The whole of the PMBOK® Guide — Eighth Edition process change on one page: which of the sixth edition’s 49 processes carry over untouched, which are renamed, which were merged into something else, and which have no successor at all. Sorted by what you have to do about each one rather than by where it sits in the guide.
Made to print. Press ⌘P or Ctrl-P and it comes out as a clean black-on-white sheet — the navigation, the footer and the site’s colours are dropped automatically. Nothing here is gated, and nothing needs to be downloaded.
For why any of it changed, read the crosswalk. This page is the summary you keep next to you.
The transition in numbers
| Element | Previous | Eighth Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Principles | 12 (7th) | 6 |
| Performance domains | 8 (7th) | 7 |
| Processes | 49 (6th) | 40 |
| Process groups | 5 (6th) | 5 focus areas |
| Knowledge areas | 10 (6th) | absorbed into the domains |
20 processes keep their names
These carry over with the same name. What changes is only the domain they sit in — the knowledge areas are gone as a label.
| Process | Domain | Focus area |
|---|---|---|
| Manage Project Knowledge | Governance | Executing |
| Close Project or Phase | Governance | Closing |
| Plan Scope Management | Scope | Planning |
| Define Scope | Scope | Planning |
| Plan Schedule Management | Schedule | Planning |
| Estimate Costs | Finance | Planning |
| Identify Stakeholders | Stakeholders | Initiating |
| Plan Stakeholder Engagement | Stakeholders | Planning |
| Plan Communications Management | Stakeholders | Planning |
| Manage Stakeholder Engagement | Stakeholders | Executing |
| Manage Communications | Stakeholders | Executing |
| Monitor Stakeholder Engagement | Stakeholders | Monitoring and Controlling |
| Monitor Communications | Stakeholders | Monitoring and Controlling |
| Plan Resource Management | Resources | Planning |
| Acquire Resources | Resources | Executing |
| Plan Risk Management | Risk | Planning |
| Identify Risks | Risk | Planning |
| Plan Risk Responses | Risk | Planning |
| Implement Risk Responses | Risk | Executing |
| Monitor Risks | Risk | Monitoring and Controlling |
16 processes are renamed
Same work, different label. This is the table worth learning: the name is all that changed, so anything you already know about the left-hand column still applies to the right.
| Was (6th Edition) | Now (8th Edition) | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| Develop Project Charter | Initiate Project or Phase | Governance |
| Develop Project Management Plan | Integrate and Align Project Plans | Governance |
| Plan Procurement Management | Plan Sourcing Strategy | Governance |
| Direct and Manage Project Work | Manage Project Execution | Governance |
| Manage Quality | Manage Quality Assurance | Governance |
| Monitor and Control Project Work | Monitor and Control Project Performance | Governance |
| Perform Integrated Change Control | Assess and Implement Changes | Governance |
| Collect Requirements | Elicit and Analyze Requirements | Scope |
| Create WBS | Develop Scope Structure | Scope |
| Control Scope | Monitor and Control Scope | Scope |
| Control Schedule | Monitor and Control Schedule | Schedule |
| Plan Cost Management | Plan Financial Management | Finance |
| Determine Budget | Develop Budget | Finance |
| Control Costs | Monitor and Control Finances | Finance |
| Estimate Activity Resources | Estimate Resources | Resources |
| Control Resources | Monitor and Control Resourcing | Resources |
4 processes are merges
Here two or more of the old processes collapse into one. These are the places where the eighth edition genuinely reorganizes the work rather than relabelling it.
| Now (8th Edition) | Merged from | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| Validate Scope | Validate Scope + Control Quality | Scope |
| Develop Schedule | Define Activities + Sequence Activities + Estimate Activity Durations + Develop Schedule | Schedule |
| Lead the Team | Develop Team + Manage Team | Resources |
| Perform Risk Analysis | Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis + Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis | Risk |
3 processes have no successor
These do not map onto anything in the eighth edition’s process set. The work did not vanish — it moved out of the processes.
| Was (6th Edition) | Where it went |
|---|---|
| Plan Quality Management | planning generally / Manage Quality Assurance |
| Conduct Procurements | Appendix X4: Procurement |
| Control Procurements | Appendix X4: Procurement |
The 12 principles became 6
This map is PMI’s own, published in Appendix X5 of the eighth edition — unlike the process map above, which is our analysis.
| Eighth Edition principle | From (7th Edition) |
|---|---|
| Adopt a Holistic View | Navigate Complexity + Recognize, Evaluate, and Respond to System Interactions |
| Focus on Value | Effectively Engage With Stakeholders + Focus on Value + Embrace Adaptability and Resiliency + Enable Change to Achieve the Envisioned Future State |
| Embed Quality Into Processes and Deliverables | Build Quality Into Processes and Deliverables |
| Be an Accountable Leader | Demonstrate Leadership Behaviors + Be a Diligent, Respectful, and Caring Steward |
| Integrate Sustainability Within All Project Areas | New — no seventh-edition antecedent |
| Build an Empowered Culture | Create a Collaborative Project Team Environment |
Two of the twelve did not become principles at all: Tailor Based on Context → Tailoring section; Optimize Risk Responses → Risk performance domain.
The 8 performance domains became 7
Only one seventh-edition domain survives recognizably. The rest are absorbed, split or moved out of the domain structure entirely — which is why the two lists look so unlike each other.
| 7th Edition domain | Became | How |
|---|---|---|
| Stakeholder | Stakeholders | retained |
| Team | Resources | absorbed |
| Development Approach and Life Cycle | The Standard, Section 4: Project Life Cycles | migrated |
| Planning | Planning Focus Area (spread across all 7 domains) | dissolved |
| Project Work | Governance | absorbed |
| Delivery | Scope | split |
| Measurement | Governance | absorbed |
| Uncertainty | Risk | renamed |
Most of them land in more than one place; only the main destination is shown. the crosswalk traces each one in full.
Where this comes from
The names, counts and numbering are the eighth edition’s own. The principle map is PMI’s, from Appendix X5. The process and domain maps are our analysis — PMI publishes no item-by-item crosswalk of either — and every one of the 49 processes and 12 principles is accounted for exactly once, checked by script each time this sheet is rebuilt.
No text from the guide is reproduced here; the process, domain and principle names are used to refer to the things they name. If you want the reasoning rather than the map, read the crosswalk, what happened to the ITTOs, or how the eighth edition is put together. For a process on its own, see the process pages.
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