Project Management Professional (PMP)®

Project Management Professional Certification Exam is one of the most popular internationally recognized professional designation offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). Project Management Professional Certification (PMP)® certification demonstrates that you possess project management knowledge, experience and skills to bring projects to successful completion. Moreover, as the demand for skilled project managers is at a critically urgent level, practitioners who hold the PMP certification are well-positioned to provide the professional skills necessary to lead project teams and achieve successful project results.

Therefore, to stand out in the crowd you need to showcase your skills and prove yourself better than others. Project Management Professional Certification Exam helps your employers and colleagues know about your skills in the project management domain. A project management professional certification holder earns 25% more than a non-certification holder in the US. The PMP delivers value far into your career. The certification depicts that you have real-life project management experience. So, let us get into the details of this exam and learn about all the learning resources. Let us get underway.

Why take Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam?

Clearly, the Project Management Professional (PMP) aims to deliver value far to your career. Moreover, as per statistics, the PMP exam is ranked amongst the top project management certification as it proves that you have the specific skills and experience employers seek. Certified PMPs report earning up to 25% more than non-certified project management professionals.

Who should take the exam?

There is no restriction as to a specific subject for the Project Management Professional Certification Exam. Any person who has a good level of experience in the profile of project manager and is responsible for handling the allied responsibilities can take the exam.

Exam overview

Project Management Professional Certification Exam consists of 200 questions which have to be answered in time duration of 2 hours. The exam is available only in English language. Moreover, the Project Management Professional Test Questions are in multiple-choice and multiple select format. The cost of registration for the exam is US $405 for members and US $555 for non-members. However, the passing score for the exam is not given by PMI and grading system prevails as the method for the results. This PMI certification is valid for 3 years, and you have to get re-certified after this time period by earning PDUs. You can register for the exam by visiting pmi.org and creating an account.

Exam Details

Name of the exam	Project Management Professional (PMP)
Duration of the exam	230 minutes
No. of questions asked	180 questions
Registration fees	US $405 for members and US $555 for non-members
Language in which exam is available	English
Validity of certification	3 years
Type of questions asked	Multiple-choice, Multiple Response, Hotspot and Fill in the Blanks
Exam code	(PMP)®

How to get your PMP Certification Exam?

In order to earn the PMP Certification, it is important to make sure you meet the given sets of PMP Certification requirements –

A four-year degree
36 months leading projects
35 hours of project management education/training or CAPM® Certification

— OR —

A high school diploma or an associate’s degree (or global equivalent)
60 months leading projects
35 hours of project management education/training or CAPM® Certification

Recertification Policy

Project Management Professional Certification Exam is valid for 3 years after you pass the certification. For recertification the candidate must collect a certain number of PDUs – Professional Development Units. For the Project Management Professional Certification Exam around 60 PDUs are required across different domains as technical, leadership, strategic etc. There are two ways through which you can earn PDUs- through Education or through giving back to professionals. The certification renewal fees for members is $60 and for non-members is $150.

Certification status

When you first earn a certification, you are considered to be in active status. When you fulfill all CCR requirements for your certification, including earning and reporting PDUs as well as submitting the renewal payment before the cycle end date, you are in good standing with an active status.
If you do not satisfy the CCR program requirements within your current cycle dates, you will be placed in suspended status. The suspension period lasts one year (12 months). If you are in suspended status, you may not refer to yourself as a certification holder or use the certification designation until you earn the necessary PDUs or complete the renewal process within the one-year suspension period.
If you do not earn the necessary PDUs or do not complete the renewal process within the suspension period, you will lose your certification and go into an expired status.
If you are a certification holder in good standing and wish to voluntarily relinquish your active status due to retirement, you are eligible to apply for retired status.

Passing score

The passing score for the exam is not given by PMI and grading system prevails as the method for the results. So, you need to make sure that you prepare well to pass the exam. The certificate that you will receive upon passing will look somewhat like-

Retake policy

If any candidate has not passed the exam on your first attempt you may now re-test up to two more times within your one-year eligibility period by submitting a completed re-examination form and paying the associated re-examination fee currently $275 for PMI members and $375 for members.

Other exam policies

Make sure to visit the official site for this exam before you start preparing for the exam. This will help you to not to miss out on anything important

To know more about the certification, visit: PMP exam FAQs

Project Management Professional (PMP)® Interview Questions

Now, Let us look at some Project Management Professional (PMP)® Interview Questions which would help you get an idea about what questions can be asked in the interview and how to prepare for them.

