Surprisingly there is still some misunderstanding on the meaning of several acronyms related to Project Management.
I even see some job position offers that use these terms in a wrong manner (at least in Brazil).
Let´s try to clarify them?
PMI – Project Management Institute : it is the organization responsible, among other things, for the publication of the PMBoK. It is NOT a methoology. Sometimes I see people referring to “PMI Methodology”. There is no such thing.
PMBoK – Project Management Body of Knowledge. It is a guide of the best practices in Project Management, providing an structured overview of processes, tools, practices, techniques and methods applicable to the management of projects. It is NOT a methodology, it is NOT a prescriptive. When applying practices and processes described in PMBoK, the organization must tailor them to its own context. So, it is NOT correct to mention “PMBoK Methodology”.
PMP – Project Management Professional – It refers to the certification provided by PMI to assure a professional has demonstrated he/she has the knowledge and expertise of the practices and tools presented in the PMBoK.
PMO – Project Management Office – it is an area or department or group of workers or team responsible (in general) for the definition of processes, practices and tools to be used by the organization the office belongs to. In practice, the responsibilities of a PMO may vary largely from one company to another, but we could say that normally the PMO has the mission to assure that projects are being well planned and executed.
Agile Methodologies – it refers to a set of project management methodologies, which are based on the concepts of the Agile Manifesto. There are several Agile methodologies: Scrum, DSDM, eXtreme Programming, Crystal (this actually a family of methods) etc. So it is not quite correct to say “Agile Methodology” – I would say “agile-based methodology “to refer to a specific methodology.
Scrum – Is one of the Agile-based methodologies.
Scrum Master – it is a role in the Scrum methodology. IMPORTANT: Scrum Master is not equivalent of a Project Manager in more traditional PM methodologies, although he/she may have similar responsibilities to a PM, depending on the context. There are also certifications for professionals that act as Scrum Masters.
PRINCE2 (r) this is actually a Project Management Methodology. created by the OGC (UK Office of Government Commerce). Similarly to the PMP certification, there are PRINCE2 certifications for professionals.
I hope this may help clarify.
😉
Marcel Fleming 