John P. Reiling: Preparing for the PMP or CAPM Exams: PMBOK 3rd or 4th Edition?

Many of you may know that the Project Management Institute (PMI) has recently updated the PMBOK standard. If you want to take the PMP or CAPM exam in the next few months, you need to ensure that you are studying materials based upon the right PMBOK edition! Some helpful links related to this topic are at the end of this article.

I performed a high-level review of the PMBOK® Guide – Fourth Edition and found that it is fairly similar to the PMBOK® Guide – Third Edition, but there are a few items of note:

1. Several items related to the Project Management Plan, Project Documents, the Charter, and the Scope Statement were clarified.

2. The processes were changed to consistently reflect their action oriented nature. For example, the Third Edition section “5.1 Scope Planning” was changed in the Fourth Edition to “5.1 Collect Requirements”, and similarly “5.2 Scope Definition” in the Third Edition was changed to “5.2 Define Scope” in the Fourth Edition.

3. The evolution of the PMBOK is outlined clearly in a general discussion as well as detailed sections on changes from edition to edition, including details of changes from the Third to Fourth Edition.

4. A new Appendix on project management people skills was added, as many have noted over time the importance of people skills to effective project management, but the lack of content in the PMBOK on the topic. This section is small and high level, but nonetheless is an attempt to document a framework for the topic of people skills in project management.

The bottom line is this: your decision relates to availability of training materials and your personal timing for taking the test.

If you intend to take PMP or CAPM exam in the coming months please note the following:

1. The PMP exam will be based on the Third Edition prior to July 1, 2009, and then will be based on the Fourth Edition.

2. The CAPM exam will be based on the Third Edition prior to August 1, 2009, and then will be based on the Fourth Edition.

Training for either edition is available at Project Management Training Online, as we have already begun to phase in some of the PMBOK® Guide – Fourth Edition-aligned training, and will continue to do so each month through June.

Here are some helpful links:

1. PMI PMBOK Guide

If you are a member of the PMI, you might want to log in to www.pmi.org and download your free pdf copy of the PMBOK® Guide – Fourth Edition (or Third Edition, if you need that). If you are not a member, you will need to buy it.

2. Fourth Edition training available now

If you want to learn about the PMBOK® Guide – Fourth Edition – and earn PDUs or contact hours – you can find Fourth Edition courses at our PMP® & CAPM® Premium Single Courses & Small Bundles (PMBOK® Guide – Fourth Edition-aligned) page at this link

3. Fourth Edition release schedule
For the release schedule for Fourth Edition online courses, see the Project Management Training Online “PMBOK® Guide – Fourth Edition-aligned Training release schedule” page at http://www.pmtrainingonline.com/site/1648622/page/2714637 .

4. Courses for PDUs

If you are already certified, you can find information on various ways to earn PDUs at the Project Management Training Online PDUs page at http://www.pmtrainingonline.com/site/1648622/page/2716437.

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