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About this lesson

The PMI has created a Body of Knowledge for project management. This comprehensive guides divides the knowledge into five process groups and 10 knowledge areas. The CAPM® Exam is based upon the information in the PMBOK® Guide.

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Quick reference

PMBOK® Guide

The PMBOK® Guide is the reference document upon which the CAPM® exam is based.  The PMBOK® Guide contains a description of project management processes, tools, checklists, and templates.

When to use

The PMBOK® Guide should be used as the primary source for study when preparing for the CAPM® exam.  In addition, the PMBOK® Guide is an excellent reference for project managers and project teams.  The PMBOK® Guide should be consulted when establishing a new project management methodology or updating an existing methodology.  It is also a good source when preparing project management training material.

Instructions

The PMBOK® Guide serves as both a body of knowledge of processes and best practices and as a standard of common definitions and principles of project management.  It is organized into 13 chapters, a second part which is an ANSI standard, six appendices and reference sections including a glossary.

Chapters

Chapters 1-3 provide context and background for project management.  These chapters explain the characteristics of the project environment.  Core principles that are used throughout all of the other chapters and processes are introduced in these chapters.  There are several modules that address the topics in these chapters.

Chapters 4-13 contain the 47 project management processes, allocated across the ten project management knowledge areas.  Each chapter contains the processes for a different knowledge area.  Each process is described using the inputs and outputs of the process.  A list of common tools and techniques used to accomplish the work of the process is also provided.  There are many flow charts throughout these chapters showing how the processes are interconnected. There is a lesson in this program for each of the knowledge areas and additional lessons that review each of the processes.

Part II – The ANSI Standard

Part II is the formal standard of project management that is contained within the document.

Appendices

There are six appendices.  The first two do not contain testable material.  The final four do have testable material that relates to the previously mentioned chapters. 

  • X3 – Agile, iterative, adaptive, and hybrid
  • X4, Key concepts for knowledge areas
  • X5, Tailoring
  • X6, Tools and techniques for PMP

Reference Sections

There are three reference sections in the PMBOK® Guide.  The only one with testable material is the glossary.  The glossary should be studied as part of preparation for the PMP® Exam.  Many of the exam questions will be phrased using terms from the glossary.  If you do not know the term, it will be difficult to answer correctly.  In addition, many companies may use the same term found in the glossary with a different internal definition.  The questions on the exam are based upon the PMBOK® Guide definitions.

