This book is produced by the Project Management Institute and provides a basic reference document for anyone interested in the profession of project management.
The only real major change from the 1996 edition is the re-organising of the Risk Body of Knowledge. Here Risk Quantification is reorganised into seperate Quantitative and Qualitative processes. This may have the drawback of causing individuals to think that both are required to complete Risk Assessment process, however qualitative methods of risk assessment normally suffice for smaller projects.
The book itself is structured around the 10 "Bodies of Knowledge", each chapter dealing with specific project management areas, such as Integration, Risk, Quality, Communication, Close-out, Implementation, Scheduling, Cost, Procurement, Scope and Human Resource Management.
Chapters such as Project Framework, Project Management Context and Project Management Processes provide excellent guides to the interactions between each Body of Knowledge and an overview of the entire PM process.
The main benefit of the book is its ease of reference. Each chapter details the relevant process for each body of knowledge and breaks them down into defined inputs, outputs, tools and techniques.
However the book does suffer from a number of minor disadvantages.
1) There are only limited descriptions of the inputs and outputs etc. these may not be sufficient for individuals who have not got a good background in project management.
2) Where items have been previously mentioned, the book simply refers back to the relevant section. This makes it a slightly cumbersome read.
3) The book provides no practical examples or guidance to the implementation of various bodies of knowledge.
However its advantages far outweigh any disadvantage as it provides an excellent reference document that is an internationally recognised set of procedures for project management. It is also useful as a practical checklist to ensure that all relevant inputs, tools and techniques are in place for any project.
In summary, this book is a must have for any project manager as it provides a high level reference to all project management processes.
