https://www.project-management-prepcast.com/

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https://www.project-management-prepcast.com/

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Hello and welcome back to the PM PrepCast. We’re the PMP exam preparation course that

boldly goes where no other course has gone before. I am your instructor Cornelius Fichtner.

In this lesson we will provide an overview of the following aspects of the PMP Exam:

• We’ll talk about who PMI is and what credentials and certifications they offer

• We will introduce you to the PMP eligibility requirements

• We’ll talk a bit about what and how to document things for your application

• We’ll then we have 5 slides that are a “mixed bag” of various exam topics, which we

simply titled “Exam Info”

• And we also need to introduce you to the fact that the PMP exam is not for life, but

instead you will have to maintain your certification every 3 years. But don’t worry… you

only have to take the exam once. Maintenance works without re-taking the exam.

I also need to mention that Module 70 of The PM PrepCast also looks at a lot of other

details of the exam. This presentation here is more about how the exam is administered,

the application process and what happens after you successfully pass the exam. Module

14 then looks at what you can expect on the exam in terms of its history, exam structure,

and the detailed content of what the questions will be all about.

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I am Cornelius Fichtner and I am the lead instructor. Thanks for your interest in our PMP exam preparation course. This free webinar will allow you to experience what the lessons in the course are like and will also help you on your road to becoming PMP certified.

The complete PM PrepCast has over 140 lessons that you can simply watch, learn from and then succeed on your PMP exam.

You can find all the details about the course and how it will make studying for your exam easier at https://www.project-management-prepcast.com/

And now... on with the show.

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And… At this point, it is important to note that this presentation is largely based on the

“Project Management Professional (PMP)® Handbook”, which forms the basis for the

PMP Exam and can be downloaded for free from the pmi.org website.

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Let’s begin with an introduction of The Project Management Institute (PMI), because PMI is

the organization that offers the PMP Certification.

PMI is one of the world's largest not-for-profit membership associations for the project

management profession, with more than 650,000 members and credential/certification

holders in more than 185 countries. PMI’s worldwide advocacy for project management is

supported by globally-recognized standards, credentials and certifications, an extensive

research program, and professional development opportunities.

Its members come from virtually every major industry, including aerospace, automotive,

business management, construction, engineering, financial services, information

technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, telecommunications, and many more. The PMP

Certification is valuable for every Project Manager, regardless of their industry.

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But PMI offers more than just the PMP certification. The family of PMI credentials and

certifications include:

• The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®, which is a good entry-level

certification if you’re new to project management, or still figuring out your career path.

• The PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMP)® certification, which is designed for

practitioners who utilize Agile approaches to project management on their projects.

• The Program Management Professional (PgMP)®, which is a credential designed for

those who manage multiple, complex projects to achieve strategic and organizational

results.

• The PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)®, which is a specialty credential

that demonstrates competence in assessing project risks, mitigating threats and

capitalizing on opportunities.

• The PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)®, which is a specialty credential for

practitioners who want to focus on developing and maintaining project schedules.

• The OPM3® Professional Certification, which recognizes your experience with, and

practical knowledge of, organization project management and project management

maturity.

• And finally The Project Management Professional (PMP)®, which is the most important

globally-recognized and independently validated credential for project managers. It’s for

all of us who have demonstrated experience and competence in leading project teams.

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• PMI credentials establish your dedication to and proficiency in project management.

• To attain a credential, you must satisfy the educational and professional

experience requirements established by PMI, and demonstrate your ability to

apply your project management knowledge to situational and scenario-based

questions during the examination.

• When you earn one or several of these prestigious credentials, you gain distinction and

recognition in a growing community of project management practitioners.

• A PMI credential also increases your visibility both within your organization, as well as

on a global level.

PMI Certifications are renowned and respected throughout the world. Part of that

marketability comes from the prestige of these PMI certifications. PMI has provided project

management certifications for over 25 years.

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Let’s begin our look at the PMP exam administration by reviewing the Application Timeline.

Application Submission

Window open 90 days

Application Completeness Review

10 business days (when submitted online)

Applicant Payment Process

(cannot schedule exam until you submit payment of credential fees)

Audit Process (Candidates are randomly selected for Audit)

5-7 business days (if application is selected for Audit)

Multiple-Choice Examination Eligibility

1 year (from the date of the application approval)

Mention that they have three attempts to pass during this year

Certification Cycle

3 years (from the date the exam is passed to obtain and report PDUs toward certification maintenance)

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The application is available as a PDF document (and the image you see here is a

representation of it’s first page) but the only sensible way to apply is really online, via the

pmi.org website where you can fill in the application electronically through your browser.

Much easier.

Here is what’s on the application on a high level. There is nothing really that you wouldn’t

expect.

• <Read the bullets>

Mention for payment that they should check the handbook for current cost.

Mention for special accommodations that this could be if you needed wheelchair access.