Hints & tips

  • Study the PMBOK® Guide.  It contains all the information that will be tested.
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  • 00:04 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
  • 00:05 I'd like to talk with you now about the most important reference that you can use
  • 00:10 when preparing for the CAPM exam.
  • 00:11 This is the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, or
  • 00:16 as it's commonly referred, the PMBOK guide.
  • 00:19 Let's start with the description of the PMBOK guide.
  • 00:22 PMI defines a project management body of knowledge, PMBOK, as a term that defines
  • 00:27 the knowledge within the profession of project management.
  • 00:31 The project management body of knowledge includes proven traditional
  • 00:35 practices that are widely applied as well as innovative
  • 00:38 practices that are emerging in the profession.
  • 00:41 The PMBOK guide is the document upon which the CAPM exam is based.
  • 00:45 Knowing the guide thoroughly will prepare you for the exam.
  • 00:48 The questions in the exam are based upon the processes, tools and
  • 00:53 techniques described in the PMBOK Guide.
  • 00:55 The PMBOK guide includes the ANSI standard for
  • 00:58 project management in part two of the guide.
  • 01:00 The standard is the foundation for the rest of the guide.
  • 01:03 The standard sets the basic processes, and
  • 01:06 the rest of the guide amplifies those and shares the best practices.
  • 01:10 One point to remember is that the PMBOK Guide focuses on project management
  • 01:15 practices to support individual projects, not programs or portfolios.
  • 01:20 It does not include the tools and techniques for that type of complexity.
  • 01:23 But fortunately, that will not be tested on the CAPM exam.
  • 01:27 So what is the purpose of the PMBOK Guide?
  • 01:29 Why was it written?
  • 01:31 To answer that you need to understand a little about
  • 01:33 the Project Management Institute.
  • 01:35 It was established in order to promote project management as a recognized
  • 01:39 management discipline.
  • 01:40 And they have been very successful.
  • 01:42 Many business schools now have an MBA in project management to accompany
  • 01:46 their MBAs in accounting, or marketing, or operations management.
  • 01:50 The PMBOK Guide assists with this purpose to establish project
  • 01:53 management as a discipline in two ways.
  • 01:55 The first, is to document a recommended body of knowledge that would apply
  • 02:00 to most projects most of the time.
  • 02:03 And second, it describes the best practices that all project managers can
  • 02:07 point to and say that's how it's done, when it's done correctly.
  • 02:11 PMI has worked hard to ensure that the PMBOK Guide is generic enough that it
  • 02:16 applies to multiple industries,
  • 02:18 multiple project management methodologies in multiple countries and cultures.
  • 02:23 It's intended to be a broad standard and
  • 02:25 a broad guide that can be used with any project at anytime, anywhere in the world.
  • 02:31 But that also means that among the tools and techniques,
  • 02:34 it will often list multiple ways to do the same thing.
  • 02:37 As project manager you need to tailor your approach to use the set of tools or
  • 02:42 techniques that is appropriate for your project and your business environment.
  • 02:47 Let's take a minute now to look at the structure of the PMBOK Guide.
  • 02:51 If you're going to use this as a primary study source,
  • 02:54 it is helpful to know how it's organized.
  • 02:56 The PMBOK Guide could realistically be your only study guide.
  • 03:00 Courses like this and other study helps are designed to assist you in your study,
  • 03:05 but we go back to the PMBOK Guide as our source.
  • 03:07 In fact, when I prepared for my certification exam many years ago,
  • 03:11 there weren't many prep courses available.
  • 03:13 The only thing I studied was the PMBOK Guide.
  • 03:16 So first, let's talk about Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
  • 03:18 These provide context and background for much of the rest of the guide.
  • 03:23 They describe the general nature of the project, the organizational influences on
  • 03:27 the project, the role of the project manager, and define some common terms.
  • 03:31 This chapters are just as important as the knowledge area chapters when studying for
  • 03:36 the CAPM exam.
  • 03:37 Next are Chapters 4 through 13.
  • 03:39 These contain the project management processes on which you will be tested.
  • 03:43 We will discuss these processes in detail in other lessons.
  • 03:47 Each of these chapters represents a different knowledge area.
  • 03:51 Following the chapters containing the processes is Part II.
  • 03:55 This is the official ANSI standard embedded within the PMBOK Guide.
  • 03:59 It repeats some of the information from the process chapters and
  • 04:03 I find it a good section for a quick review.
  • 04:06 After Part II, there are several appendices.
  • 04:09 Four of these contain testable material.
  • 04:11 And they are appendix X3 Agile, Iterative, Adaptive and Hybrid projects.
  • 04:16 Appendix X4, summary of Key Concepts.
  • 04:19 Appendix X5, tailoring sections based upon what is unique in your project.
  • 04:25 And finally, appendix X6, tools and techniques.
  • 04:29 And then finally, there's an extensive glossary in the PMBOK Guide.
  • 04:32 This glossary is a foundational element for study.
  • 04:36 The questions on the CAPM exam will assume that you
  • 04:39 know the meaning of all of those terms.
  • 04:41 If you don't understand the terms, you will not understand the question.
  • 04:45 We'll look at the glossary in more detail in another lesson.
  • 04:50 The PMBOK Guide is the primary source for study material for the CAPM exam.
  • 04:54 If you don't yet have one, get one.
  • 04:57 Make sure you get the correct edition.
  • 04:59 You can download it from the PMI website or
  • 05:02 purchase it as a hard copy from numerous online and physical bookstores.

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PMI, PMP, CAPM and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

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