PMP FAQ: PMBOK Guide 5 vs PMBOK Guide 4

Summary: Times again I got enquiries about the difference between PMBOK® Guide 5 and PMBOK® Guide 4 for the PMP exam. To be sure, PMBOK® Guide 5 is a much improved version for the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) published by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The latest edition (PMBOK® Guide 5) takes into account the latest development in the field of project management as well as making many refinements to the structure and wordings of the last edition.

The PMI has described the changes between PMBOK® Guide 4 and 5 in details in an appendix of the PMBOK® Guide 5. All the changes are geared towards making the PMBOK® Guide more relevant to the ever evolving field of project management as well as turing the PMBOK® Guide into a standards literature. The structure of individual knowledge areas as well as the ITTO (inputs, tools & techniques and outputs) are made consistent. An introduction to more modern project management methodologies, such as adaptive, agile, etc. is also included. On the whole, the PMBOK® Guide 5 is more accessible and up-to-date.

At the same time, PMI has also updated the PMP exam syllabus to be based on the PMBOK® Guide 5. But as pointed out by PMI, the PMP exam is not solely based on the PMBOK® Guide, you will also need to make use of other PMP study materials that are based on the most current syllabus to be well prepared for the updated PMP exam.

What’s New in PMBOK® Guide 5?

1. Addition of a new knowledge area – Project Stakeholder Management
   • Project Stakeholder Management includes 4 processes: Identify Stakeholders, Plan Stakeholder Management, Manage Stakeholder Engagement, Control Stakeholder Engagement
   • The Identify Stakeholders Process was spilt from the Project Communication Management knowledge area.
2. Four new planning processes and one control process have been added:
   • Plan Scope Management
   • Plan Schedule Management
   • Plan Cost Management
   • Plan Stakeholder Management
   • Control Stakeholder Engagement

Other Important Changes to the PMBOK® Guide and the PMP Exam

1. The total number of knowledge areas has increased from 9 to 10 (with the new Project Stakeholder Management knowledge area).
2. The total number of processes has increased from 42 to 47.
3. The total number of ITTOs has increased from 519 to 614.
4. Update of the names of some processes to create consistency in nomenclature, e.g.:
   • Verify Scope -> Validate Scope
   • Direct and Manage Project Execution -> Direct and Manage Project Work
   • Plan Quality -> Plan Quality Management
   • Perform Quality Control -> Control Quality
   • Develop Human Resource Plan -> Plan Human Resource Management
   • Monitor and Control Risks -> Control Risks
   • Plan Procurements -> Plan Procurement Management
   • Administer Procurements -> Control Procurements
   • Manage Stakeholder Expectations -> Manage Stakeholder Engagement
5. In the PMP exam based on the PMBOK® Guide 4, the questions on Professional Ethics were treated as a separate category different from the 5 knowledge groups. However in the PMBOK® Guide 5, professional ethics knowledge is integrated in the knowledge group questions, and the proficiency level for Professional Ethics is not shown separately on your report card.

How the Changes Affect PMPs?

If you have begun your studies based on the PMBOK® Guide 4 for your PMP exam and with some reasons you did not take the PMP exam based on PMBOK® Guide 4, the good news is that the PMBOK® Guide 5 has more similarities than differences with the PMBOK® Guide 4.

If you have understood PMBOK® Guide 4 well, you should find the structure of PMBOK® Guide 5 very familiar. You would just need to learn the new knowledge area (Project Stakeholder Management which was originally included in Communication Management), the five new processes as well as some changes in the naming of the processes. Your experience in project management as well as how to apply the PMBOK® Guide knowledge in daily work will help you to answer most questions correctly no matter which PMBOK® Guide version you are tested on. In addition, many PMP exam takers have observed that the ITTOs were not particularly important in the real exam. It would surely help if you could memorize them all, but as agreed by most, the PMP exam is NOT a test on memorization. How to apply the PMBOK® Guide knowledge correctly in situational questions is far more important.

One important point to note is that PMI has rectified one important mis-use of word in the PMBOK® Guide 4: validate scope instead of verify scope (validation is about building the right product and verification is about building the product right).

If you study only on the PMBOK® Guide 5 syllabus, the good news is that the updated PMBOK® Guide is more consistent in structure that will help you understand and memorize the processes and knowledge areas more readily. The general patten for the process in each knowledge area is: plan > identify/perform/conduct > manage > control > close. One words of caution is that since many resources (especially the free resources) for the PMP exam on the internet is based on PMBOK® Guide 4 but there is no indication on the websites that the materials are outdated, you may find a hard time using these materials as some of the materials are either out of the current syllabus or make use of the obsolete terms. It is recommended to make use of the updated PMP sample questions as detailed in this post.