Frequently asked questions
There is a lot to know and understand about the entire certification process. I totally get the anxiety that occurs when presented with an opportunity to achieve a goal. Any goal. There is so much information out there and it can get confusing. I'd like to wade through some of the questions I typically get in my classes right about now, and hopefully, it will clear up some burning questions you may have as well. Later in this chapter, we'll go through the exam-specific questions I always get.
Who exactly is the PMI®?
The Project Management Institute (PMI)® is a global non-profit organization that has collected and provided the required standards and best practices based on years of study and professional standards. They adapt to the changing global market by making updates to the guide and exams. Project management became really influential in the 1960s, also known as the industrial age of building skyscrapers, railroads, and mass production facilities.
Reference
The Project Management Professional (PMP), PMBOK Guide, Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), the Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), and the Agile Practice Guide are a registered trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
Today, PMI® represents multiple project management certifications, including the PMP®, The Project Management Institute's Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®, the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®, and several others. PMI® also has over 800,000 PMP® certified practitioners to date in over 80 countries and they are still growing. Pretty impressive, right? That is why the PMP® is in the top five certifications to have, even above some of the high-tech certs such as Cisco and Microsoft certifications.
What is The PMBOK® Guide – 6th Edition?
It is a collection of best practices, processes, tools, and techniques that can be used for any project organized by knowledge areas.
I heard Agile is included – what is the deal with that?
You heard correctly! When the 6th edition was published, it came with a companion document called the Agile Practice Guide®. This was due to a collaboration between PMI® and the Agile Alliance®.
Those of us who have been immersed in both sets of vastly different types of project flow did a happy dance because this was the first time there was even a bit of cross-over.
This is how PMI® adapts to the ever-changing landscape of project management and how not every project is a one-size-fits-all approach to project management. The practice guide was written for those project teams in that messy middle ground between predictive and Agile or adaptive types of project life cycles. Don't worry – we'll cover it. This new exam is approximately 50% Agile and 50% predictive best practices.
The other big news is the acquisition of the Disciplined Agile (DA) approach by PMI®.
So, yes, Agile is here to stay! The Disciplined Agile influence hasn't affected the PMP® exam at the time of writing as they have their own certifications you can check out. I have two of the DA certs and I highly recommend you check them out as well – I think you'll really like them! At least, that is what my crystal ball says anyway.
Predictive and adaptive? What does that mean?
Great question! In the following section, you can see the main differences at a high level, as well as how this all unfolds throughout this guide. I can't give away all the good stuff right away, right?
Predictive project management – PMP® and CAPM®
Being able to predict the result makes it easier to build a front-loaded project management plan. This is sometimes referred to as waterfall project management.
If you know the outcome is a bridge, it's a pretty good assumption that when you are finished, you will have a bridge. That makes it a more complete scope of work from the beginning.
Knowledge of the result doesn't mean things will go exactly as planned (I see you nodding your heads). It just means that a plan is in place and if something changes, then there is a formal change control procedure taking place and updates are made to the plans as needed.
Note
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) - Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017.
Adaptive or Agile project management – The Agile Practice Guide® and PMI-ACP®
These were created originally for software development when the predictive processes were not working in the context of software development.
Developing software needed a more flexible process due to the ever-changing scope of work. You may know you are developing an app for a client to help them pass their PMP® exam, but you may not know exactly how it is going to unfold – yet.
Agile isn't just for software anymore, and there is room in some projects for a variety of best practices, regardless of the scope of work. Staying flexible in planning and how the project is approached is more relevant today in the technological age. You are able to adapt faster and practice agility. Make sense? If not, I have a bunch of good Agile information for you as we proceed through this guide.
Note
The Project Management Professional (PMP), PMBOK Guide and the Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), and the Agile Practice Guide are a registered trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
I heard the PMP® exam is super difficult, is that true?
Yes, it is true. I say that not to scare you but to be honest with you. The PMP® exam is the most difficult non-technical certification exam in the world. Yes, you read that correctly. In the world! That is why the PMP® is also one of the most prestigious certifications in the world. Don't worry – you'll be well prepared.
Can I cram for this exam? I have like zero time to study
That is a resounding nope, no, and no. This is not an exam you can cram for. In fact, the majority of the questions are situational. "You are a PM and this happens – what do you do or what do you not do?"
Because of the structure of the exam, rote memorization will not help you in a lot of the content and questions. The experts recommend that you need about 100 hours of study to be properly prepared to pass the exam the first time around.
100 hours of study???
Yes, yep, and absolutely! I realize that sounds like a lot, but I'll be there with you to help out, give advice, and provide exam tips throughout. It is your exam, and it is your study time, so with that all being said, if you are ready in 50 hours, then go for it! I'm quoting the experts here – oh wait, that's me. I'm attempting CYA here – covering my assets, if you will.
Will your practice exams match my exam?
That is a resounding nope, no, and no as well. Here's the deal with practice exams: they are meant to help you conceptualize information and solidify it. I'll do my best to get as close as possible, though!
