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A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides) (Paperback)

by Project Management Institute (Author) "The primary purpose of the PMBOK Guide is to identify that subset of the Project Management Body of Knowledge that is generally recognized as good..." (more)
Key Phrases: integrated change control, qualitative risk analysis, quantitative risk analysis, Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition, Project Management Institute (more...)

3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (159 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 380 pages
Publisher: Project Management Institute; 3rd edition (November 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193069945X
ISBN-13: 978-1930699458

Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (159 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,104 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#3 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Project Management
#41 in Books > Business & Investing > Skills
#70 in Books > Business & Investing > Popular Economics

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
The primary purpose of the PMBOK Guide is to identify that subset of the Project Management Body of Knowledge that is generally recognized as good practice. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
integrated change control, qualitative risk analysis, quantitative risk analysis, process groups, project procurement management, risk management planning, project time management, project risk management, project cost management, cost budgeting, performance reporting, contract administration, develop project charter, project integration management, project quality management, activity sequencing, project human resource management, quality planning, project scope management, project communications management, contract closure, manage project team, project management professional, project execution, arrow diagramming method

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition, Project Management Institute, Four Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, Knowledge Area, Risk Identification, Scope Definition, Human Resource Planning, Schedule Development, Communications Planning, Close Project, Information Distribution, Scope Planning, Perform Quality Assurance, Manage Stakeholders, Request Seller Responses, Develop Project Team, Cost Control, Perform Quality Control, Activity Definition, Develop Preliminary Project Scope Statement, Plan Contracting, Acquire Project Team, Schedule Control

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 15 books:

Project Management (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) by Harvard Business Review in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Project Management (Self-Development for Success) by Peter Hobbs on page 317, and page 326
Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation by David Cleland on page 310, and page 314
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge by Pmi Standards Committee on page 311, and page 326
Project Management: A Short Course for Professionals (Wiley professional development programs) by Melvin Silverman on page 314, and page 326

See all 15 books this book cites

100 books cite this book:

The Frontiers of Project Management Research by Jeffrey K. Pinto on 13 pages
Effective Opportunity Management for Projects (Center for Business Practices, 6) by David Hillson on 11 pages
Ultimate Guide to Project Management by Sid Kemp on 10 pages
Managing Multiple Projects (Center for Business Practices, 5) by Lowell Dye on 7 pages
A Management Framework for Project, Program and Portfolio Integration by R. Max Wideman on 7 pages

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

The PMP Exam by Andy Crowe PMP

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CAPM Exam Practice Questions and Solutions, Release 1.3 by Aileen Ellis

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PMP by Kim Heldman

Discusses:

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge by Project Management Institute

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	87% buy the item featured on this page: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides) 3.7 out of 5 stars (159)
	6% buy PMP Exam Prep, Sixth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam 4.4 out of 5 stars (5) $62.37
	4% buy The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try 4.6 out of 5 stars (224) $50.37
	2% buy A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Pmbok Guide)Fourth Edition [GT THE PROJECT MGMT BODY OF KN]

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Customer Reviews

159 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (159 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

127 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reference Book, but No good for exams, April 26, 2006

By	Rajiv Kohinoor - See all my reviews

I have recently read a few PMP books cover to cover, and I thought I should share my experience with other readers with an intention to help them to find the right books.

THIS BOOK.
Well this is THE book. You cannot avoid it. But it is very poorly written. The evidence of what I'm saying starts wiith the name. I was looking for Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), and this is named as Guide to PMBOK. You would think if this is a guide to PMBOK, where is the PMBOK. Then I realized that this is it. You have to have it because this the official PMBOK: the information source for both the PMP and CAPM exams. However, don't count on this alone for the PMP and CAPM exams.

A brief review of what I think are the top three PMP books follows:

1. PMP In Depth by Paul Sanghera, Thomson Course Technology.
This book has just hit the market and is relatively unknown. But I found this a rock solid book. Almost all the topics are covered with adequate depth. The material is presented in a logical learning sequence and the presentation is very cohesive: no hopping from topic to topic. It's an easy and interesting read. All concepts are clearly defined and expalined. This makes it a great book for both the PMP and the CAPM exams. I feel that the communication management could have more coverage. Although for the exams, the current coverage is enough.
The material is organized in order of the project lifecycle (the process groups) consistent with the way the exam objectives are organized. Furthermore, exam objectives covered in a chapter are explained in the beginning of the chapter. This makes the exam preparation easier and confusion-free.
I recommend this book for a self contained book for the PMP and the CAPM exams, and also if you just want to build a good understanding of the project management basics. Oh yes, the book is very reasonably priced.

2. The PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy; RMC publication.
It is a very good book if you are either taking a course from the author or from an instructor who is using this book as a text book. There are lots of exercises. Unfortunately, this is not a self contained book. Topics are not covered with enough depth. Also there is a poor flow and a lots of hopping from topic to topic. Moreover, it's outrageously high priced. Too many cross references and overhyped.
Overall I recommend this book if you are using it in a course.