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But before you fill in your application you should check if you are even eligible to take the exam. So

let’s take a look at the prerequisites for the PMP exam. These eligibility requirements change

occasionally, so I urge you to go to the pmi.org web site and download a free copy of the official

“Project management Professional (PMP)® Handbook”. Print yourself a copy and study it to

make sure that you are eligible to take the exam.

The eligibility requirements for the PMP exam depend strongly on whether you have a high-school

diploma or Bachelor’s degree.

• If you are like me and you have a high school diploma but not a bachelor’s degree

• then you need to be able to show at least 5 years or 60 months or non-overlapping project

management experience.

• In addition you also need 35 contact hours of project management education.

• If, however, you do have a bachelor’s degree

• Then you still need to be able to show 3 years of 35 months of non-overlapping project

management experience

• And you also need the 35 contact hours of project management education.

The good news for you is that the 35 contact hours that you need in either case are already covered,

• Because you are watching The PM PrepCast. We are a PMI registered education provider and

this course here that you are currently watching fulfills this requirement from PMI.

But what about the experience (the two boxes at the top). What exactly do you have to be able to

show here? Let’s look at how PMI defines this.

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So the project management institute defines the project management experience that you need as follows:

<read quote>

I do however think that the word “specific” here is a typo. I think they wanted to say SPECIFIED. So… SPECIFIED in the Project Management Professional Examination Content Outline.

And of course, as I mentioned at the end of the first slide of this lesson, module 70 of The PM PrepCast takes you page by page through this outline. So do take a look at those lessons as well.

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PMI also states the following:

<read statement>

This means that in your 4,500 or 7,500 hours of PM experience you need to be able to show that you have worked on project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & controlling as well as closing. But it’s quite possible that there is one project where you were hired as a consultant in the planning phase and that’ s all you did for 800 hours… nothing but planning. That’s OK and it counts. But you have to have other projects where you worked on initiation, execution, monitoring & controlling as well as closing.

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PMI also talks about “months of non overlapping project experience”.

Here is what that means.

• Each month in which you worked on multiple, overlapping projects counts as one

month toward the total requirement.

• If a project manager worked on Project 1 and Project 2 simultaneously from February 1

– April 30, the time spent on both projects will be counted as three and not as six

months toward the total to fulfill the professional project management experience

requirement.

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Here is another way of looking at this. It’s how my friend Andy Kaufmann from the Institute for Leadership (i-leadonline.com) explains it: ...

PMI is looking for two things regarding work experience on the application: a number of unique months and a total number of hours of leading and directing. The required quantity depends on whether someone has a Bachelor's degree or equivalent but the two categories remain. Let's assume someone has a Bachelor's degree. They need to demonstrate at least 36 unique months of working on projects and a total of at least 4,500 hours. Let's say Project A went from January - October 2012, for a total of 1,200 hours. Project B went from July - December 2012 for a total of 800 hours. How does this get reported on an application? Project A would count as 10 months toward the 36 unique months. The months of July-October cannot be double-counted so Project B does not get credit for those months. However, the total hours for those two projects do count. So the totals for those two projects on the application are 12 unique months and 2,000 hours. They get to count the overlapping hours but not the months. NOTE: PMI assumes a 40 hour week so someone could not be full-time on Project A during August and full-time on Project B at the same time.

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Here is another item to consider as you are recording your experience. The number of hours you worked. Consider all of the projects that you have worked on and identify how many hours you worked on the project teams. For this section of the application, if you worked on multiple projects at one time, only the non-overlapping hours spent working can be used toward the total, up to a maximum of 40 hours per week.

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Here is one important PMP Exam Tip for you:

I highly recommended that you adjust your language and that you use and make the

vocabulary very specific. By this I meant that when you describe the projects you have

worked on you MUST use language as you would find it in the PMBOK Guide and not the

language that you used according to your company’s PM methodology.

Doing this will show PMI that you understand project from a PMI perspective and can

describe them in that way. You show that you are able to use the appropriate vocabulary for

the projects you document. It also ensures that the person reviewing your application can

easily recognize and understand the type of experience you have had.

It – just – makes – things – easier, for everyone.

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Here are three more tips for you:

1. I strongly recommend that you contact your previous employers and show them your

estimates of project hours. That way they know that you are applying for the exam and

they know that you are using them as a reference in the application. This is important,

because in case you get audited they have already seen your estimates and there won’t

be any undesirable miscommunication from them.

1. In fact, just a few days ago I received an email from a PMP trainer in Switzerland

and one of her students ran into exactly this problem. She got audited and when

she asked her former boss to sign, he said that he doesn’t remember all the

details and cannot sign it. I cannot really tell you yet what happened here,

beacuase it’s only been a few days since I heard of this case.

2. But what we have learned is this: Prepare for a possible audit by communicating

your application information proactively to everyone.

2. On the application you will be asked to identify and provide current information for your

primary contact for each project.

a) If you have been working in a specific company, then you can list either your direct

supervisor or your project sponsor.

b) If you worked for a consulting firm and you worked on client assignment, then do not

write down the contact information of your final client. List the name of your employer

and NOT your customer. After all, the central person who is best qualified to confirm

that you have worked on all of these projects is your employer.

a) It also makes it much easier for yourself. If you put down the names of 10

different customer contacts, then if you get audited you would have to send

the documentation to 10 different people. But if you put down your employer,

your supervisor, then you only have 1 person to contact.

