Towards a conceptual reference model for project management information systems

Project management information systems have changed considerably over the last decade. They no longer focus on scheduling and resource management alone. Instead, they have become comprehensive systems that support the entire life-cycle of projects, project programs, and project portfolios. In this context, project-oriented organizations are facing a new challenge: the design, implementation, and operation of project management information systems have become increasingly complex. Numerous processes have to be considered, diverse stakeholder interests taken into account, and corresponding software systems selected. The reference information model (RefModPM) presented in this article addresses this challenge and aims to accelerate the set-up of project information systems. RefModPM was developed with the help of 13 domain experts from German and Swiss enterprises. Furthermore, it is based on an analysis of 28 commercial project management software systems. RefModPM has already been applied in several projects and is the basis of the forthcoming German DIN norm for a standardized project management data model.