PMP Exam Study Notes

Studying for the PMP® Exam

Introduction

This section provides information on RMC's study methods for the PMP® exam, application instructions, and requirements. It includes:

  • A self-evaluation checklist
  • Guidance on maximizing study time with this book
  • Key definitions
  • Information on RMC's tools
  • An overview of the PMP® exam
  • Important exam aspects
  • Sample questions
  • PMI-isms
  • Study plans

Tricks of the Trade for Studying

The PMP® exam preparation is a journey that enhances career growth and skills. Passing the exam requires understanding project management processes, practices, and the project manager's responsibilities, along with tailoring tactics to different project situations.

The PMP exam evaluates your knowledge and experience in applying project management principles. According to PMI®'s 2020 salary survey, PMP-certified project managers earn 16% more globally than those without certification. Many RMC students reported receiving bonuses, raises, or job offers due to their certification. The PMP certification can be a key factor in job security and promotion.

Qualifying to Take the Exam

To qualify for the PMP exam, you must meet specific requirements:

  • Experience leading projects cannot overlap.
  • Graduates of PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC) programs receive a 12-month experience credit.
  • Work experience must be professional.
  • You need 35 contact hours of formal project management education unless you are an active CAPM® holder.

Always verify the current requirements on pmi.org, as PMP requirements are subject to change.

Educational Background

  • Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate degree, or global equivalent) OR
  • Four-year degree (bachelor’s or global equivalent) OR
  • Bachelor’s or post-graduate degree from a GAC-accredited program (bachelor’s, master’s, or global equivalent)

Project Management Work Experience

  • Minimum five years/60 months of unique, non-overlapping professional project management experience
  • Minimum three years/36 months of unique, non-overlapping professional project management experience
  • Minimum two years/24 months of unique, non-overlapping professional project management experience

This book prepares you for the exam's terminology and practices. If you don't meet the requirements, consider the CAPM exam.

Applying to Take the Exam

Applications are submitted online to PMI. The process includes:

  1. Checking the application status on pmi.org.
  2. Paying for the exam after eligibility verification.
  3. Scheduling the exam at a testing center or online.
  4. Passing the exam within one year of authorization (up to three attempts).
  5. Waiting one year to reapply after three failed attempts.

*Note: A percentage of candidates are randomly selected for audit and will need to provide a copy of your degree, verification of your experience by a manager, and proof of your 35 training hours (with exceptions to these 35 training hours for active CAPM holders).

Test your system before an online exam. Refer to PMI's certification handbook and pmi.org for testing details.

Are You Ready for the PMP Exam?

Half of the exam failures stem from a lack of fundamental project management training or experience with PMI terminology. This book will help you understand the PMI perspective. If the concepts are new or unfamiliar, consider fundamental training.

Other failures are due to insufficient real-world project management experience. The exam requires understanding various project types and development approaches, including plan-based, agile, and hybrid methodologies.

Examples:

  • Plan-based: Building a bridge, constructing a new building
  • Agile: Creating a product with incremental feature releases
  • Hybrid: Construction of a building (plan-based) with iterative interior finishing (agile)

Assess your knowledge and experience using the self-evaluation checklist. Identify and address any gaps in your knowledge to prepare effectively for situational exam questions. Most chapters include a Quicktest to identify areas needing improvement.