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So let’s assume that you filled in your application. Here is generally how you would

schedule your exam.

• After your application is accepted by PMI

• you will receive an acceptance letter/e-mail from them..

• Once you have this acceptance you can schedule the exam.

• The computer-based exam itself is managed through a company called

Prometric.

• They have offices worldwide and there is probably a testing center in your area.

• You can now go to prometric.com/pmi to sign up and obtain an exam date.

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If you don’t know, you may be wondering what the actual exam is like. Let’s look at that

next.

(read bullets)

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• In total you will have 4 hours of time in which you will have to answer all of the 200 questions.

• And here is a quick exam tip for you. I really mean “answer ALL of the questions”. Don’t leave a single question unanswered. There is no penalty for answering a question incorrectly, but not answering a question means that it will automatically be counted as wrong. So not answering it counts against you.

• One inquiry I often get is the one about the exam passing score. In the past, PMI followed a simple % approach, so you knew that you needed to have x% of answers correct in order to pass. No more. Instead, PMI now follows “sound psychometric analysis”. Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational measurement. This field is primarily concerned with the construction and validation of measurement instruments such as questionnaires, tests, and personality assessments.

• For the PMP Exam this means: <Read the 2 bullet points>

• And here I say “maybe” because we really don’t know for sure how exactly PMI does their scoring. But on a very high level, this is what psychometrical analysis is all about:

• You’ll get 200 random questions from a pool of several thousand.

• The easier the questions that are contained on your particular exam the more of them will you have to answer correctly.

• And conversely, the more difficult your questions are, the fewer you need to be answering correctly in order to pass.

• So if you hear from anyone that the passing score is x%, please tell them that they don’t really understand how it works.

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Proficient: indicates that performance is above the average level of knowledge in this

domain

Moderately Proficient: indicates that performance is at the average level of knowledge in

this domain

Below Proficient: indicates that performance is below the average level of knowledge in this

domain

For all the details about this, please watch lesson 00.35 Your PMP Exam Score Report

where we go much more into detail.

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Here are a few action items that you should get started on soon to make sure that you are

on the right track for the exam.

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Once you pass your PMP exam you must show ongoing professional commitment to the

field of Project Management.

• A big part of this is the fact that the PMP certificate is not for life.

• Once you are a certificate holder, you need to adhere to PMI’s Continuing Certification

Requirements (CCR) program. To follow the program, participate in professional

development activities to earn professional development units (PDUs) and maintain your

credential.

• Every PMI credential or certification requires a specific amount of Professional

Development Units per three-year certification cycle. For the PMP you need 60 PDUs.

• And that’s not just once… you have to earn these PDUs and maintain your credential

every 3 years and includes a certification renewal fee.

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(KR – Check animation)

Descriptions can be found in the PMP Certification Handbook.

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Such PDUs are available for various activities:

- Attending a PMI chapter dinner meeting

- Self study (reading a book on project management)

- Teaching project management class

- Attending project management class

- Taking an online PM seminar

- Volunteering with your local PMI chapter

- etc.

We won’t be going any more into the details here. If you want the details, then take a look

at the PMP Handbook that contains a section about the CCR.

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There are many project managers out there that hold multiple certifications.

• For example, Joe and Sue here are both PMP certified but they are also PMP and PgMP

certified.

• This means that they need to earn

• 60 PDUs for their PMP or PgMP certificate renewal

• 30 PDUs for their PMP certificate renewal

• But the good news for them is, that they don’t actually need to earn 90 PDUs, because

the specialized PDUs for their PMI-ACP or PMI-SP renewal will also count for their PMP.

• In other words: If you are a dual certification holder, then always go ahead and earn your

30 Agile PDUs or your 30 SP / RMP PDUs first, because these will automatically count

toward your PMP or PgMP certification. Once you have the 30 specialized PDUs you

can go ahead and earn your other 30 “traditional” PDUs to complete the cycle.

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(KR – Do we have updated branding for these products yet?)

The most important information for you to remember is that you have to start earning these

PDUs the day after your exam and that you must obtain 30 every 3 years. We can help you

do this on the following websites:

www.pm-podcast.com

www.pducast.com

And that concludes our overview of the PMP Exam.

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That’s it for right now. But let me remind you that Module 70 of The PM PrepCast also

looks at a lot of other details of the exam. The lesson you have just watched was about how

the exam is administered, the application process and what happens after you successfully

pass the exam. Module 14 looks at what you can expect on the exam in terms of its history,

exam structure, and the detailed content of what the questions will be all about, because

that module looks in detail at the officially published PMP Examination Content Outline.

And with that we have come to the end of this lesson. So it's time for Justine to say "X" and

of course I say Until Next Time.

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https://www.project-management-prepcast.com/

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