What’s new in PMBOK 6th edition

PMBOK 6th Edition

Project Management Institute (PMI) is a global leader in developing standards for professional project management practices. PMI makes a new release of PMBOK every 4-5 years. The PMBOK is an acronym for Project Management Body of Knowledge, which is a guide containing general industry specifications for project managers motivating them to manage their business projects efficiently.

PMBOK Guide 5^th

This edition was launched in 2013 which covered the following sections

• Perform Quality Assurance
• Plan Human Resource Management
• Control Communication
• Control Risks
• Plan Stakeholder Management
• Control Stakeholder Engagement

PMBOK Guide 6^th

The latest edition will be launched by the 3^rd quarter of 2017. This new version will incorporate many new project management processes. The add-ons of this release get discussed below.

Agile and other Iterative Practices

This edition of the PMBOK guide contains numerous adaptive and iterative methodologies including agile approach. The growing influence of agile and scrum led PMI to incorporate agile methodology into this new handbook. The changes included are as follows.

• Additional agile related information within the guide
• A separate Appendix for Agile
• A separate agile practice book will get launched with the PMBOK 6^th edition

Addition of New Processes

This latest version of the handbook will have three new processes which are described below.

1. Manage Project Knowledge: This process will help in managing the project information. It will assist in maintaining both the raw and processed organizational data efficiently. This information knowledge will foster better decision making for the industries.
2. Implementation of Risk Responses: This process is added to fill the gap between the planning processes and the monitoring and control processes. In consideration of the consequences of the project risks, this process seems very crucial for project management.
3. Control Resources: This process helps the manager in resource planning. It helps in proper resource utilization to encourage business profits.

New PMBOK 6th Edition

Deleted Processes

The Close Procurement Process has been deleted from the guide. Its functionality has been collaborated with the Close Project/Phase Process. It is done because PMI opined that several project managers do not have the authority to close contracts and procurements.

Addition of Emerging Trends and Practices

The PMBOK 6^th edition does not only focus on sound management practices. Rather it also emphasizes on developing management tools, techniques, trends, and innovations. This information is useful for the people who are interested in latest management buzz.

These changes inculcated into the PMBOK guide will enhance project management processes and practices. Moreover, it will provide an opportunity to learners to gain more knowledge on the project and organizational management.