The PMBOK 7 material presents principles as foundational guidance for strategy, decision-making, problem-solving, and professional behavior.
The 12 principles
- Be a diligent, respectful, and caring steward
- Create a collaborative project team environment
- Effectively engage with stakeholders
- Focus on value
- Recognize, evaluate, and respond to system interactions
- Demonstrate leadership behaviors
- Tailor based on context
- Build quality into processes and deliverables
- Navigate complexity
- Optimize risk responses
- Embrace adaptability and resiliency
- Enable change to achieve the envisioned future state
What this means in practice
Focus on value
A project should not be managed only for completion. The team should understand why the work matters.
Tailor based on context
The same delivery method should not automatically be applied to every project. Context matters.
Build quality in
Quality should be considered throughout delivery rather than treated only as a final inspection.
Optimize risk responses
Risk management should lead to useful action, not simply a list of risks.
Embrace adaptability
Projects operate in changing environments. Teams need the ability to respond while maintaining focus on outcomes.
Ethics
The source material also highlights four PMI ethical values:
- Responsibility
- Respect
- Fairness
- Honesty
These are particularly relevant to client communication, estimates, risks, commitments, and reporting.