A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) -- 2000 Edition [Paperback]

Project Management Institute (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)– 2000 Edition is your basic reference and the world’s de facto standard for the project management profession. It was designated an American National Standard (ANSI/PMI 99-001-2000) by the American National Standards Institute in March 2001.

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) is an inclusive term that describes the sum of knowledge within the profession of project management. The PMBOK® Guide identifies and describes the subset of principles and practices within the PMBOK® that are generally accepted and applicable to most projects most of the time. The guide also provides a common lexicon for talking about project management. Project management is a relatively young profession, and while there is substantial commonality around what is done, there is relatively little commonality in the terms used. An extensive glossary further aids in standardizing definitions of the most important concepts, terms, and phrases.

The Project Management Institute (PMI®) uses the PMBOK® Guide as one of the references for the Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certification Examination. Major revisions and expansions of this edition include:

• Aligned newly added processes, tools, and techniques with the five project processes and nine knowledge areas. For example, reserve time, variance analysis, and activity attributes were added to Chapter 6 (Project Time Management); estimating publications and earned value were added to Chapter 7 (Project Cost Management); and project reports, project presentations, and project closure were added to Chapter 10 (Project Communications Management).

• Added a section in Chapter 2 to acknowledge the role of the Project Office; expanded the treatment of earned value management in Chapter 4 and Chapter 10; and added a brief discussion of the Theory of Constraints in Chapter 6.

• Expanded Chapter 11 (Project Risk Management) to include six processes instead of the previous four: Risk Management Planning, Risk Identification, Risk Assessment, Risk Quantification, Risk Response Planning, and Risk Monitoring and Control.

• Strengthened the linkage between organizational strategy and project management throughout.

The PMBOK® Guide is one of those indispensable tools that you will want at your fingertips, both at work and in your home office. Selected as a suggested resource for CAPM®, CAQ® Automotive Product Development, CAQ Capital Projects, CAQ Information Technology Systems, CAQ Information Technology Networking, and CAQ Project Management Office exam preparation.

Look for official translations in 8 languages:
• Chinese
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Project Management Institute; 2000 ed edition (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880410230
• ISBN-13: 978-1880410233
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #580,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary for PMP exam - CD ROM version is convenient, July 6, 2001

By	Linda Zarate "IT Ops Consultant" (Azusa, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) -- 2000 Edition (Paperback)

I found having the PMBOK in Adobe Acrobat format to be a real convenience and prefer it to the paper version. Note: while you can download a copy of this document from PMI's web site, it's a preview version that is missing chapters 2, 4-12 and appendices A through F. Therefore, if you need a copy of the PMBOK 2000 version your options are to purchase either the CD ROM or the book.

PMI has put a lot of work into this version. Compared to the 1996 version this one reads better, shows clearer relationships between knowledge areas, and has been greatly expanded in some of the knowledge areas - most notably risk management and earned value project management. The CD ROM version that I am reviewing has additional refinements that make this media easier to work with. The 1996 version in electronic format was a collection of standalone Adobe Acrobat files, this version is a single Acrobat file that makes good use of Acrobat's navigation features.

If your reason for buying the PMBOK 2000 is to prepare for the Project Management Professional certification you have two choices: CD ROM or book, because this is the primary source of test questions. Heed the previous reviewer's comments that the 2001 examinations will also use the 1996 version as a basis for test questions. If you are buying this book to implement project management processes that conform to the PMBOK and work in the computer industry I recommend that you also look at Information Technology Project Management by Kathy Schwalbe. That book presents a project management approach for IT projects that is closely aligned to the PMBOK.

59 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A necessary [thing] to pass the PMP., April 4, 2003

By	Harinath Thummalapalli (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) -- 2000 Edition (Paperback)

If you are planning on taking the PMP exam, you absolutely NEED to purchase this book. PMI uses this book as a syllabus for the PMP exam. Hence, this book is literally a table of contents of everything that can be tested on the PMP. In addition to being a table of contents, it does have a brief description of each topic.

For the longest time, almost everyone who has taken the PMP exam felt that this was a badly written book. There are two reasons for this.

The first one is that typically nobody likes to read a table of contents. So, why did PMI do this? Because of the vastness of the project management knowledge out there and the difficulty of covering it all in one book, PMI has chosen to only outline what is out there.

The second and more important reason is that the authors/editors did a poor job of connecting these various topics and outline the ideas in a fashion that does not make sense!

Books are written so that you have to read the chapters serially from the beginning to the end of the book. Or in some unique cases, the chapters can be read independently without losing the author's train of thought. This is the only book I have ever read that follows neither principle! I believe this is the reason almost every single reader is confused when trying to read the book.

I have talked to several people who have passed the PMP exam and it is clear that everyone struggles through this book a few times before finding the correct order to read the chapters in the book for the material to stick.

I think it is best to use this as a reference on your bookshelf while you are reading other books on project management. Once you have sufficient experience in the project management field and feel comfortable with the various knowledge areas, it is time to read this book cover to cover and come up with your own order in which to read the different chapters.

My suggestion for the order in which to read the chapters? Read the first three chapters as they are an overview to project management and it is not that confusing. The rest of the chapters are supposed to address the different knowledge areas in an independent fashion. But this isn't true! The different knowledge areas are not independent. They are connected through the five different project management process groups! If you want to make sense of this book, it is better to follow the order of the process groups. It may mean flipping back and forth between different chapters but it works.

This is the only way that I have been able to retain the material long after taking the PMP exam. I hope this particular order works for you but if it doesn't, I suggest trying different ordering of the chapters to find whatever works for you. Do not assume that you have poor project management skills if the material doesn't make sense. It is not you, but the book that is the problem in understanding project management. I wish you the best of luck in overcoming this hurdle. Bottom line, you have to read this book in order to pass the PMP.

By the way, if you are a PMI member, you can download an electronic copy of this book free...The print functionality on this free Adobe Acrobat file is disabled though. Personally, I have always preferred the print version for reference books like this one. Good luck!

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As the name says, a guide., September 5, 2002

By	Armando L. Franco Carrillo "(Armando L. Franc... (Ensenada, BC, Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) -- 2000 Edition (Paperback)

Project Management is not easy stuff, even though many people think all they need is to get a computer package and start using it in order to be project managers (I certainly used to think so). This book is almost an index of the topics you should cover when managing a project according to the Project Management Institute, as well as a guide for the Project Management Professional Certification (PMP).

The book does not try to be fun; it is very technical and general. As I said before, it is almost an index: covers a lot of topics, does not get into the details of almost anything. I would have liked it to include an example of how to put all the techniques together.

I had to read the 1996 edition for a course, and the 2000 edition in preparation for the PMP test. The first time it was a lot more difficult to finish the book. In between, I read "Information Technology Project Management" by Katy Schwalbe, and it helped a lot. It explains the PMBOK with anecdotes and stories, as well as examples and exercises, and after getting the basics the PMBOK is a lot more readable. I highly recommend reading Shwalbe's book first.

And if you just want to start studying Project Management, I think "Fundamentals of Project Management", by Lewis, is almost a "Quick Guide", but ideal for busy people, since it is very short and easy to read.

I rate the book four stars because it is not exactly a page-turner. It takes determination to read it from cover to cover.