A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) is universally recognized as the standard for project management methodologies and practices. Project managers routinely use the PMBOK as a reference for accepted tools, knowledge, and processes in order to ensure the successful completion of a wide range of projects. The PMBOK is also the industry standard which candidates must study and possess a functional knowledge of when preparing for Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certifications. Since its creation the PMBOK has undergone several revisions the most recent of which is the 4th edition. Although much of the content is the same as in the 3rd edition, there are some significant changes regarding clarity and improvement.
The 4th edition of the PMBOK reflects a focused effort to provide more clarity in various aspects of project management practices while reducing ambiguity and redundancy. There are several areas where this is evident. First, in order to remain consistent, all processes are now annotated in a verb-noun format (i.e. Define Activities, Develop Schedule, Plan Quality, Verify Scope, etc). In such a dynamic discipline as project management it is imperative to maintain as high a level of consistency and simplicity as possible. Adding to its simplicity, the 4th edition has also grouped corrective action, preventive action, defect repair, and requested changes under the heading change request. The purpose of this is to provide visibility of these change requests while allowing an easier understanding of the project management processes.
It is important for a project manager to have a comprehensive understanding of the processes involved with successful project management. In order to help with this the 4th edition of the PMBOK has focused more on clarifying process interactions. By more clearly explaining process inputs and outputs with aid from the PMBOKs new data flow diagramswhich replaced process flow diagramsand the relationships between these processes, the project manager will have a better understanding of how to use these tools to his or her benefit.