PMP Exam - Structure

 

What is the PMP Exam Structure?

You have to understand the PMP exam structure if you are going to attempt the exam. A project has five phases: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing. The PMP exam questions are distributed throughout these phases, in addition to another domain, which is known as professional conduct and code of ethics. Initially, it was a separate domain in the exam, but now the PMI has distributed it uniformly among the other five domains.

The PMP exam is composed of 200 multiple-choice questions. Out of these 200 questions, 25 are pretest; the marks for these questions do not affect your score. These pretest questions will be placed randomly throughout the exam, and you will not be able to distinguish them from other scorable questions.

As you cannot differentiate, you should assume that all 200 questions are scorable. These pretest questions are used to test the validity of future examinations.

The duration of the exam is four hours. There is no scheduled break; however, this does not mean that you cannot take one. Keep in mind that the clock will continue to count down even if you are on a break.

Before your test begins, you will be shown an awareness session. This session will explain how to navigate the exam: how to select and answer, how to mark a question for later review, etc. This session lasts for 15 minutes.

As soon as you finish the awareness, your test will start. Please note that 15 minutes is the maximum duration for this session. You will not be allowed to make any notes.

After submitting your answers, you have to complete a survey, and then you can see your results.

The awareness session and the survey are not added to your four hours of exam time.

The table below shows how the exam questions are distributed throughout each phase:

The above table is with reference to the latest PMP exam content outline, updated in June 2015, and the PMP handbook (available here) which was updated on 1 April, 2019.

Regarding the number of questions, you can estimate that:

• The initiating group will have 26 questions
• The planning group will have 48 questions
• The executing group will have 60 questions
• The monitoring & controlling group will have 50 questions
• The closing group will have 16 questions.

Keep in mind that questions based on Professional and Social Responsibility are distributed among these process groups. Moreover, the number of questions covering this topic is not publicly known (to the best of my knowledge).

Note that the initiating and closing process groups have the lowest number of questions. If you do not perform well in these two groups and you receive below target grades, another below target grade from any other group can crush your dreams of passing the exam on your first attempt.

 Please do not forget to verify with PMI as information here may have changed . 

Source -PMBOK, PMStudyircle PMI site

PMP Exam - Preparation

 

How to Prepare for the Exam?

One of the best ways to prepare for the exam is to take practice tests. These give you an opportunity to see the types of questions you’ll face, and you can practice pacing yourself in the given time. Try to recreate the atmosphere of the exam as you take it, so you can build your confidence for the day you take it.

So,  Register for the exam, so you have a timeline for studying. It’s helpful to give yourself at least a month to study, but you shouldn’t give yourself too much time. If you have too much time to study, you may end up putting it off until it’s too late to sufficiently prepare for the exam. Ask yourself, “what is the most effective study method for me?” It might be helpful to read a book, connect with others preparing for the exam, create flashcards, or have someone test you on questions you might see on the exam.

PMP Exam - Eligibility and Format

These are the two main questions that comes to mind when thinking about pursuing for the PMP exam.

Who Is Eligible for PMP Certification?

There are two routes for eligibility to become certified:

1. Obtain a high school diploma, an associate’s degree, or the equivalent of these from the country in which you live. Also, have at least 5 years of experience as a project manager in a professional setting with at least 7,500 hours as the leader of project tasks.
2. Or, complete a bachelor’s degree and at least 3 years of experience as a project manager in a professional setting with at least 4,500 hours as the leader of project tasks.

What Is the Format of the PMP Exam?

The PMP exam consists of 200 multiple choice questions. These should be completed within 4 hours. You can’t use any reference materials on the exam, but you can use scratch paper.

The exam questions are broken down into process groups:

1. Initiation (13%)
2. Planning (24%)
3. Executing (30%)
4. Monitoring and Controlling (25%)
5. Closing (8%)

All of the questions about these processes come from the PMBOK guide. They ask you about how you would handle a particular situation. To know how to respond to the questions, you should study:

• Best practices
• The proper sequence of processes for projects
• Basic formulas of project management
• How to manage stake holders
• EVM graphs, metrics, calculations, and completion estimates

As a professional project manager, you may have a good idea of what you would do to effectively handle the situation. However, you should refer to the PMBOK guide to answer the questions on the exam.

Make sure to answer every question on the exam. You won’t lose points for answering incorrectly. So, when in doubt, make an educated guess. Try to eliminate the weakest answers to help you narrow down the options. Just remember that the questions are meant to be challenging. They are meant to test your confidence as a project manager.

 

 

PMP Exam (Project Management Professional)

 

You may have heard about PMP Certification, but maybe you’re not quite sure what it is or why you would pursue it. 

 PMP stands for project management professional. PMP certification is mainly for a who works as a project manager would want to pursue. The certification is given out by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and is recognized throughout the world as a standard to measure the competency of project managers. Not only is the PMP certification great for employers, but it’s also great for the employee. For example, you’ll have a greater number of job possibilities with higher salary and greater earning potential. Ask yourself: “where do I see myself in 3 years?” If you want to progress in the project management world, you should seek PMP certification to improve your skills and show the world that you have what it takes to excel as a project manager. Project managers work in a wide range of industries and fields. Just about every industry benefits from hiring project managers. And every industry wants to hire the best of the best. When hiring new employees, companies look for someone who has the ability to lead and direct various projects and multiple members of a team. Working with project managers who are PMP certified tells companies that they have employees who have what it takes to complete projects on time and under budget.

 Learn more at the PMI.org website.