Course Structure for Project Management Professional Certification (PMP)®

The Project Management Professional Course is as per the updated version as on 2 January 2021 –

Domain I – People — 42%

Task 1 – Manage conflict

Interpret the source and stage of the conflict
Analyze the context for the conflict
Evaluate/recommend/reconcile the appropriate conflict resolution solution

Task 2 – Lead a team

Set a clear vision and mission
Support diversity and inclusion (e.g., behavior types, thought process)
Value servant leadership (e.g., relate the tenets of servant leadership to the team)
Determine an appropriate leadership style (e.g., directive, collaborative)
Inspire, motivate, and influence team members/stakeholders (e.g., team contract, social contract, reward system)
Analyze team members and stakeholders’ influence
Distinguish various options to lead various team members and stakeholders

Task 3 – Support team performance

Appraise team member performance against key performance indicators
Support and recognize team member growth and development
Determine appropriate feedback approach
Verify performance improvements

Task 4 – Empower team members and stakeholders

Organize around team strengths
Support team task accountability
Evaluate demonstration of task accountability
Determine and bestow level(s) of decision-making authority

Task 5 – Ensure team members/stakeholders are adequately trained

Determine required competencies and elements of training
Determine training options based on training needs
Allocate resources for training
Measure training outcomes

Task 6 – Build a team

Appraise stakeholder skills
Deduce project resource requirements
Continuously assess and refresh team skills to meet project needs
Maintain team and knowledge transfer

Task 7 – Address and remove impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team

Determine critical impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team
Prioritize critical impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team
Use network to implement solutions to remove impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team
Re-assess continually to ensure impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team are being addressed

Task 8 – Negotiate project agreements

Analyze the bounds of the negotiations for agreement
Assess priorities and determine ultimate objective(s)
Verify objective(s) of the project agreement is met
Participate in agreement negotiations
Determine a negotiation strategy

Task 9 – Collaborate with stakeholders

Evaluate engagement needs for stakeholders
Optimize alignment between stakeholder needs, expectations, and project objectives
Build trust and influence stakeholders to accomplish project objectives

Task 10 – Build shared understanding

Break down situation to identify the root cause of a misunderstanding
Survey all necessary parties to reach consensus
Support outcome of parties’ agreement
Investigate potential misunderstandings

Task 11 – Engage and support virtual teams

Examine virtual team member needs (e.g., environment, geography, culture, global, etc.)
Investigate alternatives (e.g., communication tools, colocation) for virtual team member engagement
Implement options for virtual team member engagement
Continually evaluate effectiveness of virtual team member engagement

Task 12 – Define team ground rules

Communicate organizational principles with team and external stakeholders
Establish an environment that fosters adherence to the ground rules
Manage and rectify ground rule violations

Task 13 – Mentor relevant stakeholders

Allocate the time to mentoring
Recognize and act on mentoring opportunities

Task 14 – Promote team performance through the application of emotional intelligence

Assess behavior through the use of personality indicators
Analyze personality indicators and adjust to the emotional needs of key project stakeholders

Domain II – Process — 50%

Task 1 – Execute project with the urgency required to deliver business value

Assess opportunities to deliver value incrementally
Examine the business value throughout the project
Support the team to subdivide project tasks as necessary to find the minimum viable product

Task 2 – Manage communications

Analyze communication needs of all stakeholders
Determine communication methods, channels, frequency, and level of detail for all stakeholders
Communicate project information and updates effectively
Confirm communication is understood and feedback is received

Task 3 – Assess and manage risks

Determine risk management options
Iteratively assess and prioritize risks

Task 4 – Engage stakeholders

Analyze stakeholders (e.g., power interest grid, influence, impact)
Categorize stakeholders
Engage stakeholders by category
Develop, execute, and validate a strategy for stakeholder engagement

Task 5 – Plan and manage budget and resources

Estimate budgetary needs based on the scope of the project and lessons learned from past projects
Anticipate future budget challenges
Monitor budget variations and work with governance process to adjust as necessary
Plan and manage resources

Task 6 – Plan and manage schedule

Estimate project tasks (milestones, dependencies, story points)
Utilize benchmarks and historical data
Prepare schedule based on methodology
Measure ongoing progress based on methodology
Modify schedule, as needed, based on methodology
Coordinate with other projects and other operations

Task 7 – Plan and manage quality of products/deliverables

Determine quality standard required for project deliverables
Recommend options for improvement based on quality gaps
Continually survey project deliverable quality

Task 8 – Plan and manage scope

Determine and prioritize requirements
Break down scope (e.g., WBS, backlog)
Monitor and validate scope

Task 9 – Integrate project planning activities

Consolidate the project/phase plans
Assess consolidated project plans for dependencies, gaps, and continued business value
Analyze the data collected
Collect and analyze data to make informed project decisions
Determine critical information requirements

Task 10 – Manage project changes

Anticipate and embrace the need for change (e.g., follow change management practices)
Determine strategy to handle change
Execute change management strategy according to the methodology
Determine a change response to move the project forward

Task 11 – Plan and manage procurement

Define resource requirements and needs
Communicate resource requirements
Manage suppliers/contracts
Plan and manage procurement strategy
Develop a delivery solution

Task 12 – Manage project artifacts

Determine the requirements (what, when, where, who, etc.) for managing the project artifacts
Validate that the project information is kept up to date (i.e., version control) and accessible to all stakeholders
Continually assess the effectiveness of the management of the project artifacts

