PM BOOK REVIEWS

Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK Guide) 4th Edition

Authors: Project Management
Institute (PMI)
Publisher:PMI
List Price: US $65.95
Publication Date: 2008
ISBN: 978-1-933890-51-7
Reviewer:Buck Field
Review Date:May  2009

The Biggest and Best Official PM Standard to Date

The Project Management Institute’s (PMI) “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Fourth Edition” (PMBOK® Guide), released in January 2009, is the latest edition of the most popular project management standard in the world, and is certain to define foundations of the discipline for the next few years. By several metrics, this revision is the largest overhaul of PM doctrine in history. Readers familiar with the 3rd edition will be repeatedly struck by the feeling this is a critical turning point, that the project management (PM) field is growing in size and complexity at an accelerating pace – a diversification similar to that in information technology (IT) – as greater PM knowledge and expertise is utilized in feedback loops advancing and expanding the PM domain.

Of critical importance for new project managers is this edition’s inheritance of the mantle for Project Management Professional (PMP) certification content. To their credit, the Guide’s development team members maintained earlier PMBOK® focus on building the value and professionalism of the standard, improving the chances for successfully accomplishing project objectives, but added many welcome changes, up to and including a redefinition of project management itself.

To read entire book review (click here)

About the Reviewer John C. ‘Buck’ Field - MBA, PMP, MCP, CPM     Currently living in Chile, Buck Field has been a member of the Project Management Institute since 2001, serving PMI since 2002 as a contributor to the PMBOK® Guide and the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. He co-authored the first official Project Management Professional training program in China, created the California Department of Transportation’s project management glossary, and currently researches project management of revolutionary paradigms in scientific research with the hope of supporting development of technology for faster than light transport. www.twitter.com/BurntSynapse http://structureddream.blogspot.com/ www.fieldoperative.com

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