pmp faqs
GETTING STARTED
What is the PMP certification?
The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is the industry-recognized certification for project managers. Achieving PMP certification demonstrates to employers the experience, education, skill, and competency required to lead and direct projects and is valued by both the private and public sectors due to the strict standards and requirements that the Project Management Institute (PMI) has issued for the certification. PMPs can be assured that the certification will retain its value for decades, as PMI dedicates significant resources to ensuring that it remains the industry leader in PM certifications.
Why should I become a PMP, and what are the benefits?
There are many reasons to become a PMP, including better job opportunities, investment in yourself and your future, better performance at managing projects, a potential salary bump, and the chance to become a part of a profession that is projected to grow by 33 percent through 2027. However, every person’s story and motivation for becoming a PMP is different, and that is why it is important to ask yourself this question before you even look at the application. You are going to need to have something that motivates you when you spend an evening studying instead of socializing. Find your reason and remember it.
How much time should I set aside for studying?
This is a very personal decision and really depends on how much time you can dedicate to studying in a given week. I have spoken with people who had significant PM experience who were extremely aggressive with their study plans and dedicated 20 or more hours a week to studying in the course of only one month, but for most people, I would recommend creating a study plan of at least 2-3 months, with 4-6 hours across 2-3 weekdays plus a longer session on the weekend for practice exams.
When thinking about the total time it takes to get PMP-certified, however, it is important to consider the time needed to gather your materials for your application, for PMI to approve it, to respond to an audit request if required, and to schedule your exam. As a result, I typically advise people to plan on the entire process, from beginning the application to sitting for the exam, taking 3-4 months.
How much is it going to cost?
It really depends on which materials you decide to purchase, but the PMP does require a financial commitment. However, most who get the certification would agree that it is a worthwhile investment. For the purposes of these quotes below, I am going to assume the purchase of PMI membership to get member pricing for the exam fee and to assume that your employer does not help defray some of the costs (which you should check, as many do). All of these resources are updated for the new 2021 exam.
· PMI membership ($139; $129 annual fee + one-time $10 application fee)
· Exam fee ($405 if you become a PMI member, $555 if you are a non-member)
· PMBOK 6th edition (NOTE: The 7th edition is scheduled to be released in May 2021 but PMI has stated that the 6th edition can still be used to prepare for new exam) ($60)
· Rita Mulcahy PMP Exam Prep 10th edition ($80)
· PM Prepcast exam simulator ($149)
· Other training materials/coaching/bootcamps (This is where it can really vary, but I have assumed here about $200-300)
Total = $800-$1,200
Did I hear that the PMP exam is changing?
Yes – the PMP exam changed in January 2021. You can read the latest updates from PMI here and I also wrote a blog article about it. There isn’t a ton of information available other than the fact that PMI is shifting from the five current domains (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing) to three domains (People, Process, and Business Environment), and that half of the questions will be focused on predictive (plan-driven or Waterfall) methodologies and half on adaptive (Agile) methodologies, which is a shift that reflects where the industry as a whole is going. While the exam changed, the PMBOK did not, and the 6th edition is still the most current version, though the 7th edition is anticipated to be published in May 2021. Though the 7th edition is still in draft status as of now, PMI has stated that the process groups, knowledge areas, and ITTOs that constituted the structure of the 6th edition will no longer be fully included in the 7th edition (though they will be referenced). Instead, the 7th edition will shift from process groups to principles and from knowledge areas to project performance domains and there will be a MUCH greater emphasis on Agile.
APPLICATION PROCESS
What is the process of applying for the PMP actually like?
I know that when I was starting to study for the PMP, I found that the lack of succinct, clear information online made the process confusing. Therefore, I’ve listed the steps below:
· Step 1: Take a look at the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) eligibility requirements for taking the exam and make sure that you are currently eligible. The highest bar for most people to meet is the hours requirement (if you have a four-year degree, you must have 36 months of leading and directing projects; if you have less than a four-year degree, it is a 60-month period). Now, this may sound daunting, but you should count any time you’ve spent supporting a PM or helping with the management of a project in general. Additionally, you will need to have 35 hours of PM education (this can be undergraduate/graduate school classes, free online trainings, etc.). The important thing to note is that the training must have an exam at the end and a certificate given at the end of the course to serve as proof that you took it, so be sure to save them in case you are audited!
· Step 2: Once you have determined that you are eligible and compiled all of your information, it is time to apply! Once you have begun the application, you have 90 days to complete it. I often advise people to set aside at least 5-8 hours for completing the application itself. The reason is that PMI requires you to document your hours experience for every project you’ve worked on by domain and to write a succinct project description that contains “PMI-isms.” This is typically the first part of the process where people need support. For anyone I coach, I work closely with them to ensure that their project descriptions contain the correct language required by PMI, and I provide them with a template that helps to track their number and distribution of hours.
