Language barrier with different meaning

Communications Management

Romany Moussa Mechanical Engineer| SAMSUNG SDI HU Budapest, Hungary

As far as I see from the professionality and the propaganda of PMI the PMBOK 6 is a great guide for the project managers, and since I am brand new to PMP studies, and many times I read and even for my native language PMBOK 6, a lot of meaning is totally confusable.

For example: Stakeholder this word is a big confusable word since not all the stakeholders as the same in many things like positions and authority with or against the project etc, and in quality management the quality shall meet the stakeholder objectives. shall I guess this stakeholder objective for the customer and if it like that what if it not fit the regulations ,,, and

Is it my only problem or leakage of experience or what?

Posted: Dec 12, 2025 4:46 PM

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Pavan Maddi

Community Champion

Buona Vista, Singapore

You are not alone. Many new PMP learners feel this confusion. PMBOK terms are broad by design, not tied to one situation. Experience helps you interpret context. Over time the meaning becomes clearer through practice.

Posted: Dec 13, 2025 6:35 AM

Sergio Luis Conte Helping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based Organizations Buenos Aires, Argentina

My recommendation is taking a closer look to PMI´s Glossary of Terms. I was part of the group of authors and reviewers of most of the PMI´s standards and most of the terms have to be redefined by the PMI itself, no matter those terms exist in the industry or standards that belongs to other organizations. And generally speaking this is something you will face each time you are assigned to a new initiative in an organization that belongs to a domain. Business Analyst role is the key role to deal with this type of things at the very beginning.

Posted: Dec 13, 2025 8:43 AM (Updated by author: Dec 13, 2025 8:45 AM)

Rami Kaibni

Community Champion

Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten Associates New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

Romany, did you have the chance to read the 8th edition which was recently released. I highly recommend you do so. I feel the new edition is simpler and better structured.

Posted: Dec 14, 2025 3:04 PM

Syed Ashir Riaz

Community Champion

AI-Powered Social Media Strategist

This is normal for beginners. PMBOK uses generic terminology that depends on context and experience. Stakeholders differ in power and influence, which is why they are analyzed and prioritized. In quality management, “meeting stakeholder objectives” means meeting approved, compliant requirements, not satisfying all stakeholder opinions, especially when regulations apply.

Posted: Dec 15, 2025 5:35 AM

Lissette Indhira Pimentel Sosa

Community Champion

Program Manager| HARPER SRL Santo Domingo / Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic

In PMBOK, terms like stakeholder are intentionally broad. A stakeholder isn’t just the customer; it includes anyone who can affect or be affected by the project (customers, sponsors, regulators, users, internal teams, etc.). That’s why their objectives can differ or even conflict.

In quality management, this is handled by prioritization and constraints: customer needs matter, but regulations and standards are non-negotiable constraints. If a stakeholder expectation conflicts with regulations, compliance always wins.

So no, it’s not a lack of experience. It’s part of learning PMI’s conceptual language. With practice, case questions, and real examples, the meanings become much clearer.

Posted: Dec 15, 2025 1:05 PM

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Language barrier with different meaning

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