Self-evaluation Checklist

  • Managing a project with the urgency needed to deliver the benefits and value for which the project was selected.
  • Using a systematic, plan-driven project management process, and understanding why each step is necessary. Think about this as you review PMI’s Process Groups model in the “PMP* Exam References in Context” chapter and elsewhere throughout this book. Plan-driven and agile methods will be identified and compared.
  • Agile philosophy for project management, and good agile practices from a variety of agile methods, including Scrum, Lean, and Kanban.
  • The roles of the project manager, sponsor, product owner, team, and stakeholders.
  • The use of historical information from previous projects, including lessons learned.
  • What a formal project charter is and knowing what it requires.
  • Prioritizing project constraints sufficiently to balance and manage competing constraints.
  • What a work breakdown structure (WBS) is and how to create it.
  • Creating a product and project vision sufficient to create a high-level product roadmap.
  • Using a prioritized, risk-adjusted backlog of product features to create stories for iterations of product development.
  • Understanding the interconnected relationship of activities (dependencies) to create the network diagram for a plan-driven project.
  • What the critical path is, how to find it, and what benefits it provides the project manager.
  • Using a variety of estimating techniques, including rough order of magnitude (ROM), three-point estimating, or relative estimating such as affinity sizing and story point estimating.
  • Doing earned value analysis and management.
  • Carrying out schedule “what if” analysis and schedule compression (crashing and fast tracking).
  • Managing project float and activities that do not have float.
  • Creating a realistic schedule.
  • Managing the quality of both the project and the resulting deliverables.
  • Developing relationships with stakeholders, and keeping them interested and involved in the project.
  • Using the meetings and feedback loops necessary to continuous progress and continuous improvement on agile projects—for example, daily standups, iteration review, and iteration retrospectives.
  • Using information radiators to keep stakeholders informed and engaged.
  • Understanding the process of risk management.
  • Calculating reserves and understanding their relationship to risk management.
  • Creating a realistic and approved project management plan that you are willing to be held accountable to achieving.
  • Monitoring and controlling the project according to the project management plan.
  • Managing change requests and controlling change.
  • Planning and developing iteratively and incrementally for change-driven projects.
  • Understanding the professional and social leadership responsibilities expected of a project manager.
  • Ensuring that roles and responsibilities are clear and that team members are properly trained and oriented to the project and the selected life cycle and development approach.

How to Use This Book

Ensure you have the latest materials. This edition aligns with the Examination Content Outline (ECO) for exams after January 2021 and uses concepts from PMI resources:

  • The PMBOK® Guide, Seventh Edition (©2021)
  • The Standard for Project Management
  • Process Groups: A Practice Guide (©2023)
  • Agile Practice Guide (©2017)

This book provides the necessary information for the exam.

Terminology

It is important to define terms upfront. Other terms are described within relevant chapters. If a term is not defined, it is assumed to be a fundamental project management term. PMI provides a Lexicon of Project Management Terms.

Project Environments and Project Management Approaches
  • Project Environment: Organizations use plan-driven, agile, or hybrid approaches depending on factors like organization type, products/services, governance, and strategic goals.
  • Project Approach: This is a selective approach based on project type, size, priority, and complexity. It depends on how accurately scope and constraints can be defined early.

We use the following terminology for consistency:

  • Environments: Predictive, adaptive, or hybrid.

  • Approaches: Plan-driven, agile, or hybrid.

    • A plan-driven approach is also knows as traditional or waterfall (or predictive).
    • An agile approach may also be known as adaptive.

Project Life Cycle
A life cycle is a progression through developmental stages, reflecting the methodology for managing a project. It is a logical breakdown based on product type, industry, and organizational preferences. A project life cycle can use plan-driven, change-driven, or hybrid approaches.

Example: New product development life cycle: research, design, build, test, and implement.

Book Organization

This book contains six exam content-related sections.

Section I: Tricks of the Trade for Studying for the PMP Exam

This is a single-chapter section.

Section II: Foundations

This section provides foundational knowledge.

  • “Exam References in Context”
    • Examination Content Outline (ECO)
    • PMI’s Process Groups Model
    • Rita’s Process Chart'”
    • Rita’s Agile Process Chart”
    • Agile Approach Overview
    • Hybrid Approach Overview
    • PMBOK* Guide, Seventh Edition Overview
  • “Project Management Foundations”
  • “Integration”

Sections III-V

These sections cover information from the ECO domains, Process Groups model, and plan-driven, agile, and hybrid practices.

  • Section III: The ECO People Domain
  • Section IV: The ECO Process Domain
  • Section V: The ECO Business Environment Domain

Section VI: How to Pass the First Time

Instructions for continuing your studies until you are prepared to sit for and pass the PMP exam.

  • “Tips for Passing the PMP* Exam the First Time”
  • “Common Agile Methodologies”
  • “Additional PMBOK* Guide, Seventh Edition Concepts”

Book Chapter Organization

Most chapters are organized with an introduction, Quicktest topics, process overview, and review materials. This book is part of the PMP Exam Prep System, including the PM FASTrack® Cloud exam simulator and Hot Topics flashcards. With your purchase, you gain access to RMC Interactive Chapter Quizzes.