· Step 3: After you’ve submitted your application, you will find out immediately if you’ve been audited. While PMI states that audits are conducted randomly, based on conversations with some recent applicants, there is a chance that if you have fewer hours on your application, you may be more likely to be audited. An audit is a rather routine process; it requires you to send a form to all of the people you listed as project contacts and, so long as your project descriptions meet PMI’s standards and your project contacts attest to your experience, you should have no problem having your application approved. You have 90 days after you receive notice of an audit to respond.
· Step 4: After your application has been approved, it is time to begin studying! You have one year after your application has been approved to sit for the exam.
When I am writing my project descriptions, what should I focus on?
First, the new application has changed the character limit, but encouraged applicants to focus to 200-600 words per project.
Second, the content, language used, and phrasing of your project descriptions are extremely important to ensuring that your application is accepted; if they are not written exactly how PMI states they should be, your application will likely be rejected. Project descriptions should consist of the following:
· A brief, one-sentence project objective
· Project deliverables summarized by the new domains
· A brief, one-sentence project outcome
And nothing more. No information about who the client was, no technical jargon, no extraneous details. This isn’t a job interview - you are simply trying to show the PMI application reviewers that you have experience leading and managing projects.
Third, when determining what language to use, go to the process groups and to the PMBOK and try to frame your experience using that language as much as possible.
Fourth, and finally, be sure to have a current PMP-certified PM review your descriptions! Having been through it themselves, they can offer a second set of eyes and helpful feedback.
SIGNING UP FOR THE TEST
How often is the test offered?
The test itself is offered nearly every day of the week, so you can take it whenever you are ready. However, spots typically fill up at least 3-4 weeks out, so you should schedule your exam well enough in advance to ensure that you get the time/date you want. PMI recently changed its exam vendor from Prometric to Pearson Vue. This seems to be good news for test takers, as there are additional testing locations (using DC as an example, the number of test sites grew from one to four), which should mean that it will be more convenient and provide greater flexibility.
TEST DAY
What is test day like?
If you have ever taken the GREs or SATs at a controlled test site, it is a very comparable experience. If possible, try to visit the exam site before exam day. Typically, a test site offers the exam two times each day, either early morning or early afternoon. In either scenario, I would not recommend any studying the day of, other than perhaps one last look at the formulas that require memorization. If you practice mindfulness or yoga or deep breathing, consider setting aside time for those activities before your exam to help control anxiety. Be sure to get to the exam site at least one hour early. This time is necessary because, when you arrive, you will need to show documentation of your appointment, complete some paperwork, likely receive a key for a locker that you can use to store any materials you brought with you (as you can bring absolutely nothing, including phones, watches, calculators, food, paper, etc., with you into the actual test site), and go through security (which will consist of a thorough body check). Once you are through security, the proctor will show you to a computer in a room that you will share with many other people taking all different kinds of exams. Most sites provide you with headphones that you can use to muffle the ambient sound in the room, a calculator will be available on the computer itself, and you can request a sheet of paper and pencil. The proctor will provide some brief instructions as to how the exam will be administered on the screen, and then the exam begins!
What are some tips/things to consider on the day of the exam?
Like almost all of these answers, this one depends a lot on the type of learner you are and how you approach similar situations, but I’ve included some tips below that I found especially helpful and are general enough to be relevant to a broad group:
· Take the day off from work. You don’t want to be stressed about some e-mail exchange right before heading into a 4-hour exam.
· Bring water, snacks, etc. to eat during your breaks. The exam is four hours straight and the clock doesn’t stop when you leave, but I found it helpful to take 2-3 breaks throughout.
· Get to the exam site ONE HOUR early. I made the mistake of getting there only a half-hour early, not realizing that they want you to begin going through security a half-hour before your appointment. I was rushed and got off to a less-than-great start.
· As soon as you sit down, write down on the sheet of provided paper all of the formulas you have memorized in your head, as well as any other mnemonic devices you may have come up with (I had a rather inventive one for remembering the sequence of activities in the Planning domain).
· The exam interface allows you to “Mark” questions that you can come back to later. I found this option to be extremely helpful so that I didn’t linger too long on any one question (also, the PM Prepcast exam simulator has this functionality). The interface also allows you to draw a line through the answers, helping you to visually eliminate the incorrect answers.
· Also, my personal strategy is to use a sheet of paper to hide the answers until I’ve read the question. After reading, I try to think about what the answer might be. Then, I slowly lower the paper and reveal the questions one by one. In my experience, limiting the information helps me focus.
· Relax 😊