Just Get PMP

I get lot of questions from PMP aspirants. Most of them are not related to the PMP content, but generally questions of administrative nature. Several questions were repeated; primarily out of anxiety from candidates.

I thought of putting together these questions on PMP examination here. This by no means is a comprehensive list of questions. I would add more questions as I come across them.

Question #1

I got the training of 35 hours in Project Management 2 years back which was conducted by PMI-Chennai chapter and now I am waiting for the PM experience to get completed in mid of this year. Whether I can apply for PMP with this training hours or I have to take a new training?

Question #2

I am planning to go for online 35 hours contact training now based on PMBOK 4th edition. However I would like to take the exam on PMBOK 5th edition after 4 to 5 months from now. So my question is the contact hours I gained on PMBOK 4th edition are eligible for taking PMBOK 5th edition exam also?

Question #3

I had taken the PMP 35 PDUs training for PMP 4th edition in Nov 2012, and due to some personal problems I was not able to prepare for this PMP Exam and have not taken yet, i,e till 5th May 2013. Now, I came to know that PMP 4th edition exam last date is 31 July 2013. I have not started preparation for this PMP exam, so can I prepare for this exam within 2 months?

Question #4

I have done my 35 hours PDU and I am in the process of completing my profile. Please advice whether I should take PMP4 exam or PMP5 exam. I just did the 35 hour PDUs last weekend.

I hope the above clarifications would help to cool down some of your anxiety. Do you have any other questions? Please feel free to shoot them.

Thought of sharing some photos taken during one of my PMP training programmes. The photos displayed below were taken during the PMP training programme conducted in Chennai, India. I conducted the PMP training programme for 4 days between 31 January and 3 February 2013.

PMI has started taking advance orders for the Fifth Edition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). I will refer this edition as PMBOK - Fifth Edition (or shortly PMBOK5) from now on in this article. PMI will be publishing the new edition in early January 2013.

Effective date of the changes
The PMP exam will be based on PMBOK - Fourth Edition until 31 July 2013. If you are appearing for the exam after 31 July 2013, you have to study based on the updated PMBOK - Fifth Edition.

What are the major changes expected?
1. A 10th Knowledge Area has been added and it will be known as Project Stakeholder Management.

2. Four new planning processes have been added:
Plan Scope Management
Plan Schedule Management
Plan Cost Management and
Plan Stakeholder Management

These four processes are included to reinforce the concept that each major Knowledge Area has a planning process focusing on how that area will be planned and executed. Including these planning processes also clears the inconsistency noted in PMBOK4 where certain management plans were not explicitly shown as outputs of any process.

I will discuss, in detail, about all the changes in PMBOK5 once PMI officially releases a copy.

How does the new version affect me?
I categorize the readers here into the following groups:

Category 1: Completed 35 hours PDU & scheduled the exam already; but, yet to take the exam
If you are in Category 1, please go ahead and complete the exam. Don't bother too much about the upcoming changes in PMBOK5. Your focus should be on PMBOK4 and clearing it on your first try. You have no time to play with. Don't mess it around; prepare well for the exam. Would like to know how I passed my PMP exam in first attempt?

Category 2: Just completed 35 hours PDU and awaiting to schedule the exam
If you are in Category 2, don't waste time. Quickly schedule your exam. The exam dates might become very difficult to get as you get closer to 31 July 2013. And, once again, you should prepare well to hit bulls eye on your first shot. Time is not with you.

Category 3: I am still in the research stage; yet to decide when to go for it
Time to take a decision. You have a choice to make. Rush for the established and well known PMBOK4 (or) wait for about 9 months to a year so that PMBOK5 becomes stable and you have enough materials for your exam preparation. If you would like to get the PMP quickly, go for the PMP training at the earliest (I suggest by this month). The more you delay, it would be difficult for you to appear for the exam based on PMBOK 4.

If you need further details on the above changes (or) if you are interested in any training for PMP examination, you can contact me at manick.pmp@gmail.com.

PMP Credential Scheme is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) against International Standards Organization (ISO) 17024. ISO 17024 specifies requirements for a body certifying persons against specific requirements, including the development and maintenance of a certification scheme for personnel. The PMP Credential Scheme is also registered against the ISO 9001:2008 standard for quality management systems.

A candidate for PMP Credential is assessed in the following three ways:

1. By reviewing his/ her education and professional experience
2. By testing his/ her competence in project management
3. Ongoing development through Continuing Certification Requirement (CCR) Program

PMP (Project Management Professional) is one exam which you cannot pass just by reading the books or having great experience as a project manager or as a project team member. It requires hard work, dedicated effort, good understanding of the project management concepts and thorough knowledge to apply the learnt concepts to practical project scenarios.

Take As Many Tests As You Can

The most important thing I would recommend for passing the PMP examination is to try and answer as many questions as possible. You cannot pass this exam without getting your hands dirty. Let us not get negative here. You will PASS the PMP exam if you prepare well, take as many tests as possible, find your shortfalls/ knowledge gaps, update your knowledge where you are weak, continue with more mock tests.

Number of Questions in Each Attempt

It is not necessary that you need to always take a full-length mock test. Keep yourself a simple target; everyday, I will try to answer 10 to 15 PMP questions. After completing the set target of PMP questions, go through your answers. Review why you could not answer a particular question or why you have answered wrongly or even how you got it right. This review exercise is very important to reinforce your understanding and further learning. Several candidates are merely interested in how much they scored; rather than having deep insight into their answers. Don't commit this mistake.

Time Factor for PMP Preparation

Another excuse candidates generally throw at me is "I don't have time; I am busy in my project. I have my family". Yes, I understand. Please understand that you are not the only person who is busy in this world. You wanted this PMP certification under your belt. So, no point giving excuses. When I was preparing the PMP exam few years ago, I used to be in a similar situation. I sat in a corner for a moment and told myself that I need to cross this hurdle whatever happens.

Plan Your Time

Once I committed myself, I allocated about 15 minutes of my lunch break to answer about 5 to 10 questions everyday. I normally used to relax myself during this time browsing the internet, having a chat with my colleagues or take a nap. I sacrificed this for PMP. As the exam date got nearer, I spent about half an hour at home answering another 15 questions. This way, I was in constant touch with the topics.

Monitor & Control Your Preparation

Appearing for your PMP examination is in itself a project. So, don't forget to apply the PMP concepts. It is not sufficient for you to just plan and execute. It is also necessary for you to monitor and control your progress. I monitored my progress with an Excel spreadsheet. I used to note down date wise, the number of questions attempted, time taken and the score. This helped me to understand whether I am really progressing well.

As some people put it, PMP does not only stand for Project Management Professional; it also stands for Practice Makes Perfect. So, go ahead plan your studies, execute them well, monitor and control; you will successfully pass the PMP examination in your first attempt.

Do you agree with my approach? What have you done for your PMP exams? Or what are you planning for your exam? Please feel free to share your experience.