Project management body of knowledge

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a collection of generally accepted processes, practices, tools and terminology for project management, published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) as the PMBOK Guide. It is the standard reference for the profession and the basis of the PMP certification.

Key points

• It describes "good practice" that applies to most projects most of the time.
• It is a guide, not a methodology: each organisation adapts it.
• It is recognised as an ANSI standard, and an earlier edition was adopted by IEEE (IEEE Std 1490).

Contents (traditional structure)

1. Project life cycle and organisation: phases, stakeholders, organisational influences.
2. Five process groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, Closing.
3. Ten knowledge areas
   • Integration, Scope, Time (Schedule), Cost, Quality
   • Human Resource, Communications, Risk, Procurement, Stakeholder.

PMBOK
 |-- 5 Process groups
 |-- 10 Knowledge areas  (47 processes in the 5th edition,
 |                        49 in the 6th edition)
 |-- Tools and techniques, inputs, outputs
 |-- Standard terminology

Importance

• Gives a common language for managers, sponsors and teams.
• Improves the chance of success by following proven practices.
• Supports certification and career development.
• Helps standardise project work across an organisation.

Example

A software company uses PMBOK knowledge areas to plan an ERP project: scope with a WBS, time with a network diagram, cost with an earned value report, and risks with a risk register.

PMBOK is updated regularly. The sixth edition introduced agile guidance (and renamed Time to Schedule and Human Resource to Resource management), and the seventh edition moved to principles and performance domains.