As you know, the sixth edition of the PMBOK Guide is out on 6 Sep 2017. Have you seen? What do you think of its size?
Of course, our intent is to not judge based on KG or number of papers but do you think the roughly 800 pages (without the Agile Practice Guide) is justified? If not, how to reduce the size?
I'm also concerned about this unnecessary growth in the Guide, having started my journey with the 2nd edition and now finding that I need a back brace to wield the latest edition!
I think removing the Standard from the Guide will help, but I also think there's a need for the standards committee who works on the 7th edition to focus on minimal sufficiency. What this means is greater emphasis on values and principles, and lighter coverage of practices - let those as you said be handled in specific practice guides or knowledge area-focused standards. The benefit of this is avoidance of overlaps (or worse inconsistency!) between the Guide and the Standards such as Risk Management.
The only benefit I'm seeing from the growth of the guide is that I now have a much heftier document to bang on a table if I get into a heated philosophical argument with someone about one of the finer points of the profession :-) !
Kiron Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
I have published my first document named "understanding the new PMBOK guide". It is in spanish. This first delivery is about the chapter 1-introduction which is critical to read and to understand because is the basement to understand all the other changes.I disagree with you both. I think that this new version is the best version of all. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The grow is needed. For the first time the PMI has introduced things like governance (by stage gate model), business analysis or the distinction between project requirements and product requirements, the business documents to create before the project exists, a clear reference to benefits, and others. About Agile guide, it has no sense to be added to the PMBOK. I agree with you both because when you read it you will find it does not add value. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Hello Sergio
Perfectly OK to disagree. I know there are a few changes added but I do not see these things adding 200 pages ... 200 pages is bigger than the original version.
I have already written about 8 articles on the new PMBOK Guide some published some not yet. There are things I like and there are things I have no clue what they were added or their value, on the contrary, they are adding to the confusion. If someone like me with 33 years in the business and I do not understand the process categories, imagine how new aspirants will feel. I see more drive for more memorization in the exam.
Sergio
I will post links and questions to some of my points here and hope we can discuss because I would love to hear your opinion. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Sep 22, 2017 10:25 AM
Replying to Sergio Luis Conte
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The grow is needed. For the first time the PMI has introduced things like governance (by stage gate model), business analysis or the distinction between project requirements and product requirements, the business documents to create before the project exists, a clear reference to benefits, and others. About Agile guide, it has no sense to be added to the PMBOK. I agree with you both because when you read it you will find it does not add value.
Back to the question of size,
1. How do you justify as much as 40% of some pages being blank?
2. Why do we need 47 repetitions of OPA, 40 repetitions of EEF, among numerous others?
3. Why Part 2 was expanded so much if the information is in Part 1?
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Sep 23, 2017 6:49 AM
Sergio Luis Conte
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My point is: people have to read and to understand the content. After that people can make an opinion.I firmly believe that discuss about size has no sense. This BOK clearly explain what a project manager is or do inside the organizations.One of the keys is to understand the chapter 1-Introduction.
My recommendation is reading and understanding the document first. A "fast reading" is not enough in this case (please I am not saying that you made it).
With all my due respect, and you know I respect you and I read what you publish, here my answers:
1-discuss the amount of blank pages is a wasted of time.
2-when people read and understand the context then they will understand the reason
3-part 1 is the guide. part 2 is the bok. This is one of the greatest things done because now people will understand the difference between both. That is explained into the introduction.
Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Sep 22, 2017 8:05 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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Mounir -
I'm also concerned about this unnecessary growth in the Guide, having started my journey with the 2nd edition and now finding that I need a back brace to wield the latest edition!
I think removing the Standard from the Guide will help, but I also think there's a need for the standards committee who works on the 7th edition to focus on minimal sufficiency. What this means is greater emphasis on values and principles, and lighter coverage of practices - let those as you said be handled in specific practice guides or knowledge area-focused standards. The benefit of this is avoidance of overlaps (or worse inconsistency!) between the Guide and the Standards such as Risk Management.
The only benefit I'm seeing from the growth of the guide is that I now have a much heftier document to bang on a table if I get into a heated philosophical argument with someone about one of the finer points of the profession :-) !
Kiron
Kiron
I hope you have a good warranty on the table :)
Agree with most of your comments.
For me, the key advantage of size is that I will take it with me to clients asking for PMP and convince them to consider #CAMMP :) instead. Saving Changes...
Linda ZinnDirector, Enterprise Project Management Office| FlightSafety InternationalRutherford, Nj, United States
I think they are going in the wrong direction and should be looking at ways to make the guide more concise and digestible. If they continue in this direction I think they are going to have problems in the future. While I agree that many of the new topics are great and much needed it certainly is not helping the image of project management with the guide getting larger and larger especially as more and more people turn towards agile approaches.
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Sep 22, 2017 4:50 PM
Sergio Luis Conte
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Linda, just one comment. When you read the guide you will find that is intended to clarify how to work in agile environments and to avoid dangerous things like the use of Agile Project Mangement, Agile Project manager, and other things that form my point of view jeopardizes the work of people like me that are working in agile environments and people that are searching for a new job as project manger,
I haven't fully check the new version. I was first discouraged by the fact that it is lock, see an other discussion here.
I think a section should be made for a short version, pointing to specific page/chanter for full detail Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
With all my due respect, and sorry if I did not understand the central issue into the discussion, from my point of view it has no sense to discuss about more or less amount of pages. We need to discuss about content. Do the content add value or not? In my personal opinion I fully sustain that is the best version I see from 1986 up to date. So, I think we need to read the whole document and more important to understand the whole document and then we need to talk about content not about the size. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Sep 22, 2017 11:26 AM
Replying to Linda Zinn
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I think they are going in the wrong direction and should be looking at ways to make the guide more concise and digestible. If they continue in this direction I think they are going to have problems in the future. While I agree that many of the new topics are great and much needed it certainly is not helping the image of project management with the guide getting larger and larger especially as more and more people turn towards agile approaches.
Linda, just one comment. When you read the guide you will find that is intended to clarify how to work in agile environments and to avoid dangerous things like the use of Agile Project Mangement, Agile Project manager, and other things that form my point of view jeopardizes the work of people like me that are working in agile environments and people that are searching for a new job as project manger, Saving Changes...
