PMBOK 7 and PMBOK 6

A new era begins in project management. PMBOK® 6 will soon be completely replaced by PMBOK® 7, but PMBOK® 6 seems to make its presence felt all the time. How?

PMBOK® 7 appeared very different from previous PMBOKs. The process structure in the old PMBOKs has almost completely disappeared in PMBOK® 7.

The 49 processes in PMBOK® 6 and their detailed explanations are very simplified and many processes are explained as ordinary steps. Therefore, PMBOK® 7 has become a resource that tells project managers “what” should be done in projects in general, but avoids answering the “how” question.

PMBOK® 6 has all the processes that must be implemented in a project.

Previously, we used to say, “You can manage projects by using PMBOK® 6”. Now, for PMBOK® 7, we say, “You can find topics that need attention, but how you manage the project is up to you”.

PMBOK® 7 has compiled project management as principles and areas for consideration rather than processes and techniques. Purpose of this; Simplifying project management, making it more widespread and putting it into practice as a subject that can be easily implemented by everyone. Thus, “you don’t necessarily need to graduate from engineering departments or have project management training to manage a project.” to spread such an idea.

In summary; It is said, “After determining your goal in a project, you can manage the project if you pay attention to the following main topics and move forward in a controlled manner”.

• Stakeholders
• Team
• Development approach and lifecycle
• Planning
• Project work
• Delivery
• Measuring
• Uncertainty

Can a Project Be Managed using PMBOK® 7?

No.

PMBOK® 7 calls the titles you see above “performance areas”.

Not very long methods are described for each performance area, but in PMBOK® 7 there is no chronological order according to the flow of a project. However, PMBOK® 7 can be considered successful in terms of simplification of project management, but the necessary know-how detail for project management is not available in PMBOK® 7. It is far from being a project manager’s handbook, as the available information is also mixed in.

As a result, it is not possible to manage projects by reading PMBOK® 7. Therefore, Project Management trainings have become even more important after PMBOK® 7.

Because in the project management trainings made with reference to PMBOK® 6, the participants will have a clearer understanding of the necessary documents, techniques and tools to manage the project.

Errors in PMBOK® 7

PMBOK® 7 presents a narrative based on agile approaches as well as predictive approaches. Understanding some content depends on the reader’s experience, as the differences between perspectives and/or practical applications in predictive and agile approaches are not clearly emphasized in the book. A very common situation can be summarized as follows: A sentence in PMBOK® 7 may be true for the predictive approach, false for the agile perspective, and vice versa. Trying to explain both approaches in a paragraph creates misunderstandings in paragraphs. Because in the book, a sentence that talks about the predictive situation can be followed by another sentence that talks about the agile approach.

This situation is most evident in Section 4.6. and subheadings.

What should be in such an important book; Project management should have basically been handled under three headings. Predictive, agile and hybrid. This approach is partially available in PMBOK® 6. While we were waiting for this approach to be improved, the opposite of what was expected in PMBOK® 7 has emerged.

A person who read PMBOK® 6 could at least learn the predictive approach in detail and clearly understand that there are differences in the agile approach compared to the predictive approach. However, since the approaches are considered as a whole in PMBOK 7, there are expression disorders.

Critical Path Analysis and Earned Value Analysis

Critical Path Analysis, the foundation of project management, is written twice in PMBOK® 7 only on page 100, but is irrelevant to the topic discussed. Other than that, Critical Path Analysis is not described anywhere.

Earned Value Analysis is also far from the narrative content it deserves. It was explained as a mixture of predictive and agile approach and it created an expression disorder in the same paragraph.

The absence of these two numerical techniques can be considered as a result of the effort to simplify the project management.

Despite all this, the PMP® Certification exam includes questions on Critical Path Analysis and Earned Value Analysis, and the content of these topics is available in PMBOK® 6.

Is Project Management Training Provided with PMBOK Guide® 7?

No.

Young people who want to provide project management training in the future have a harder time. In particular, preparing training in accordance with PMBOK® 7 will reduce the efficiency of the training.

This is because PMBOK® 7 is prepared according to principles, not processes. If you teach new project management learners exactly according to PMBOK® 7, you teach them to write on water. That’s why we will continue to use PMBOK® 6 for project management training.

Can PMP® Preparation Training Be Provided with PMBOK Guide® 7?

No.

Project Management Institute (PMI®) references only the content (Exam Content Outline) that it shares with its authorized training partners (ATP) for PMP® Exam preparation. This content consists of presentation files, question sets and some auxiliary documents.

The most striking feature in the presentation files, question sets and related documents is that a lot of information is quoted from PMBOK® 6.

Understanding the PMBOK Guide® 7

To understand what is described in PMBOK® 7, one must know the techniques, practical applications, and documentation requirements of predictive and agile approaches very well. However, the organizational structure of the company, roles and responsibilities, and the effects of internal and external factors on these approaches are also issues to be considered.

Since PMBOK® 7 takes predictive and agile approaches as a whole and does not clearly emphasize the distinction between them, the book becomes more difficult to read and understand. In order to read the book and interpret it correctly, it is necessary to know the details of the predictive and agile approach in depth.

Advice

Be sure to get PMBOK® 6. I predict it will be a highly sought after resource for both project management and PMP® exam preparation in the future.

You can visit our web site address for Project Management, PMP Preparation, Agile Project Management, PMI-ACP, Risk Management in Projects, Microsoft Project trainings, and send an e-mail to info@projeyonetimi.com for detailed information.