. An authority figure may formally
impose a structure, or project team members may contribute to its design in alignment with organizational structures.

Examples of organizational structures that can improve collaboration include, but are not limited to:

▹ Definitions of roles and responsibilities,

▹ Allocation of employees and vendors into project teams,

▹ Formal committees tasked with a specific objective, and

▹ Standing meetings that regularly review a given topic.

▶ Processes. Project teams define processes that enable completion of tasks and work assignments. For example,
project teams may agree to a decomposition process using a work breakdown structure (WBS), backlog, or task board.

Project teams are influenced by the culture of the organizations involved in the project, the nature of the project, and
the environment in which they operate. Within these influences, project teams establish their own team cultures.
Project teams can tailor their structure to best accomplish the project objective.

By fostering inclusive and collaborative environments, knowledge and expertise are more freely exchanged, which in
turn enable better project outcomes.

Clarity on roles and responsibilities can improve team cultures. Within project teams, specific tasks may be delegated
to individuals or selected by project team members themselves. This includes the authority, accountability, and
responsibility related to tasks:

▶ Authority. The condition of having the right, within a given context, to make relevant decisions, establish or improve
procedures, apply project resources, expend funds, or give approvals. Authority is conferred from one entity to another,
whether done explicitly or implicitly.

▶ Accountability. The condition of being answerable for an outcome. Accountability is not shared.

▶ Responsibility. The condition of being obligated to do or fulfill something. Responsibility can be shared.

Regardless of who is accountable or responsible for specific project work, a collaborative project team takes collective
ownership of the project outcomes.

A diverse project team can enrich the project environment by bringing together different perspectives. The project
team can be comprised of internal organizational staff, contracted contributors, volunteers, or external third parties.
Additionally, some project team members join the project on a short-term basis to work on a specific deliverable while
other members are assigned to the project on a longer-term basis. Integrating these individuals with a project team
can challenge everyone involved. A team culture of respect allows for differences and finds ways to leverage them
productively, encouraging effective conflict management.

Another aspect of a collaborative project team environment is the incorporation of practice standards, ethical codes,
and other guidelines that are part of the professional work within the project team and the organization. Project teams
consider how these guides can support their efforts to avoid possible conflict among the disciplines and the established
guidelines they use.

A collaborative project team environment fosters the free exchange of information and individual knowledge. This, in
turn, increases shared learning and individual development while delivering outcomes. A collaborative project team
environment enables everyone to contribute their best efforts to deliver the desired outcomes for an organization. The
organization, in turn, will benefit from deliverables and outcomes that respect and enhance its fundamental values,
principles, and culture.

3. EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE WITH STAKEHOLDERS

Stakeholders can be individuals, groups, or organizations that may affect, be affected by, or perceive themselves to be
affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a portfolio, program, or project. Stakeholders also directly or indirectly
influence a project, its performance, or outcome in either a positive or negative way.

Stakeholders can affect many aspects of a project, including but not limited to:

▶ Scope/requirements, by revealing the need to add, adjust, or remove elements of the scope and/or project
requirements;

▶ Schedule, by offering ideas to accelerate delivery or by slowing down or stop delivery of key project activities;

▶ Cost, by helping to reduce or eliminate planned expenditures or by adding steps, requirements, or restrictions that
increase cost or require additional resources;

▶ Project team, by restricting or enabling access to people with the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to deliver
the intended outcomes, and promote a learning culture;

▶ Plans, by providing information for plans or by advocating for changes to agreed activities and work;

▶ Outcomes, by enabling or blocking work required for the desired outcomes;

▶ Culture, by establishing or influencing—or even defining—the level and character of engagement of the project
team and broader organization;

▶ Benefits realization, by generating and identifying long-term goals so that the project delivers the intended identified
value;

▶ Risk, by defining the risk thresholds of the project, as well as participating in subsequent risk management activities;
▶ Quality, by identifying and requiring quality requirements; and

▶ Success, by defining success factors and participating in the evaluation of success.

Stakeholders may come and go throughout the life cycle of the project. Additionally, the degree of a stakeholder’s
interest, influence, or impact may change over time. Stakeholders, especially those with a high degree of influence and
who have an unfavourable or neutral view about a project, need to be effectively engaged so that their interests,
concerns, and rights are understood. The project team can then address these concerns through effective engagement
and support leading to the probability of a successful project outcome.

Identifying, analyzing, and proactively engaging with stakeholders from the start to the end of the project helps to
enable success.

Project teams are a group of stakeholders. This group of stakeholders engages other stakeholders to understand,
consider, communicate, and respond to their interests, needs, and opinions.

Effective and efficient engagement and communication include determining how, when, how often, and under what
circumstances stakeholders want to be—and should be—engaged. Communication is a key part of engagement;
however, engagement delves deeper to include awareness of the ideas of others, assimilation of other perspectives,
and collective shaping of a shared solution. Engagement includes building and maintaining solid relationships through
frequent, two way communication. It encourages collaboration through interactive meetings, face-to-face meetings,
informal dialogue, and knowledge-sharing activities.

Stakeholder engagement relies heavily on interpersonal skills, including taking initiative, integrity, honesty,
collaboration, respect, empathy, and confidence. These skills and attitudes can help everyone adapt to the work and
to each other, increasing the likelihood of success.

Engagement helps project teams detect, collect, and evaluate information, data, and opinions. This creates shared
understanding and alignment, which enables project outcomes. Additionally, these activities help the project team to
tailor the project to identify, adjust, and respond to changing circumstances.

Project teams actively engage other stakeholders throughout the project to minimize potential negative impacts and
maximize positive impacts. Stakeholder engagements also enable opportunities for stronger project performance and
outcomes in addition to increasing stakeholder satisfaction. Finally, engaging other stakeholders helps the project team
to find solutions that may be more acceptable to a broader range of stakeholders.