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About this lesson

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

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PMBOK® Guide.docx
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Quick reference

PMBOK® Guide

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

When to use

The PMBOK® Guide should be used as the primary source for study when preparing for the PMP® 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 two parts.  Part 1 has 13 Chapters,  Part 2 is the industry Standard, six Appendices and a Glossary.

Part 1 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 49 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 that are best practices for accomplishing 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 2

Part 2 is the formal standard of project management. There is a lesson that covers this in more detail.

Appendices

There are six Appendices.  Appendices X3, X4, X5, and X6 address different attributes of the project environment and contain material that may be testable.  Material from the appendices are addressed in various lessons.

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.  There is a lesson devoted to the Glossary.

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

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  • 00:05 Hi this is Ray Sheen, I'd like to talk to you now about the most important reference
  • 00:09 you can use to prepare for the PMP exam.
  • 00:12 And that is the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge or
  • 00:16 as it's commonly called the PMBOK.
  • 00:20 Let me start with a description of the PMBOK.
  • 00:23 Project Management Institute defines the Project Management Body of Knowledge,
  • 00:26 the PMBOK, as a term that defines the knowledge
  • 00:29 within the profession of project management.
  • 00:32 The Project Management Body of Knowledge includes proven traditional practices that
  • 00:35 are widely applied,
  • 00:36 as well as innovate practices that are emerging within the profession.
  • 00:41 The PMBOK Guide is the documentation upon which the PMP exam is based.
  • 00:45 Knowing the guide thoroughly will prepare you for the exam.
  • 00:49 The questions on the exam are based upon the processes and tools and
  • 00:52 techniques described in the PMBOK Guide.
  • 00:55 The PMBOK Guide includes the ANSI standard for
  • 00:58 project management in part II 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.
  • 01:11 One point to remember is that the PMBOK Guide focuses on project management
  • 01:14 practices to support individual projects, not programs or portfolios.
  • 01:21 It does not include the tools and techniques for that type of complexity.
  • 01:25 So what is the purpose of the PMBOK guide?
  • 01:27 Well, why was it written?
  • 01:29 To answer that,
  • 01:29 you need to understand a little about the Project Management Institute.
  • 01:33 It was established in order to promote project management
  • 01:36 as a recognized management discipline.
  • 01:39 And they had been very successful,
  • 01:40 many business schools have now added an MBA in project management.
  • 01:45 To accompany their MBAs in accounting, marketing, or operations management.
  • 01:50 The PMBOK Guide assists with the purpose of establishing project
  • 01:53 management as a discipline in two ways.
  • 01:56 The first is to document a recognized body of knowledge
  • 01:59 that would apply to most projects most of the time.
  • 02:02 Second it describes the best practises that all project managers can point to and
  • 02:07 say that's how it's done when it's done correctly.
  • 02:11 The PMBOK guide is worked hard to be generic enough that it applies to multiple
  • 02:15 industries, multiple project management methodologies in multiple countries and
  • 02:20 cultures.
  • 02:21 It's intended to be a broad standard and
  • 02:24 a broad guide that can be used with any project at any time anywhere in the world.
  • 02:31 Let's take a minute and look at the structure of the PMBOK Guide.
  • 02:34 If you're going to use this as a primary study source,
  • 02:37 it's helpful to know how it's organized.
  • 02:39 The PMBOK Guide could realistically be your only study guide.
  • 02:43 Courses like this and other study helps are designed to assist you in your study,
  • 02:48 but we go back to the PMBOK Guide as our source.
  • 02:52 In fact, when I prepared for the exam many years ago, there were not nearly as many
  • 02:56 PMP prep courses available, the only thing I studied was the PMBOK Guide.
  • 03:01 So first let's talk about chapters 1, 2, and 3.
  • 03:04 These provide context and background for much of the rest of the guide.
  • 03:08 They describe the general nature of projects,
  • 03:10 the organizational influence on projects, and the role of the project leader, and
  • 03:14 define some of the common terms.
  • 03:16 While few questions will come directly from these chapters,
  • 03:20 many questions will use terms and
  • 03:21 references from these chapters to set up the questions on the PMP exam.
  • 03:26 Next are chapters 4 through 13,
  • 03:28 these contain the project management processes in which you will be tested.
  • 03:32 We'll discuss these processes in detail in other lessons.
  • 03:36 Each of these chapters represents a different knowledge area.
  • 03:39 Following the chapters containing the processes is part two.
  • 03:43 This is the official standard embedded within the PMBOK guide.
  • 03:46 It repeats some of the information for the process chapters,
  • 03:49 and I find it as a good section for a quick review.
  • 03:52 We'll talk more about part two in another lesson.
  • 03:55 After Part II, there are several appendices.
  • 03:59 Four of these contain testable material, and they are Appendix X3, Agile,
  • 04:03 Iterative, Adaptive, and Hybrid Projects, Appendix X4, a summary of Key Concepts,
  • 04:09 Appendix 5, Tailoring sections based upon what is unique in your project, and
  • 04:14 finally, Appendix 6, Tools and Techniques.
  • 04:17 Finally, there is an extensive glossary associated with the PMBOK Guide.
  • 04:21 This glossary is a foundational element for study.
  • 04:24 The questions on the PMP exam will assume that you know the meaning of all of these
  • 04:29 terms and acronyms.
  • 04:30 If you don't understand the term, you will not understand the question.
  • 04:35 We'll look at the glossary in more detail in another lesson also.
  • 04:41 The PMBOK Guide is the primary source for study material for the PMP exam.
  • 04:46 If you don't already have a PMBOK Guide, get one.
  • 04:49 Make sure you get the correct edition.
  • 04:52 You can download this from PMI's website or
  • 04:54 purchase it as a hardcopy 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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