PMBoK®, OPM3®, PRINCE2^®

PMBOK ® Guide Framework

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide , published by the Project Management Institute (PMI®) , USA, is a widely consulted reference for Project Management practitioners all over. Currently in its Fourth edition, the Guide has been also translated in multiple languages.

PMBOK® Guide represents generally recognized good practice in the Project Management profession and is continuously updated with inputs from Practitioners. The Guide covers multiple knowledge areas a Practitioner has to be familiar - including Management of the Scope, Schedule and Cost, Risk, Quality , Communications and Procurement - across five process groups of Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing.

PMI® have also published Extensions of PMBOK® Guide as applicable to specific domains - including Construction, Government etc.

OPM3®

Organisational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3®) is a process framework model, by which organisations can assess the extent of alignment of their Projects, Programs and Portfolios to their Strategic objectives and Best practices. Developed by PMI® to be in its current Second Edition, OPM3® has been utilized by many Companies to assess how effectively they can fulfill  their Strategic Objectives by initiating and executing appropriate  Projects/ Programs and Portfolios. The model is supported by three elements:

	Knowledge: Presenting the contents of the Standard
	Assessment: Providing a basis for comparison against the Standard
	Improvement: Setting a stage to address the gaps noted in the Assessment process in line with Best practices.

This Model is supported by a Tool to assess the current PM maturity of the Organisations and suggest ways for improvement.

Standard for Program Management

Programs are collection of Projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control that are not available from managing them individually. Organisations group Projects into Programs to obtain synergy and derive far reaching  Benefits. Apart from Benefits Management, the Standard from PMI®, , in its Second Edition, also focuses on Program Stakeholder Management and Program Governance themes.

Programs involve collection of projects and associated operations (culminating in benefits) which have an associated Lifecycle  going concurrently with Program Management Lifecycle. The Standard also addresses how to synchronise these two Lifecycles for Benefit Assurance and sustainment.

Standard for Portfolio Management

The Second Edition of Portfolio Management brought out by PMI®, focuses on Defining and Managing Project and Program Portfolios to meet Organization's Strategic and Operational requirements. The Standard describes the role of Portfolio level Stakeholders, how to manage the Portfolio selection aligning to Organization's needs, Monitoring and Controlling Portfolios and Assessment of Portfolio level Risks and Portfolio level Governance related issues.

PRINCE2^®

PRINCE2^TM (Projects In Controlled Environments) is a premier project management methodology, especially popular in UK/ rest of Europe and in some countries
of the AsiaPac region. The PRINCE2^® methodology applies three key elements to each project and to the stages within a project (This description is as per the 2005 edition of the PRINCE2^®). These elements include: 

Processes

	Starting Up A Project (SU),Planning (PL)		Managing Stage Boundaries (SB)
	Initiating A Project (IP)		Controlling A Stage (CS)
	Directing A Project (DP)		Managing Product Delivery (MP)
	Closing A Project (CP)

Components

	Business Case		Organization
	Planning		Controls
	Management of Risk		Quality In A Project Environment
	Configuration Management		Change Control

Techniques

	Product-Based Planning		Change Controls
	Quality Reviews

In all PRINCE2^® is quite a structured methodology providing guidance to the Project Managers in considerable depth for successful execution.