Page 9 - Organizational Project Management

OPM3 Foreword

In 1983, PMI published its first standard, the Special Report on Ethics, Stan-
dards, and Accreditation (ESA). Over the last twenty years, PMI has con-
tinued to make significant contributions to the project management
profession through the development and publication of standards.
®
In 1987, PMI published the PMBOK Standards, the precursor to the
1996 version of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
®
®
(PMBOK Guide). The PMBOK Guide—2000 Edition reflects PMI's ongoing
commitment to refreshing the standards that it develops and sponsors.
In 2002, PMI expanded the scope of its standards-setting activities by
moving into the practitioner arena, publishing the Project Manager Compe-
tency Development Framework.
The PMBOK Guide and the Project Manager Competency Development
®
Framework have contributed to the advancement of the project manage-
ment profession worldwide, by championing a common lexicon and dis-
seminating generally accepted project management knowledge and
practices.
Today, twenty years after the ESA report was published, PMI is proud to
announce the introduction of OPM3™ - the Organizational Project Man-
agement Maturity Model. Chartered in 1998, OPM3 is designed to help orga-
nizations translate strategy into successful outcomes, consistently and
predictably.
This Standard has three key elements:
1) The Knowledge element describes organizational project management
and organizational project management maturity, explains why they are
important, and how project management maturity can be recognized.
2) The Assessment element presents methods, processes and procedures
that an organization can use to self-assess its maturity.
3) The Improvement element provides a process for moving from its cur-
rent maturity to increased maturity. The Improvement element is what
clearly differentiates OPM3 from other products in the marketplace.
With the introduction of its first standard for organizations, PMI com-
pletes a triad of standards, one for organizations, another for people and
another for projects that connect together, providing a comprehensive and
synergistic approach to successful project management.
OPM3 is yet another vital step in PMI's commitment to develop standards
that will lead to worldwide excellence in the practice of project manage-
ment.

Debbie L. O'Bray, CIM, PMI Chair

©2003 Project Management Institute, Four Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA ix