Does the PMP exam refer to the 6th or 7th edition of the PMBOK guide? PMP aspirants are asking this question on many forums. Project Management Institute (PMI®) released the 7th edition in early July 2021 and that has generated many queries and confusion on what is covered in the exam.
We know that the PMP® exam content outline (ECO) covers the PMP exam. There is also a reference list of books provided by PMI as a starting point. It means the exam can have questions from outside of the reference list, as clearly stated on the reference list page.
PMI’s take on the impact of PMBOK 7th on PMP Exam
PMI responded to such queries in the public FAQS that was last updated on March 24, 2021. (The link is valid for public FAQs of March 24, 2021. Please note that PMI may delete or replace it in the future)
In answer to the question, how does PMBOK® 7th release impact the PMP exam, it says,
The PMBOK guide is input to preparing for the PMP exam and is listed as a reference, but it is not a test preparation tool. The 2021 PMP exam will continue to use the PMBOK guide 6th edition as one of the several references.
PMI on including PMBOK 7th concepts in PMP Exam
Then answering the important question of when will the PMP® exam be updated to incorporate the concepts from the PMBOK guide 7th edition, It says,
PMP exam items are updated throughout the year as part of our continuous improvement and exam maintenance process. Once the PMBOK 7th edition is released, it will replace the 6th edition as a reference to validate the content.
Analyzing PMI’s statements
So, considering these two opposing statements, we can infer that the PMP exam will not start referencing the 7th edition immediately after its release. This deduction is aligned with the history of exam changes when the 5th and 6th editions were released. In both cases, the PMP exam change happened approximately 6-9 months after.
In both cases, PMI updated the exam content outline to include concepts from the newest edition of the PMBOK guide. It’s not that the content developers stuffed the content outline with all the information out there in the new PMBOK edition. The exam content outline developers based the ECO on what they felt was needed to make the exam content outline more relevant to the practice of project management.
However, considering that PMI can use any published material to create exam questions, so PMP may show some terms of the PMBOK 7th edition on the exam. This statement should not worry you because exam questions are based on ECO, which has not changed.
Summary
So, to summarize, if you are preparing for the PMP exam at this time, continue to prepare using the 6th edition and other referenced material. When the PMI announces the date of the PMP exam or the content outline change, you can switch over if you plan to take the exam after that date.
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