For more than 30 years, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) and its predecessors have been a leading tool for the project management profession and an essential reference for the library of every project manager. The PMBOK Guide—Fifth Edition continues the tradition of excellence in project management with a standard that is easy to understand and implement.

In 1983, Project Management Institute (PMI) volunteers first gathered to distill the project management body of knowledge. Today, the PMBOK Guide recognized as the global standard for project management and is one of the best and most versatile resources available for the professional. The PMBOK Guide contains the fundamental practices that all project managers need to attain high standards for project excellence.

More than 2 million copies of the PMBOK Guide are currently in use. In the time since the publication of the PMBOK Guide—Fourth Edition, PMI has received thousands of valuable recommendations from the global project management community for improvements and clarifications that have been reviewed and, as appropriate, incorporated into the fifth editon.

The fifth edition has been updated to incorporate the most current knowledge and practices in project management. A Tenth Knowledge Area has been added to define the appropriate engagement of project stakeholders in key decisions and activities. Project data and information flow have been redefined to bring greater consistency and be more aligned with the Data, Information, Knowledge and Widow (DIKW) model used in the field of Knowledge Management. Four new planning processes have been added to improve consistency, add clarity, and reinforce the concept of subsidiary plans being integrated through the overall project management plant to guide further project planning and execution.

The PMBOK Guide—Fifth Edition reflects the collaboration and knowledge of working project managers and provides the fundamentals of project management as they apply to a wide range of projects. This internationally recognized standard gives project managers the essential tools to practice project management and deliver organizational results.