3. The PMP Exam by Andy Crowe; Velociteach.
This is a great book and relatively self contained. You can study this book and pass the PMP exam. There are a only a few topics, which are not covered in adequate depth. In this and in Rita's book, The coverage is organized around the knowledge areas while the exam objectives are organized in order of the process groups. That breaks the exam objective coverage into pieces, and may cause confusion.
I recommend this book if you are looking for a self contained book to pass the PMP exam.

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109 of 117 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, horrible book, November 10, 2005

By	S. Roberts (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let me start by saying that I did study the book along with other study materials, took the PMP exam and passed. Having some organized body to professionally certify project managers is a good idea. However, this book flat out stinks. It's incredibly wordy and makes simply concepts way too complex. That seems to be a major flaw with the entire PMI model. They are trying to make project management a science. It's not.

That being said, the certification process is worth your time. I did learn a lot. Just don't become a "PMI Junkie". Let me explain. Many of the things PMI teaches are a bit silly and don't really apply to real life situations. There are some out there that just take what PMI says as the complete truth without questioning anything or seeing how the teachings relate to the workplace. These are people I call "PMI Junkies".

So my advice... get the book, get certified, learn what you can and make sure you use some common sense.

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222 of 247 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written book, however not many recognize its mediocrity, October 1, 2005

By	Jagadeesh K. Venugopal - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Note: This applies to the 3rd edition of the PMBOK Guide. The fourth edition appears to have cleaned up quite a few of these discrepancies.

This is a poorly written book. Diagrams that were updated or changed for this edition are badly done, to the point of being meaningless. Many processes have wildly different outputs for the same set of inputs. There are some process inputs that are inputs into most every process (e.g. "organizational process assets" a meaningless phrase if ever I heard one). Unfortunately the team in charge of this edition did not see it fit to have the book technically reviewed by the many experts in the field.

Beginning project managers will be ill served by trying to read this book and attempting to make sense of its contents. I would strongly recommend both classroom training and mentorship for those wanting to get into the field. Books alone won't cut it. This one certainly won't. I haven't come across one single experienced PM who used this book beyond passing the PMP exam.

For a more detailed critique of this book, search the web for Muhamed Abdomerovic's review. Unfortunately URLs cannot be pasted here. Some examples (mine):
1. Diagram 3-4: All those arrows pointing to nowhere in particular
2. Diagram 3-7: What's the difference between the gray boxes and the white boxes? Ditto for 3-8 and 3-9.
3. Figure III-2: Unclear what this diagram attempts to convey
4. Figure 4-2: What is the usefulness of showing a flowchart of integration tasks alone? Clearly on a project, a Project Manager with half a clue would not follow these tasks sequentially to the exclusion of the other knowledge areas!

I could find such inconsistencies almost all through the documents (e.g. some process names are verb phrases, others noun phrases). Finding other such gems is left as an exercise to the interested reader.

There is a widespread notion that Project Management = PMBOK. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You do not need the PMBOK to be an effective project manager. Conversely, knowing the PMBOK does not a Project Manager make (though the PMP certification would have you believe otherwise).

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars PMBOK Guide
A much needed improvement over version 3. I feel lucky that this update came out just as I began studying for the PMP. Read more

Published 5 days ago by Harold E. Stull

5.0 out of 5 stars A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides)
My employer has mandated that the leads in the company take a project management 6 month series of classes . This book had proven invaluable! Read more

Published 1 month ago by Melissa J. Peters

3.0 out of 5 stars PMBOK reivew
This book has a lot of information regarding Project Management and is highly regarded as such. However, it does not go into depth in any area which I found to be a bit... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amy P

4.0 out of 5 stars PMBoK fourth editon

The book is a must to determine the current PMI guide. What a few people lose sight of it's a Guide Book, not an definite and only process. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Christopher Difilippo

3.0 out of 5 stars Text Book
This is the primary book they used in my 1 week Project Management course. Dry, boring, and is basically a text book, but you need the information to pass the test.

Published 1 month ago by D. Sun

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks
Thanks very much for the prompt delivery of the book.

Regards
Sesha Gadiyaram

Published 1 month ago by Good Mom

5.0 out of 5 stars Review
I received the book in a timely fassion and it was exactly as described. Thanks for the great transaction.

Published 2 months ago by Scott T. Knick

3.0 out of 5 stars Very good conditions
The book got to the curier in the time suggested and in very good conditions. Amazon provided information on every step of the process.

Published 2 months ago by Clara Aquino

2.0 out of 5 stars Not particularly useful.
This book was purchased as a course requirement to go along with the Gray and Larson Project Management text. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Reads4Kicks

4.0 out of 5 stars Got what I wanted at a good price
I wanted the Project Manager body of knowledge book without paying $50. The book is in good condition and it came on time.

Published 2 months ago by Ed Sims

› See all 159 customer reviews...

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