Last updated on March-2024 by Nilotpal Ray, PMP
PMBOK 6th vs 7th Edition for the PMP Exam in 2023 – Which one is important?
Let’s look at the following snippet from PMI’s Website from the study materials recommendation page for the PMP Exam:
The obvious questions are:
- Is it sunset time for PMBOK 6th Edition with the launch of the PMBOK 7th Edition?
- Is it time to throw away PMBOK 6th Edition when it comes to PMP Exam preparation in 2023?
- Does the PMBOK 7th Edition focus on new topics which are now important for the PMP Exam?
- Is the Process Group Practice Guide same as PMBOK 6th Edition?
This article has answers to these compelling questions which you might obviously have as a PMP exam aspirant for 2023.
So keep reading, and don’t skip any section because I would be talking about a lot of important stuff over the next few sections.
What is the PMP Exam Syllabus?
Let’s start with the basics first :
- Is PMBOK 6th edition the syllabus of the PMP Exam?
- Is PMBOK 7th edition the syllabus of the PMP Exam?
The short answer is NO. The PMBOKs are NOT the official syllabus of the PMP Exam.
The official syllabus of the PMP Exam is the PMP Examination Content Outline.
Period.
So, first let’s get out of the most common myth among PMP aspirants which is: that the syllabus of the PMP exam is PMBOK 6th / 7th edition.
Obviously not. The syllabus of the PMP Exam is the PMP Exam ECO.
PMBOK 6th vs 7th edition in context with the PMP Exam ECO:
According to the Project Management Institute’s official website, no specific book has been recommended for the preparation for the PMP Exam. This is because the syllabus of the PMP Exam as per the ECO draws from the entire Project Management Body of Knowledge and Standards available in the fraternity.
However, PMI does indicate on the PMP Exam Reference List page that you could consult certain references and textbooks, to complete studying the topics mentioned in the PMP ECO – the official syllabus.
Now herein comes the interesting part.
Look at the following snippet from the PMP Exam Reference List page:
Observation 1: You will see that the PMBOK forms only one of the many resources which PMI recommends for the preparation of the PMP Exam
Observation 2: PMI has not mentioned the edition # of the PMBOK where it refers to it in the reference list.
Not very helpful at all, right?
How on the earth would you know which PMBOK edition to refer to while preparing for the PMP Exam?
The answer to this question lies within the ECO of the PMP Exam.
PMBOK 6th vs 7th Edition: What to study for PMP Exam?
If you check the following snippet of the PMP ECO, 50% of the exam follows predictive project management and the rest 50% follows Hybrid Project Management, right?
Now the question is: Which is the PMI standard for Predictive Project Management?
Obviously, it’s PMBOK Edition 6.
Hence, the 6th Edition of PMBOK still remains relevant & important for the PMP Exam syllabus/ECO. It is the cornerstone of predictive project management techniques and this book will continue to be a very important resource for your PMP Exam preparation in 2023.
Also, please note that the Process Group Practice Guide published by PMI in Oct-2022 is just a revised version of PMBOK 6th Edition. It may be classified as ‘old wine in a new bottle’ where PMI has done no improvement apart from summarizing the contents of PMBOK 6th Edition in a new standard. So, as long as you have access to either of these books, there is no reason to worry! Moving on, you can assume ‘PMBOK-6’ and ‘Process Group Practice’ Guide as interchangeable terms.
Now the next question is: From where you should cover the rest of 50% of Hybrid/Agile Project Management?
This part should be covered from the Agile Practice Guide, the various Agile Methodology books which PMI has recommended, and, the PMBOK 7th Edition. It’s very important for you to know that the PMBOK 7th Edition covers a lot of important concepts & philosophies related to Agile and Hybrid project management techniques which are NOT discussed in detail in PMBOK 6th Edition. Some of them can be listed below:
- Servant Leadership
- Value Creation
- Project Tailoring
- Adaptability & Resiliency
Hence, to summarize, BOTH PMBOK-6 and PMBOK-7 is needed to prepare for the PMP Exam effectively.
The following table captures the distribution of content of the PMP ECO across different books/standards:
| PMBOK-6 | PMBOK-7 | Agile Practice Guide | External Resources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Project Management Principles & Value Creation |
Very low
coverage |
High coverage |
Very low
coverage |
Good-to-have |
|
Agile |
Very low
coverage |
Med coverage |
High coverage |
Recommended |
|
Hybrid |
None |
Low coverage |
Med coverage |
Recommended |
|
Predictive
|
Very high
coverage |
Med coverage |
None |
Good-to-have |
What to study from PMBOK 7th Edition for PMP Exam?
To make this part easier for you, I have prepared a mapping document between PMBOK 6th edition and PMBOK 7th edition which will tell you exactly which parts to read from PMBOK-7, provided you have studied PMBOK-6 thoroughly.
Following is a snippet of the mapping document:
This mapping document is a detailed drill-down of what topics of the PMBOK 7th Edition are already covered in the PMBOK 6th Edition and which are the new topics from the PMBOK 7th edition that are important for your PMP Exam.
It will make life much easier for you, saving your precious time, by NOT having to read the entire PMBOK 7th edition, but by only focusing on the extra important topics for the PMP Exam from the book.
You can get access to this mapping document for FREE if you are registered for my Udemy Mock Simulator: Udemy PMP Exam 2023 Mock Simulator
Alternatively, if you have time, please go through the entire PMBOK 7th edition. It’s a nice standard to be aware of as a project manager anyways.
Hope you enjoyed reading the article. If you want to know more about the PMP Exam difficulty level or PMP Exam Time Management strategies, please check out the relevant articles as well. If you are preparing for your PMP Exam, don’t forget to check out my Udemy Courses on PMP Certification Exam.
The last one is the best if you are struggling to learn EVM during your PMP and CAPM preparation.
Best Wishes, Ray