Each of chapters four through nineteen contains:

  • Introduction and processes overview
  • Quicktest
  • Graphic tables and process overview charts
  • Review materials and exercises

You'll be prompted to create and use an Exercise Notebook. Record answers in a separate notebook (physical or electronic) to track gaps in knowledge.

Included in the review material are tricks to passing the exam called Tricks of the Trade®.

RMC Resources Web Page: RMC offers a web-based resource to help you stay up-to-date on materials. Our RMC Resources web page (rmcls.com/rmc-resources or scan the QR code) is a robust study tool that provides supplemental material for you to work with as well as errata and other updates to this book.

RMC Interactive Chapter Quizzes

The RMC Interactive Chapter Quizzes is an interactive tool with questions that pertain to chapters 2 through 15, which allows you to review the material and test your understanding. This tool will show you how you scored on the chapter quizzes as you work with this tool. The questions in the chapter quizzes are representative of the knowledge and principles tested on the exam. Remember to focus on reading the book, exercises, and filling knowledge gaps.

What Is the PMP Exam Like?

Keep in mind
  • The exam is not a test of the information in the PMBOK® Guide. Its questions are written by project managers with the PMP certification, based on real-world situations.
  • While your real-world experience is essential to helping you pass the exam, you cannot rely on it alone.
  • Training in professional project management that is aligned with the ECO, the Process Groups model presented in Process Groups: A Practice Guide, and the Agile Practice Guide is critical for exam success.

The exam includes 180 situational questions in formats like multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and hot spot. The exam duration is 230 minutes with two 10-minute breaks. 175 of the 180 questions are scored. The passing score is estimated between 61% and 64% (110-114 correct questions).

The distribution of questions across ECO domains is:

  • People: 42%
  • Process: 50%
  • Business Environment: 8%
  • Total: 100%

For the latest information, check pmi.org and read the ECO, Certification Handbook, and authorization notice.

Additional Important Aspects of the Exam

  • The exam tests knowledge, application, and analysis.

  • The exam deals with practical experience.

  • There may be instances on the exam where the same data are used for multiple questions. You may also see data repeated in answer choices.

  • Many questions focus on “what should the project manager do” in the given question situation.

    • As you recognize a process on an exam question you should be able to bring to mind what artifacts (sometimes referred to as inputs) and what methods you need as a project manager to carry out the process.
    • You must also understand what artifacts you have as a result of a particular process once it is carried out (sometimes referred to as outputs).
    • In addition to artifacts and methods for carrying out processes, you should understand the desired outcomes of processes.

  • Historically, there have been up to 6 or 7 formula-related calculations on the exam, but more recently there have been only 1 to 3.

  • Expect 7 to 10 earned-value questions on the exam. Note that most earned value questions focus primarily on your understanding of the concepts behind earned value and not on performing calculations.

  • Project management terminology often uses acronyms.

  • Most people feel uncertain about only 36 or fewer of the 180 questions on the exam.

  • The exam software has tools helpful in processing questions.

    • Mark for Review
    • Highlight
    • Strikethrough

Question Examples

Questions are situational, based on real-world scenarios, and may have ambiguous wording with multiple plausible answers.

1. Situational questions
  • A major item purchased for a project is delayed. The best action is to meet with the team to identify alternatives (Answer D).
2. Questions with two or more right answers
  • These questions require analysis and elimination. Consider the "best thing to do next".
3. Questions with extraneous information
  • Irrelevant details are included to distract you. Focus on the core question.
4. Questions using made-up terms
  • If you're well-prepared and encounter an unfamiliar term, it's likely incorrect
5. Questions where understanding is important
  • You must grasp underlying concepts to answer correctly.
6. Questions with a new approach to a known topic
  • The description might differ from your expectations.
7. Questions with more than one item in each choice
  • Use the process of elimination one item at a time.
8. Excessively wordy questions
  • The first step in answering many questions is to determine what the question is really asking, and then to translate the wordy phrasing.

Questions in Different Format Types

  • Multiple responses answer

    • Questions using this format ask you to choose two or three correct answers

  • Hot spot questions

    • These types of questions show you a graphic on which you will have to click a “hot spot” containing the correct answer