PMBoK V5 vs PMBoK V6: 10 Major changes

“Change is the ONLY constant “   - Heraclitus

Project management is a dynamic field with changing needs and expectation. The Project Management Institute( PMI) ,a leading institute in USA, sets the industry standards in the area of project management with “A guide to the Project Management Body Of Knowledge – PMBOK GUIDE”. PMI reviews and updates​​ the ​​PMBOK GUIDE every 4 to 5 years.

The release of PMBOK 6th edition, the latest version of PMBOK Guidance was on 6th September 2017 from PMI. PMBOK V6 has generated interest among both practitioners and aspirants for PMI certifications. People are eager to know what are ​​the ​​changes ​​and​ ​how​ ​it ​​would​​ impact​​ the certification.

In this article, I have summarized the top 10 differences between PMBOK®Guide 5th ​​and ​​6th ​​Edition:

1. Changes in Knowledge areas:

There is no addition of new knowledge areas. So, many of knowledge areas remain the same. Yet, there is a modification of the names of two knowledge area so that they manifest what they mean.

• Project Time Management is now Project Schedule Management. To make it clear that it is the schedule that we manage and not the time.
• Human Resource Management is now Project Resource Management. To signify that we manage both team resources & physical resources.

There is no change in Process Groups. Thus, the process groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing still exist

2. Change in processes:  

a)Addition of Processes: 3 new process have been added

New Process names	Process Group	Knowledge Area
Manage Project Knowledge	Executing	Project Integration Management
Control resources	Monitoring & Controlling	Project Resource Management
Implement risk response	Executing	Project Risk Management

b) Process Shift: One process has moved between the knowledge areas (no change in Process group though) 

Process name	Knowledge Area(PMBOK V5)	Knowledge Area(PMBOK V6)
Estimate Activities Resources	Project Time management	Project Resource management

c)  Renamed processes: Nine processes have been renamed as below:

Old name	New name
Control communication	Monitor communication
Control Risk	Monitor Risk
Control Stakeholder Engagement	Monitor Stakeholder Engagement
Perform Quality Assurance	Manage Quality
Plan Human Resources Management	Plan Resource Management
Plan Stakeholder Management	Plan Stakeholder Engagement
Acquire Project Team	Acquire Resources
Develop Project Team	Develop Team
Manage Project Team	Manage Team

d) Process Deletion:

One process named Close Procurement is removed from PMBOK v6. In reality, project manager hardly plays any role in this process, procurement manager & legal team handles it.

So, the PMBOK© Guide 6th Edition has 49 processes compared to 47 processes in the 5th Edition.

3. Chapter addition:

PMBOK ® guide 6th Edition has a new chapter (Chapter no. 3) on Role of Project Manager that address the skill sets required by organizations. This is in line with the PMI Talent Triangle (introduced in 2016) that mandates 3 levels of skill sets named

a) technical

b) strategic & business management

c) leadership from project managers

First three chapters are rewritten to understand the importance of project managers role. They define project managers as a leader, thinker, business expert and an integrator.

4. Tool and Techniques:

PMBOK ® Sixth edition distinguishes the Tools & Techniques from PMBOK ® Fifth edition. With the market sense, this edition has reduced the number. PMBOK V6 has 132 most common Tools and Techniques for the projects.

Further, PMBOK ® Sixth edition has grouped some of the used Tools &  Techniques in 6 broad groups :

• Data gathering
• Data analysis
• Data representation
• Decision making
• Communication skills
• Interpersonal & team skills

5. Knowledge Areas:

In PMBOK ® edition 6, each of the 10 knowledge area chapters has four new sections viz.

• Key Concepts
• Trends and Emerging Practices
• Tailoring Considerations
• Considerations for Agile/Adaptive Environments

6. Introduction of Agile:

One of most major and high impact change in PMBOK V6 over PMBOK V5 is the inclusion of Agile concepts. They have made effort to align traditional concepts of PMBOK® with Agile concepts. PMBOK® V6 has incorporated Agile concepts in all 10 knowledge areas. For the first time, PMBOK® Guide includes topics from Agile Practice Guide. This has broadened the gamut of project delivery approaches. These change will have impact on PMI certification courses like PMP, CAPM, and PMI-ACP.

