Introduction

This section describes important information about A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition. It describes the relationship of the PMBOK® Guide to The Standard for Project Management [1],¹ changes to the PMBOK® Guide, the relationship to PMIstandards+^™ (PMI’s digital platform for standards), and provides a brief overview of the content.

1.1 STRUCTURE OF THE PMBOK® GUIDE

In addition to this Introduction, this edition of the PMBOK® Guide contains three sections:

• Section 2 Project Performance Domains. This section identifies and describes eight project performance domains that form an integrated system to enable successful delivery of the project and intended outcomes.
• Section 3 Tailoring. This section describes what tailoring is and presents an overview of what to tailor and how to go about tailoring individual projects.
• Section 4 Models, Methods, and Artifacts. This section presents a brief description of commonly used models, methods, and artifacts. These models, methods, and artifacts illustrate the range of options project teams can use to produce deliverables, organize work, and enable communication and collaboration.

1.2 RELATIONSHIP OF THE PMBOK® GUIDE AND THE STANDARD FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Work in the project performance domains is guided by the principles of project management. As described in The Standard for Project Management [1], a principle is a fundamental norm, truth, or value. The principles for project management provide guidance for the behavior of people involved in projects as they influence and shape the performance domains to produce the intended outcomes. While there is conceptual overlap between the principles and the performance domains, the principles guide behavior, while the performance domains present broad areas of focus in which to demonstrate that behavior. Figure 1-1 shows how the project management principles sit above the performance domains, providing guidance to activities in each performance domain.