If you are scoring over 90% on these practice exams, it is time to move on to other practice exams. The reason I say that is because these (and all practice exam questions, everywhere) are different from the actual exam questions. If you answer these questions often enough, you will start to memorize the correct answer. Not knowing why it is the correct answer but because you have done it enough times that you recognize "3" is the correct answer spells disaster for the exam.
"Okay, I get that," you say to yourself, "but this is supposed to be an exam prep guide. Why can't you, the author/expert, get closer to the real questions?".
That is a great question as well. There is a test pool of questions for the exam that range anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 floating around out there and growing as new information is presented. When you sit down to take your exam, the computer selects 180 questions from that pool. Those questions are written by hundreds of different volunteers, with different voices, different ways to present information, and different writing styles.
You could be sitting next to everyone in your organization taking the PMP® or the CAPM® exam and chances are they would all get a different group of questions. It's a lot to ask to have one or several people try to generate everything you might see in your exams.
I've been around this content for so many years and teaching it to a variety of different fantastic people around the world for so long that I have knowledge of the concepts that you will be tested on. I know the most important topics and what people can expect to see presented in their exams, as outlined by the most current exam content outline. What I can't do is predict exactly how many scope questions you will get compared to how many formula questions you will get, how those questions will be structured, and so on. I can only provide the content you will be tested on, based on the exam content outline and the content of The PMBOK® Guide – 6th Edition.
So, if you are planning on using a variety of study guides and study aids and you read a review that states in no uncertain terms that the practice questions were nothing like they were in their exam, ignore it. Everyone's questions will be different in the exam. Some will be better than others for sure. Read the reviews for the content presented and whether the guide was understandable and cohesive or not.
The soapbox has now been firmly put away.
Am I going to pass the exam the first time?
I certainly hope so! But that depends on how you study, how many practice exams you take, and your understanding of the materials. I know my students' pass rates are in the high 90s the first time out of the gate, but some people do fail the exam the first time.
Yikes! What are the main reasons people fail the first time, so I don't fail my exam?
I'll answer that question with a question of my own. How many of you skim content when you read? If you appear to be playing video games on your Kindle when you read because you hit the next page button too quickly, you may fall under that skimmer status. If you are just trying to get the gist of the news online but not the actual details, you may be a skimmer. The number one reason why people don't pass the first time is that they don't read carefully. For the skimmers, read carefully! Trust me – I'm in the same boat and I have to force myself to study differently than I would if reading a novel.
"The sky was bright that day, the winds brushed the trees like they were butterflies flapping their wings, and creating hurricanes somewhere around the world."
Wait... what? All I saw was hurricanes and I wrote it! I'm a skimmer too, so I know the importance of reading the questions and all of the answers carefully so that I don't inadvertently choose the wrong answer. In fact, one thing I did a bit differently and still do during exams is read the answers from the bottom up. 4, 3, 2, 1. Why? Because I'm a bit neurotic... err... a skimmer and it forces my brain to stop and read all of the answers. This is important because it may appear that there are two correct answers and if the first feasible answer is answer #2 and I choose it, I may have missed the actual answer, which could be #4. It's just something that works for me, so I'm throwing it out there for the skimmers. Hopefully, you skimmers actually read that sentence.
The second reason why people don't pass the exam the first time is they add a backstory to the content. I'm a huge offender here. Let's say the question is presented this way:
Doug is a project manager who is working on a large infrastructure project. He has been notified of a conflict situation between the vendor and his foreman and is deciding how best to deal with it. The foreman is the one who is working directly with the seller and is in charge of all procurements. Whose job is it to reduce the conflict situation?
- The PM
- The foreman
- The sponsor
- The project management office (PMO)
Which did you choose? Here's how people who add a backstory respond to a question like this:
"Why is there a conflict? Maybe the foreman is angry because the vendor showed up late. Maybe it's because their scope of work isn't quality. I know that if I were a PM, I'd step right in there and work it out. Wait, maybe the PMO should do it because I don't like conflict."
See where I'm going with this? Do not add anything additional to the question because the next thing you will notice is the clock ticking and you still have no idea what the answer is. By the way, the correct answer is 2. The foreman. I'll explain more in the control procurement section, but the reason for this is that the foreman is the person dealing directly with the seller and understands the contract better than you do. The main point is to not add anything else to the question to help it conform to your day-to-day experiences, which leads me to the next reason why people don't pass the first time.
The third reason is, forcing the way you do things into the questions or the answers. Remember that not everything is going to align with your day-to-day experiences and in this case, The PMBOK® Guide – 6th Edition wins every single time. You may see two answers that are seemingly correct – one that you would do and one that could be the correct answer – and you go back and forth between them. It's going to happen more times than you may expect. The best way to avoid this is to understand the concepts covered in this guide and in The PMBOK® Guide – 6th Edition and absorb them completely. There is only one correct answer to every question on the PMP® exam and that correct answer is aligned with The PMBOK® Guide – 6th Edition and the updated exam content outline. Not how Bob in IT does things.