7. Introduction of risk response strategy:

A new risk response strategy “Escalate“ has been added for Positive Risk(i.e. for Opportunities) and for Negative Risk( i.e. for Threats). If the project manager identifies any risk beyond his scope, he should escalate. He has to pass it on to the relevant person or team within the organization. Once escalated, he can either remove it or classify it as “Escalated/Assigned to” in the risk register.

8. Introduction of notations:

For the first time, various notations have been used in PMBOK V6 differentiating between processes which are “Ongoing Process (“ones which are continuously​​executing)​​ versus ​​and “Non-ongoing ​​process”.

9. Concept of earned schedule:

The concept of Earned Schedule(ES) has been included within The Earned Value Management (EVM) of Project Cost Management. It redefines the schedule variance and Schedule Performance Index (SPI) used in traditional EVM with ES and At(Actual Time).

10. Other minor changes incorporated in PMBOK V6 :

a. Besides the concept of OPA (Organizational Process Assets ) and EEF (Enterprise Environmental Factors) which were there in PMBOK V5, the latest version of PMBOK® adds new content on governance, management elements and organizational structure types.

b. A distinction has been drawn between “Communication” (as in  of communicating between two people or among people ) and “Communications” (artifacts  such as memos, presentations, emails).

c. A subtle distinction has been given between concepts of Project Scope and Product Scope.

Takeways:

Changes in PMBOK affect both the CAPM© and PMP© certifications. Aspirants, who have started preparation for the exam in 2017, based on PMBOK® Guide 5, do NOT panic, there is enough time in hand for you to take and ace the examination based on the current version of PMBOK®Guide.

However, if you’re preparing for the CAPM© or PMP© certification and planning to take the examination after 1st quarter of 2018, then you should follow the PMBOK^® 6th edition.

Aspirants may refer to the link from

Reference:

PMI : https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/project-management-pmp/exam-prep/changes

https://www.greycampus.com/blog/project-management/pmbokv5-vs-pmbokv6-ten-major-changes-you-should-be-aware-of

PMP(R) certification exam is changing after August 31, 2011

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PMP® certification exam is changing after August 31, 2011

RDS Changes to the PMP Exam

What is RDS?

• RDS stands for "Role Delineation Study".
• PMI conducts the RDS to identify the most current and critical elements of the project management profession.
• The RDS study is done every five to seven year.
• The last RDS study was done in 2005

 Why is PMI doing this?

• To ensure that the credential examinations continue to assess what is most relevant in the day-to-day work of project managers.
• Since PMI credentials are accredited under the ISO 17024 standard it requires the PMI to conduct the RDS every five to seven years.

 So what is changing?

• Approximately 30% of the PMP exam content will change.
• The Professional and Social Responsibility content area (Domain 6) will now be tested in every domain, rather than as a separate domain

Domains & Process Groups

Domain 1 - Initiating
Domain 2 - Planning
Domain 3 - Executing
Domain 4 - Monitoring & Controlling
Domain 5 - Closing

Domain 6 - Professional & Social Responsibility

	Old PMP Exam Pattern Initiating - 11% Planning - 23% Executing - 27% Monitoring & Controlling - 21% Closing - 9% Professional & Social Responsibility - 9% Total number of scored questions 175 Total number of pretest questions 25 Total number of questions 200		New PMP Exam Pattern Initiating - 13% Planning - 24% Executing - 30% Monitoring & Controlling - 25% Closing - 8% Total number of scored questions 175 Total number of pretest questions 25 Total number of questions 200

So What Should You Do?

There is no need to panic!  Below are some of the options you can consider

•           Sit the PMP Exam *Before* August 31, 2011.

•           Don't wait until the last few days to register for the exam

What if I can't sit in the exam before August 31, 2011?

Again there is no need to panic!  Just remember after August 31, 2011,

•           There will not be any "specific" Professional & Social Responsibility (Domain 6) questions.

•           Professional & Social Responsibility (Domain 6) questions will be "built-into" the rest of the questions.

•           The questions will be phrased differently.

