A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition provides guidelines for managing individual projects and defines project management related concepts. It also describes the project management life cycle and its related processes, as well as the project life cycle.
The PMBOK® Guide contains the globally recognized standard and guide for the project management profession (found in Annex A1). A standard is a formal document that describes established norms, methods, processes, and practices. As with other professions, the knowledge contained in this standard has evolved from the recognized good practices of project management practitioners who have contributed to the development of this standard.
The first two sections of the PMBOK® Guide provide an introduction to key concepts in the project management field. Section 3 summarizes the Process Groups and provides an overview of process interactions among the ten Knowledge Areas and five Process Groups. Sections 4 through 13 are the guide to the project management body of knowledge. These sections expand on the information in the standard by describing the inputs and outputs, as well as tools and techniques used in managing projects. Annex A1 is the standard for project management and presents the processes, inputs, and outputs that are considered to be good practice on most projects most of the time.