Task 13 – Determine appropriate project methodology/methods and practices

Assess project needs, complexity, and magnitude
Recommend project execution strategy (e.g., contracting, finance)
Recommend a project methodology/approach (i.e., predictive, agile, hybrid)
Use iterative, incremental practices throughout the project life cycle (e.g., lessons learned, stakeholder engagement, risk)

Task 14 – Establish project governance structure

Determine appropriate governance for a project (e.g., replicate organizational governance)
Define escalation paths and thresholds

Task 15 – Manage project issues

Recognize when a risk becomes an issue
Attack the issue with the optimal action to achieve project success
Collaborate with relevant stakeholders on the approach to resolve the issues

Task 16 – Ensure knowledge transfer for project continuity

Discuss project responsibilities within team
Outline expectations for working environment
Confirm approach for knowledge transfers

Task 17 – Plan and manage project/phase closure or transitions

Determine criteria to successfully close the project or phase
Validate readiness for transition (e.g., to operations team or next phase)
Conclude activities to close out project or phase (e.g., final lessons learned, retrospective, procurement, financials, resources)

Domain III Business Environment — 8%

Task 1 – Plan and manage project compliance

Confirm project compliance requirements (e.g., security, health and safety, regulatory compliance)
Classify compliance categories
Determine potential threats to compliance
Use methods to support compliance
Analyze the consequences of noncompliance
Determine necessary approach and action to address compliance needs (e.g., risk, legal)
Measure the extent to which the project is in compliance

Task 2 – Evaluate and deliver project benefits and value

Investigate that benefits are identified
Document agreement on ownership for ongoing benefit realization
Verify measurement system is in place to track benefits
Evaluate delivery options to demonstrate value
Appraise stakeholders of value gain progress

Task 3 – Evaluate and address external business environment changes for impact on scope

Survey changes to external business environment (e.g., regulations, technology, geopolitical, market)
Assess and prioritize impact on project scope/backlog based on changes in external business environment
Recommend options for scope/backlog changes (e.g., schedule, cost changes)
Continually review external business environment for impacts on project scope/backlog

Task 4 – Support organizational change

Assess organizational culture
Evaluate impact of organizational change to project and determine required actions
Evaluate impact of the project to the organization and determine required actions

Learning Resources for Project Management Professional (PMP)

There are numerous resources that can be used for preparation. But cracking the certification becomes difficult when the set of resources chosen is not apt. You should be very careful while choosing the resources as they will determine actually how well you will pass the exam. Let us have a look at a handful of resources with the Pmp Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide.

Resource 1: Books the Ultimate Guide

Books are the most valuable and reliable source for collecting the information relating to the theoretical concepts of the syllabus. You can refer to as many books as you want and can get them from bookstores or libraries. Make sure that the books you select has all the necessary concepts that will be asked in the exam. also, the book should offer maximum practice exercises that will help to understand better and learn the things for a long time. The book prescribed by the PMI is – A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

Firstly, a Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) is a go-to reference book.
PMP: Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide by Kim Heldman
Head First PMP: A Learner’s Companion to Passing the Project Management by Andrew Stellman (Author)
Also, the Project Management Professional Pmp Handbook

Resource 2: Taking the Online classes and Instructor-Led Training

You can also refer to Project Management Professional Training and online classes in order to clear the concepts and develop a strong understanding. Since the person taking the exam is already experienced in the field of project management. He is completely trained in the practical aspects of the exam. more focus should now be paid to the theoretical aspect which can be made strong by getting trained from experts or by getting classes by a reliable organization.

Resource 3: Referring to Online Community

Online communities consist of professions in the specific field or the people who are interested in the similar arena. So, don’t be hesitant in asking the questions over this platform. You can also ask for the study strategy or about the resources that were referred by them in order to clear the exam. you can refer to the following clubs as prescribed by PMI:

ProjectManagement.com: Plenty of blog posts and community discussions are devoted to exam-prep challenges and advice.
PMI’s LinkedIn project professional group: A great place to post a question about the exam-prep process when you’ve hit a wall.
Local PMI chapters: These can be another resource when you need a hand.

Resource 4: Evaluating your self with Practice Test

The Pmp Project Management Professional Practice Tests are one way to evaluate your progress. They help you in identifying week portions of your preparation. You get to know about your loopholes and this reduces the chances of silly mistakes which can affect your result in a bad manner. There are many reliable sites which helps you by providing sample papers and test series. Some provide free practice tests too. Try a free practice test now! Make sure to practice as much as you can in order to reach the best level.

Additional Resources and Tips to Prepare for the PMP Updated Exam

Learn about the PMP Exam Updates
Review the PMP Handbook.
Enrol in a formal study course. You can also review self-study books published by other reputable training organizations.
Review the latest edition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition.

Validate your skills and Climb up the corporate ladder by taking the Project Management Professional Certification Exam. Start preparing for the Project Management Professional Certification Exam now!