Applicability of project management performance domains for agile-developed IT projects

Abstract

The Project Management Institute's PMBOK Guide, specifically its 7th Edition, presents 12 project management principles and eight performance domains essential for project success. Agile methodologies have transformed IT project management over the past two decades, emphasising iterative and collaborative processes. This study explores the applicability of PMBOK's project management performance domains (PMPD) to agile-developed IT projects and assesses the alignment between PMPD and the agile concept, identifies challenges and opportunities in PMPD implementation, and examines technological, organisational, and environmental factors affecting PMPD's application in agile IT contexts. The researcher collected data through semi-structured interviews with ten participants from Sri Lanka's IT industry, who are agile IT practitioners with knowledge of PMBOK 7th Edition and experience in agile IT projects and analysed thematically. The findings reveal that PMPD theoretically aligns well with agile values and principles. However, when practical challenges include criticisms of PMBOK's rigidity and contradictions between PMBOK and agile approaches, opportunities lie in tailoring Consideration, Practice of Assessment and Alignment, and use as general guidelines. It emphasises the need for adaptability, applicability, and practical focus from a technological perspective; organisational readiness, communication processes, management and decision-making from an organisational perspective; and alignment with competitive and external pressures and existing practices from an environmental perspective. Recommendations include using PMPD as guidelines rather than rigid frameworks, customising PMPD for agile projects, employing methodical project selection, and implementing effective change management processes