•           However, the exam will still be based on PMBOK v4 (Through 2012)

Ref: http://www.inov8solutions.com/inov8-blogs/46-pm-blog/113-pmpr-certification-exam-is-changing-after-august-31-2011

TAGS: PMP Exam, PMP Exam changes, PMP® certification exam changes, PMP® certification exam after Aug 2011, PMP® certification exam after August 2011, What is new in PMP Exam

Seven Deadly Project Manager Sins

In spite of an increased focus on competency in PM conferences, journals and online knowledge sources, organizations continue to experience project failures at the hands of incapable PMs.
Identifying common negative behaviors that can contribute to these failures might be the first step towards recovery:
1. Communication imbalance – communication consumes a significant percentage of a PM's time so one would assume that this is a competency that even poor PMs would excel at.  Unfortunately, some PMs treat knowledge & information like power – sharing it with those they wish to curry favor with, and leaving everyone else in the dark.  Other PMs have a case of verbal "Montezuma's revenge" – this is equally bad as stakeholders are unsure what information is critical and what is minutiae.  I covered this issue more extensively in the article "A dripping faucet or a fire hose – which most resembles YOUR project communication strategy?"
2. Neglecting stakeholders – As I wrote in "Don't get blindsided by stakeholder influence" , PMs can get tunnel-vision by focusing purely on their direct customer or sponsor.  While this individual might be the one signing deliverable acceptance forms and evaluating your performance, a good PM needs to practice 360 degree management – sponsor, stakeholders & team.
 3. Inaccurate or incomplete project control books – It doesn't matter how heavy or light your PM methodology is (or even if you organization doesn't have one).  There's a basic set of project data that should be kept current so to facilitate project tracking, control, monitoring and (if you win the lottery) transition.  Having an out-of-date schedule is worse than having no schedule at all – at least a stakeholder doesn't draw any wrong conclusions from a non-existent schedule.
 4. Ignoring conflict – Conflict is a natural occurrence on most projects but accidental PMs are often unused to managing interpersonal conflicts and might be tempted to ignore them in the hopes that the situation will resolve itself.
 5. Jettisoning risk management – If a PM happens to be aware of good project management risk practices, they might not have the intestinal fortitude to "sell" the necessity for these practices to their sponsor, stakeholders or team.  Under pressure to deliver, if they skip risk management, they'll at least have the opportunity to improve their fire-fighting skills!
 6. A blind focus on the triple constraint – While scope, schedule & cost constraints are important, a PM might ignore the fact that a project has to deliver business value to avoid "the operation was a success, but the patient died" syndrome.  Poor PMs are less likely to ask questions such as "Is this deliverable necessary to the end result", "Are we gold-plating" or "Is this project still of value to the organization"?
 7. Poor assumptions management – Projects possess uncertainty and to try to reduce this uncertainty, we make assumptions.  A good PM will log critical assumptions, share them with the overall project team, attempt to validate them proactively, and use them as one of the inputs into risk identification.  A bad PM will forget the assumptions shortly after they were made…
By no means is this list exhaustive, so I'd encourage you to contribute some of your own in comments.  Hopefully, we can distill a comprehensive set of cardinal sins to eliminate that justification for bad PMs: "I didn't know!"
Other Items
A>  There are several other sins (poor team management, poor time management, poor meeting management, poor self development, etc.) that could be added to a comprehensive list.
B>
Underestimating total project time
Failing to properly document and manage project scope and variation
Underestimating or poor forecasting of all costs
Trying to be a master of all
Poor planning and scheduling
Overlooking additional costs


Ref: http://www.projecttimes.com/kiron-bondale/seven-deadly-project-manager-sins.html

Fast Tracking

Fast tracking is a technique  that is often implemented in crisis and/or crunch times so to speak as it involves in taking a specific schedule activity and/or work breakdown event that has been previously scheduled and/or is underway and expediting it in some way or another. Fast tracking is referred to as a project schedule compression technique of sorts in that its intent is to take an entire schedule of a project and attempting to compress it into a smaller period of time by conducting some events either quicker or by doing some events that were intended to be done in a more spaced out manner but rather doing some of them simultaneously. The network logic has essentially been changed allowing for some items that would otherwise have been done in a sequence are instead overlapped as such. For more information please see the more general umbrella term of schedule compression and or crashing.