The Hitchhikers Guide to the PMBOK®

(A Project in 42 Chapters)
“The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate.”
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”

‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ would be 30 years old today and so was born around the same time as the creation of the Project Management Institute in a kitchen in Philadelphia by 6 founding members. One wonders what Douglas Adams or one of his amazing characters would make of the latest version of the PMBOK Guide?

His terrific sense of humour combined with a strong science background allowed him, before his untimely death in 2001, to tackle a wide range of topics from a ‘universal’ perspective. He would have stretched the global reach of the PM standard. Brilliant ideas from Ford Prefect to Marvin the Paranoid Android helped many people, including Richard Dawkins, to make sense of this complex world or just simply get through the day. He wrote in a time before Dilbert, The Simpsons and The Office but his books and quotes are still as readable today as when created. One of the most famous ideas from the original book is the answer given by Deep Thought, the biggest computer in the universe, to the question – ‘What is the answer to life, the universe and everything? If you remember the book well you would know that the answer was ‘42’.


And now finally our PMBOK has 42 steps. Perhaps we are finally coming close to the answer to “How do we get a project done in this complex world of ours?” Is there a fellow hitchhiker deep inside the organization of the PMI? Or perhaps a belated coincidental example of the Improbability Drive that Douglas Adams used to power his ships across the galaxies.

The first PMBOK in 1996 had 37 steps. This was followed by Version 2 in 2001 which increased to 39 steps with the inclusion of some extra risk activities. Version 3 in 2005 increased the number of steps to 44 with extra management work. And now finally Version 4, 2009 has come into line with the answer to life, the universe and everything.

This new book will present each of these 42 steps in a logical sequence from beginning to end of a project. This approach will enable the student to gain a better understanding of both the PMBOK content and logical order. We also provide a one-page graphic of all 42 steps in order – something not shown to date in the PMBOK. The book addresses the key inputs, tools and techniques and outputs associated with each. Each step is illustrated by a relevant story to capture the purpose of the step and its position within the framework.

The author has travelled, worked and encountered many interesting events throughout a diverse career. Stories range from the Victoria docks in London to roadworks in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, from scaling a Rift Valley volcano to failing an Irish astronaut interview, from the preparing for the America's Cup in Australia to dealing with the Mafia in Moscow.

After these travels the author started teaching project management for almost 10 years to over 7,000 students in more than 20 countries. He has taught all versions of the PMBOK and is excited by the improbable coincidence of the recent reduction to 42 steps.