A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)–Fifth Edition

As a project management instructor and course developer at a state university, a project management keynote speaker, and someone who has been training project managers for nearly two decades, I highly recommend this book. I have also helped hundreds to pass their PMP exams (including training PMI employees) and although some folks claim they passed without this, I firmly believe that the PMBOK is a must-have. I have owned every edition of the PMBOK and I can tell you that it's gotten better with age. Let's face it, the material isn't the most exciting but at least it's much more readable than ever. Processes are more refined (some may remember core vs. facilitating processes in older versions) and are titled more consistently (used to have some start with verbs and others with nouns), descriptions of inputs/tools & techniques/outputs are clearer, and illustrations are less confusing. That said, the book still only covers the "whats". If you actually want to know "how" to execute some of these processes, you will need another resource like Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling . For those who have seen some of the PMBOK's poor ratings in reviews of previous versions, you have to understand that this is a high-level guide, not an elaborate text or a mystery novel. As a result, do not expect to be a project management guru at the end or be entertained with creative irony. Anyway, since many of you are looking at this because you want to take the PMP exam, here is some advice: - Although you may be able to obtain a soft copy of this book by being a PMI member, I recommend having a physical copy. In all my years of schooling, I've never even used a highlighter but I did for the PMBOK when I was studying for this exam over a decade ago. It turns out that almost everything was worth highlighting but it forced me to read each line thoroughly. - You will need another book since many exam concepts aren't even covered in the PMBOK. I personally like PMP Exam Prep, Seventh Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam or CAPM/PMP Project Management Certification All-in-One Exam Guide with CD-ROM, Second Edition . You do not even need the latest editions. Trust me, the general concepts will be the same. For instance, earned value lessons in Rita's 1st edition from yesteryear will be the same as those in 7th or 8th editions. SPI will always be EV/PV. - When submitting project experience on the application, you can submit work even if your title was not Project Manager. If you worked on projects and have played a lead role, it may count so submit it. The key point is that you should be submitting project leadership activities. You still need 4500 hours of project experience if you have a bachelors or 7500 hours without a bachelors. Also, always submit more than those thresholds since some activities may be not be accepted. - Do not buy flash cards; instead, make your own. Get a stack of index cards and start writing terms/concepts on one side with definitions/formulas/descriptions on the back side. Hope this helps. Best of luck to everyone! ***Update (Sep 2013)*** New editions of the books I linked to above were released: - PMP Exam Prep, Eighth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam - CAPM/PMP Project Management Certification All-In-One Exam Guide, Third Edition

I am enjoying reading and studying this book. I plan to take the PMP or CAPM certification soon. However I am doing my own self paced study on this text and find it describes projects in great detail. I have spent 18 years on active duty in military logistics as well as financial management and wish I had this text put in front of me about 15 years ago, it would have been a tremendous asset. The paragraphs are a bit wordy, but I suppose this text tries to not leave any stone unturned. It covers many aspects for example: project schedule planning, communication planning, resource planning, stakeholder management, project team organization and work break down structure. Anyone who is in a leadership or management role would benefit from the concepts in this book.

Overall, the PMBOK® Guide, 5th Edition is a well, thought-out improvement from the previous editions. Although much of the content is not new, what has changed and improved is its organization of the content and its readability. There is a new knowledge area for stakeholder management, which illustrates the importance project stakeholders are to the project. This content is similar to what was in the PMBOK® Guide, 4th Edition under communication management. In this edition, stakeholder management has its own knowledge area and subsequent component processes. There is an explanation on establishing business value for undertaking a project. This section helps justify why an organization should adopt project management practices. Expanding on what constitutes the project team, which includes the project manager, the project management team, and the project team. The PMBOK® Guide distinguishes between dedicated and part-time project teams, which reflects the “real world” environment in which project operate in. This edition continues to expand the role of interpersonal skills as the “soft skills” are becoming a critical aspect for successfully leading and managing projects. A few of key improvements that I found beneficial: • Comparative overview between project, program, and portfolio management, • Illustrating the technique for calculating the critical path, • Identifying and listing the earned value management formulas; • Listing of what documents should be included in the project management plan and what documents should be considered as ancillary project documents, • Distinguishing between phase-to-phase relationships (sequential and overlapping) compared to different project life cycles (predictive, iterative, and adaptive), • Better alignment with other PMI® standards. The PMBOK® Guide is written to describe the processes, tools, and techniques to lead and manage a project. It does not and should not explain how to conduct which processes, tools, and techniques should be used for leading and managing a project. The PMBOK® Guide, 5th Edition is no exception to this rule. As organizations are emerging to bounce back from uncertainties in our global economy, those with the right the project management skills will be in high demand in the largest economic recovery we’ve seen. The PMBOK® Guide, 5th Edition is worthy of being a significant achievement in its contribution to the profession of project management. My compliments go out to the many volunteers who dedicated their time and energy in developing the PMBOK® Guide, 5th Edition. Dr. Stephen C. Burgan, PMP

Exactement ce que j'attendais. Bien structure et complet. Toutes les base sont clairement expliques puis approfondies. Indispensable pour quiconque veut gerer des projets, ou participer dans un projet.

E' la versione vecchia (adesso c'è la sesta) del classico PMBOK, comunque ottimo per una introduzione all'argomento del Project Management. La fattura della carta è buona, così come la rilegatura. Le pagine grigie (anti-contraffazione) non sono fastidiose.

高いですがPMP受ける方に本書はは必須ですね。 頑張りましょう。 仕事には直接は使えないかもしれませんが、

Great book delivered on time

Es un marco de referencia, no una metodología. Su lectura es compleja pq es un manual ingenieril. Si embargo, es brillante. En un sólo libro se concentran las mejores prácticas de gestión de proyectos del mundo. Tengo más de 15 años dando clases y consultoría en gestión de proyectos, estoy muy cercana al PMI y creo que si alguien considera que no sirve o que es burocrático es porque no lo comprende bien. Es fundamental para estar en la tendencia mundial en el tema.