A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge 4th Edition

This book was amazing as it no role down the fundamentals of Project Management. This “How To” book was a valuable aid in helping me to achieve a successful grade for my class.

I ordered the PMBOK 4th ed book to prepare to take the PMI PMP credentialing exam. The exam was updated in Aug. 2011 and this edition contains the updates. It's a great reference tool for currently practicing Project Managers as well. It has a robust PM industry-specific glossary and highlights many formulas used for calculations related specifically to the Project Management profession. It's definitely worth the 38 bucks! I purchased a version on kindle via amazon (and loaded it to my FREE "iPhone-compatible-kindle-app" - for study on the go) and I bought the paperback copy (467 pages of great content).As a student, I joined amazon prime (you get expedited shipping free w/membership), so I received my paperback copy in 2days - as guaranteed! And for you kindle or iPhone owners - if you buy the kindle app version....ITS DOWNLOADED IMMEDIATELY! Awesome! I'm a very satisfied customer.By the way: If you're a student (or not)the "amazon prime membership" is soooo worth it...you get all your orders for ANYTHING your order from amazon within 2days (even if it's not related to school). Bonus! Winning!Project Management (PMP) Exam Candidate

Over the past two decades, I have analyzed all PMBOK Guide editions. In the last seven years, I wrote three technical books and two analyses of the PMBOK Guide editions. As there are many controversial opinions about the PMBOK Guide editions, I sincerely hope to contribute to valuation of this document.The PMBOK Guide is known by its adherent as the global standard for project management. It describes a conceptual level of knowledge and practice that are considered essential in the profession of project management. Therefore, the PMBOK Guide offers basic project management information about `what to do' rather than `how to do it'.The PMBOK Guide's essential character is found in processes that can be related consistent with best project management practices. These processes are classified in two different ways with intention to show:-How processes are distributed and related within the project management process groups, which are Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, Closing.-How processes are distributed and related within the project management knowledge areas, which are Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resource, Communications, Risk, Procurement, Integration.Accordingly, each process is associated with both a project management process group and a project management knowledge area, (PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition, Table 3-1, p.43). In addition, each process is defined by its inputs, tools and techniques and outputs, (PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition, p.73-344).Anyone interested in project management should have a copy of PMBOK Guide because:-It has an impressive set of project management knowledge, i.e., `conceptual collection of information, science, wisdom and practices that are deemed to be specific to the field of project management', (After Max Wideman).-The structure and contents of PMBOK Guide are more technical rather than narrative text, therefore, it can be analyzed scientifically and consequently improved.-The set of knowledge is well organized within the project management process groups and the project management knowledge areas.-It has defined inputs and outputs for each process. This unique characteristic is an accurate path for analysis, improvement and application of the PMBOK Guide. As more structured details are developed the bigger is the chance to understand and control the system.-The unique input / output characteristics of the PMBOK Guide create a possibility for relating with factual project documentation, attracting the attention of the project management community and consequently improving project management practice.-The set of knowledge can serve as a benchmark for assessment of readers' experience and aspirations related to project management. Even most experienced reader can find bits of knowledge to consolidate their understanding of project management.-It has good glossary, which serves as a basic communications tool between those interested in project management.-It can be customized and used as a basis to develop your own understanding of project management.-After you buy a copy of PMBOK Guide it will serve a long time as your reference book to get a new idea how to improve your approach to project management.The PMBOK Guide is never sufficient by itself and it does not provide a reference that links PMBOK Guide topics to further study resources instructing `how to do' a specific thing. Here is the list of some important topics and titles of supplementary books available at Amazon.com:-If you are preparing for PMP exam you must study `PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition' and also some of the following books available at Amazon.com: `PMP in Depth: Project Management ...', `Achieve PMP Exam Success, 4th Edition ...', `Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep ...' .-If you want to understand what the PMBOK Guide says, what it means and how it can be used to manage projects, you must refer to `PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition' and `Brainstorming The PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition'.-If you want to apply its specific topic, e.g., earned value method you must refer to `PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition', `ANSI/EIA Earned Value Management System - 748' and `Earned Value Project Management - 3rd Edition'.-If you want to learn more about project management office you must refer to `PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition' and `Project management, a systems approach to planning scheduling and controlling'.As in most books, there is no part in the PMBOK Guide that cannot be criticized and improved. Here are the some issues:-As it does not say or provide a relevant reference list that guide a reader to more detailed explanation of concepts and the `how to do it' recipes, then many practicians cannot identify their daily work with the contents of the PMBOK.-While it tries to be all inclusive in technical aspects of project management, the PMBOK Guide fails to connect with those which approach to project management through organizational style and interpersonal skills.-The PMBOK Guide repeats descriptions very often, e.g., `Organizational process assets', `Enterprise environmental factors' and `Project documents' have broad meaning and they should be removed from processes. However, they should have identified and extracted a specific part of their meaning, in form of input or output, to associate with the process input or output set. This can tell reader something more about a particular process.-There are several concepts that need reconstruction, e.g. Section I (meaning and usage of `process groups', `project life cycle' and `project phases'), Section II (consistency of text and figures), Section III (debugging of data flow diagrams, improvement of logic for development and update of project management plan, system explanation of project portfolio management)-Frequent changes to PMBOK Guide cause a real problem for users. The PMBOK Guide has been updated with substantial changes every four years, which create a problem for those who use an earlier version of PMBOK Guide. For example, a derived sequence of critical outputs of the last three PMBOK Guide editions are different, which may confuse average user of PMBOK Guide.To follow this summary review, you should need to refer to `PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition' (available at Amazon.com), `Brainstorming The PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition' (available at Amazon.com) and `The PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition - An Analysis' (available at Max Wideman web site).

This is a good compendium of project management topics and I do recommend it. It is definately a good overview for those new to the formal study of project management. In addition to those studying for the certification exam, I would include this as required reading/study for those who are working on a large project but don't have a lot of practical experience. The book follows a logical sequence of topics. In this context, it is a 5 star reference book.For me personally, I found this book to be somewhat generic; but has good coverage for a very broad range of project management topics. The sample forms and templates could have been presented in multiple versions that repreresented different industry perspectives. Perhaps the addition of case studies and crosswalks with other methodologies would enhance the overall reading experience. That part of this evaluation results in a 4 star rating.Overall 4.5 which I went ahead and rounded up to a 5. Good job.

1. If you are a new project manager or are studying for the PMP, look at another book or take a class on how to successfully manage a project. This is NOT a "how-to" book.Now that's out of the way...The PMBOK is an excellent reference of what is in project management. It is similar to a dictionary. Don't expect that by reading a dictionary, you will be able to put together a novel or write excellent poetry. It is the same with the PMBOK. There are other books out there that explain the "how to" for new project managers. That is not the purpose of the PMBOK.The PMBOK's latest incarnation is the standard for all professional project managers. The PMBOK is an excellent reference for program management directors as well as experienced project managers who are customizing management approaches yet want to stay true to the heart of project management.