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.

Suggested read - Part 1: PMBoK v6 and PMP Exam – All that you need to know

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 continuouslyexecuting) 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.

Takeaways:

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.