The CAPM® exam has been updated to include multiple answers to some questions, as well as a match feature. At the time of writing, the PMP® exam does not have those types of questions.
The fourth reason people don't pass the first time is they submit the exam too soon. You have almost 4 hours to answer 180 questions. It sounds like a lot of time, doesn't isn't? That is 230 minutes to answer 180 questions. If you are submitting after 3 or fewer hours, you didn't read the questions carefully, and no doubt will not pass.
The fifth reason is that people go back and change their answers due to second-guessing and exam anxiety. Trust your instincts as they are better than you think they are. Do not change an answer unless you know for a fact you read the question or answers incorrectly.
Finally, I would say the sixth reason is people don't study is they think they can cram for this exam. As I already mentioned, that is a solid no.
Do I need other study materials?
I would love to say, "oh no way, I'm the total and only expert you ever need," and that may well be the case (back firmly patted), but I am not the be-all and end-all. Am I an expert? Absolutely. Am I the only expert? Absolutely not.
I recommend having a copy of The PMBOK® Guide – 6th Edition on hand. You can obtain a copy from www.pmi.org or even on Amazon or other bookselling sites. Here is a way to get both the guide and the Agile Practice Guide® while saving yourself some money. If you choose to join the Project Management Institute, you will have access to many white papers, discussions, job boards, discounts on books, and conversation opportunities with PMs around the world for the international events done yearly. Yes, membership has its benefits.
The membership is for 1 year and you can renew as needed or wanted. The benefits include a free PDF download of the PMBOK® Guide – 6th Edition and the Agile Practice Guide®. It's searchable and highly recommended. You will also get a discount on your exams – all of that for basically the same price as your original exam costs. Always check www.pmi.org for membership costs and exam costs as things change pretty rapidly in project management. You do not need to be a member to secure the guide(s) or to sit the exam.
There are also numerous guides, practice exams, and other sites that can provide a different voice to the content that may resonate with you as well. That is totally okay. I would never suggest that this is all you need because I know how much content I give out to my classes at StormWind Studios and the recommendations I make to them. This is your learning experience, so treat it like you would any important experience. Do your homework, ask questions, investigate other options for focused study, and adapt and overcome as needed.
I heard the application is difficult. Are you going to cover that in this guide?
You bet! I'll walk you through the entire application process and I promise you will find some great tips and support for the application. The application was recently updated in June 2020 to make it easier than ever! You can mark the total duration of projects with start and finish dates, drop-down menus, and a 500-word explanation section. You will need at least 200 words in your description of your project work. Right now, that should be the furthest thing from your mind, as you can't submit that application until certain criteria have been met. You may want to come back to this chapter when you are ready for application submission.
What are the qualifications for the PMP® exam?
That is an excellent question and it's super important that you understand this section so that you know which exam to apply for based on your experience. You can also review this at www.pmi.org, on the Certification tab. You can select which certification you are looking for and download a handbook that walks you through everything in the process. The following list provides you with an overview of the qualifications:
PMP® exam required qualifications:
- 4,500 hours (about 3 years) of project management experience leading and directing projects if you have a college degree (BA or above) and 36 months of documented experience.
- 7,500 hours (about 5 years) if you are a high school graduate or have an associate degree or GED and 70 months of documented experience.
- 35 hours of project management education.
- Your experience can go back 8 years, meaning 3 to 5 years within the last 8 years.
CAPM® exam required qualifications:
- Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate degree, or the global equivalent). The other qualifications (education hours and experience hours) were dropped in August 2019 to help CAPM®-certified people have a clearer path to the PMP®.
The CAPM® now can be maintained much like the PMP® with professional development units every 3 years. At that point, most people take their PMP®.Note. The CAPM® and PMI-ACP® exams can now be taken at home via an online proctor.
See www.pmi.org for more information.
What does project management education mean?
This means you would need someone like me to teach you the content for a certain amount of contact hours based on your certification choice. 1 contact hour = 1 hour of training. There are numerous programs out there, including my course at StormWind Studios and PM Guru (https://www.stormwindstudios.com/project-management/pmp-6th-edition-certification-prep/), as well as the many amazing colleagues I have in the business who also teach fantastic certification classes. A little homework and a check of your budget for training can go a long way to meeting those requirements. Unfortunately, self-study doesn't count toward your contact hours, so you'll need to make sure your training provider can offer the contact hours. Look for Authorized Training Partners (ATP) who have the ability to offer contact hours to their students. Of course, self-study is the most important way to prepare for the exam outside of a class, so it's great you are reading this guide!
I took a PMP® boot camp 4 years ago, does that count?
Yes, those hours count and don't ever expire pre-certification. However, a word to the wise, the PMBOK® Guide is currently in its 6th edition. Four years ago or longer information that was provided for the earlier editions' concepts resulted in a different exam. Have things changed? Yes, they very much have changed. This edition is so much more different from the 4th or 5th editions. While you have the contact hours already, it is good you are reading this so that you have the most up-to-date information for your exams.
