4/23/2018 How Many Times Should PMBOK Guide be Read?

How Many Times Should PMBOK Guide be

Read?
Posted on December 2, 2017 (//www.pmbypm.com/tt002-read-pmbok-at-least-once-for-pmp/)

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A PMP aspirant must read PMBOK Guide carefully – it is the best book available on the subject. In my PMP
facilitation workshops, participants regularly askHow many times one should read the PMBOK Guide?There
is no easy answer or the right answer to this question. However, one must read PMBOK Guide at least once to
improve the chances of successfully passing the PMP exam.The number of times any subject book should be
read totally depends on one’s personal reading style and difficulty level of the book or the subject.PMBOK
Guide(or any subject book) reading is akin to driving a motor car on a road.
[infobox color=”#f6deb8″ textcolor=”#000000″ icon=”question-circle”]But I drive a motor bike? Will I be able to
understand PMBOK Guide?

Er…Oh!Yes.[/infobox]
So answer to our question depends on driving style and obstructions on the road. It is a known fact that
PMBOK Guide reading is not the easiest of reading and it presents many difficulties (obstructions). Let us
consider following drivers (readers):

1. A hasty driver who changes lanes frequently and who does not care about bumps or signals or

any other obstructions – This person would skim the book very quickly and may not read the difficult

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4/23/2018 How Many Times Should PMBOK Guide be Read?

topics as carefully as one should thus necessitating multiple reading of PMBOK Guide. This person may
have to read PMBOK Guide 3-4 time in bits and parts.
2. A slow driver who always drives in a lane and who stops at all signals, slows down on bumps –
This person will read slowly and try to understand each topic carefully. If this person requires further clarity
she/he would refer to a subsidiary source (a good reference book) while still reading PMBOK Guide. Only
1 reading might be enough for this person.
3. A cab driver who stops at signals but does not care too much about bumps and other traffic
obstructions – This person will read the more difficult topics of PMBOK Guide carefully while she/he may
ignore some other less difficult topics. She/he may need to read PMBOK Guide 2-3 times.
4. A destination/time oriented driver who just wants to reach destination in a specified time – This
person is goal oriented and does not deviate from the goal come whatever may; she/he just wants to
complete the PMBOK Guide reading. In many ways she/he is like a hasty driver who will not care about
any obstructions and she/he may take a different route if she/he find a major traffic jam ahead (i.e. read
from a different reference book). This person will also require multiple reading of PMBOK Guide.

So the answer our question can be given only by you. There is no right way out of the above 4 ways of reading
PMBOK Guide – it is a matter personal preference. A slow reader may take double the time as required by a fast
reader but she/he will be more thorough while reading the first time.

That was interesting. But I have some other questions…

[infobox color=”#f6deb8″ textcolor=”#000000″ icon=”question-circle”]How should one read PMBOK Guide if it

so difficult?

Refer to my earlier posts on this subject

How to read PMBOK Guide? (//www.pmbypm.com/2010/05/how-to-read-pmbok/)

How to read PMBOK Guide? Part Deux! (//www.pmbypm.com/2010/05/how-to-read-pmbok-part-deux/)

How to read PMBOK Guide? Concluding remarks! (//www.pmbypm.com/2010/05/how-to-read-pmbok-

concluding-remarks/)[/infobox]

[infobox color=”#f6deb8″ textcolor=”#000000″ icon=”question-circle”]Has PMI made it mandatory to read

PMBOK Guide for passing the exam?

No. Of-course not. PMP exam is based on PMBOK Guide and the exam questions have language similar to
what is used in PMBOK Guide. You can refer to many other books for exam preparation. However, it is
worthwhile to read PMBOK Guide – to understand the structure and language of PMBOK Guide. It will improve
your chances of passing the exam.[/infobox]

[infobox color=”#f6deb8″ textcolor=”#000000″ icon=”question-circle”]Will I pass the exam if I read PMBOK

Guide 5 times, 10 times?

No one knows for sure :(. PMP exam is not about reading PMBOK Guide or reading it so many times. There are
so many other things that you need to do. Specifically you should also attempt many sample questions. Refer to
my earlier post on this subject.

How Many Times Should PMBOK Guide be Read? (//www.pmbypm.com/2012/04/tt002-read-pmbok-at-least-

once-for-pmp/)[/infobox]

[infobox color=”#f6deb8″ textcolor=”#000000″ icon=”question-circle”]Can I pass the exam without reading

PMBOK Guide? Some of my friends have already done so.


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4/23/2018 How Many Times Should PMBOK Guide be Read?

Yes, you may be able to pass the exam without reading PMBOK Guide even once. But why take chances. As we
discussed earlier the exam is based on PMBOK Guide and exam questions regularly use the language as
written in PMBOK Guide so your chances of success improve if you have read and understood PMBOK Guide.
[/infobox]

[infobox color=”#e7b5bc” textcolor=”#000000″ icon=”thumbs-up”]Good luck to all PMP aspirants.[/infobox]

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One thought on “How Many Times Should PMBOK Guide be Read?”

1. Jim Branden, MBA, PMP (//www.blogger.com/profile/17210267741326330009) says:

April 13, 2012 at 9:31 PM (//www.pmbypm.com/tt002-read-pmbok-at-least-once-for-pmp/#comment-12)

How many times a person reads the PMBOK(r) makes no difference. What makes the
difference is HOW they read it. You describe many drivers (readers)and the one thing
they all need to realize: 
The title tells you more than you realize! It is a GUIDE to a body of knowledge!! It does

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4/23/2018 How Many Times Should PMBOK Guide be Read?

not contain the WHOLE BODY!!! I tell my students that it is like reading the index to an
encyclopedia – if you don’t understand the vocabulary and concepts, then go read the
actual BODY – not just the GUIDE.

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