1. Project Information
One of the innovations for the 5th Edition PMBOK® Guide is that PMI has made more consistent the distinction between data and information on a project. Data are the raw, unorganized observations and measurements identified during activities performed to carry out the project work. Information is what you get when you process data, organized it and presented in such a way that it is meaningful or useful. That information is transmitted in project documents called reports.
So here’s the distinction:
| Knowledge category | Explanation | Examples | |
| 1. | Work performance data | Raw observations and measurements taken during executing process | Actual costs, actual activity durations, technical performance measures
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| 2. | Work performance information | Data is collected from controlling processes, analyzed and integrated | Forecasted estimates to complete, implementation status of change requests
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| 3. | Work performance reports | Information is presented in project documents | Status reports, memos |
2. Knowledge Areas
The first axis along which the 47 project management processes are organized is that of the five process groups; the other axis along which the 47 processes are organized is that of the 10 Knowledge Areas.
One of the innovations of the 5th Edition PMBOK® Guide is that there are 10 knowledge areas now instead of 9.
The 10 Knowledge Areas are:
| PMBOK Chapter | Knowledge Area | |
| 1. | Chapter 4 | Project Integration Management |
| 2. | Chapter 5 | Project Scope Management |
| 3. | Chapter 6 | Project Time Management |
| 4. | Chapter 7 | Project Cost Management |
| 5. | Chapter 8 | Project Quality Management |
| 6. | Chapter 9 | Project Human Resources Management |
| 7. | Chapter 10 | Project Communications Management |
| 8. | Chapter 11 | Project Risk Management |
| 9. | Chapter 12 | Project Procurement Management |
| 10. | Chapter 13 | Project Stakeholder Management |
The 47 processes are displayed on page 61 of the PMBOK® Guide.
The next 10 chapters of the PMBOK® Guide systematically go through each of the 10 knowledge areas. Each knowledge area will cover the processes in each area, giving the inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs to each of those processes.
This concludes the summary of Chapter 3 of the PMBOK® Guide. The next posts will cover Chapter 4 of the PMBOK® Guide.
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Hi Jerome, I passed my PMP exam today (1/30/17). Your blog was INVALUABLE. I cannot thank you enough. I found your blog 3 weeks ago when I needed extra help with Change Management and saw that you covered the entire PMBOK! Thanks again! Best, Erikka