Introduction

[2015] AOU
Agenda 1/2
• Course Goals
• Who’s Who
• Project Management Institute (PMI)®
• Project Management Professional (PMP)®
• PMP® Certification Benefits
• Eligibility
• PMP® Application
• PMP® Fee
Agenda 2/2
• PMP® Exam
• PMP® Exam Pattern
• PMP® Exam Approach
• How to Study
• Exam Tricks
• PMI® Concepts
• Ground Rules
Course Goals
• Identify gaps in your knowledge that you need for the exam
• Be more comfortable with the types of questions you will see on
the exam
• Use tips to pass the exam that have been used successfully by
thousands of people
• Be a better project manager
Who’s Who
• Introduce yourself.
• Set your Expectations.
• Contact Details.
• Mailing Group.
• WhatsApp Group.
Project Management Institute (PMI)®
• Established in 1969 Pennsylvania USA.
• International, non for profit, primary started by volunteers,
focused on project management best practices for any kind of
projects( IT, construction, R&D,…- Industry neutral).
• Supports over half a million members in 170 countries worldwide.
• PMI® products and services include Professional Standards,
Certification, Research and Publication, which can be found in
www.pmi.org.
• PMI® Certification Program maintains ISO 9001 certification in
Quality Management Systems.
PMI® Certifications
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®
• Project Management Professional (PMP)®
• Program Management Professional (PgMP)®
• Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)SM
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®
• PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)SM
• PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)®
• PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)®
• OPM3® Professional Certification
Project Management Professional (PMP)®
• PMP® certification is the most globally recognized and respected
certification credential for solid foundation of project
management knowledge.
• Many corporations require individuals to have the PMP®
credential to qualify for individual advancement within the
corporation or for employment.
• PMP® Certification measures the application of knowledge, skills,
tools and techniques used in Project Management.
• For forms, Handbook, PMI ® Community and news Visit PMI
Website: www.pmi.org
PMP® Certification Benefits
• Recognized Expertise in Project Management.
• Better Salary.
• Resume shine and open doors.
• Better Job Opportunities.
• Officially recognized by leading companies.
Eligibility
• A Secondary degree (high school or equivalent):
– 5 years of project management experience.
– 7500 hours leading and directing projects.
– 35 hours of project management education.

• A four-year degree (bachelor degree or equivalent):

– 3 years of project management experience.
– 4500 hours leading and directing projects.
– 35 hours of project management education.
PMP® Application
• Candidates should have supporting documentation:
– Educational Background
– Experience Verification Form(s) meeting criteria above
– 35 Contact Hours of Project Management Education meeting Criteria
above

• In case of Application Audit:

– A percentage of accepted applications are selected for Audit by PMI®
Certification Program Department
– The Audit policy may change
– The Experience Verification forms have to be signed by the Supervisor,
and Contact Hours Certified. Courier all the hardcopies to PMI®.
PMP® Exam Fee
• PMI® Membership Fee: $ 139
• Project Management Professional (PMP®) Fee:
– Initial Certification Fee – member of PMI® in good standing
($405.00)
– Initial Certification Fee – non-member of PMI® ($555.00)
– Re-Examination Fee – member of PMI® in good standing
($275.00)
– Re-Examination Fee – non-member of PMI® ($375.00)
PMP® Exam
• An online test conducted at designated Test Centers
• One-year eligibility period, from the day application is approved, to
take the examination.
• There are 200 questions with multiple choice 4 options
• The exam duration is 4 Hours, preceded by a 15 minute briefing and a
demo questions session to get familiarize.
• Of the 200 questions, 25 questions are randomly placed pretest
questions. Pretest questions do not affect the candidate’s score and
are used to gather statistical information on their performance in order
to determine whether these questions will be used on future
examinations.
What PMP® Exam tests
• Knowledge and application of the PMI® processes.
• Understanding of many terms used to describe processes.
• Ability to apply key formulas to scheduling, costing, estimating,
and other problems.
• No need to be a subject matter expert in some field.
• No knowledge for software tools.
PMP® Exam Pattern 1/2
• PMP® Exam tests knowledge, application and analysis.
• It is not a memory test but the ability to analyze the situations.
• May contain up to 125 questions on “What would you do in this situation”?
• Few instances where same set of data is used for additional questions (e.g.
Network diagrams)
• There are 8-10 formula related question (Straight Formula)
• Do not spend too much time on each question
• No negative marking – Answer as many as you can
• Many questions appears to have two right Answers – Use PMI® -concepts and
select the BEST answer
• Understand the Life cycle game – what to do first, next
PMP® Exam Pattern 2/2
Percentage of Number of
Domain / Topic
Questions Questions
Initiating 13% 26
Planning 24% 48
Executing 30% 60
Monitoring and 25% 50
Controlling
Closing 8% 16
Total 100% 200
Time Limit 4 hours
PMP® Exam Approach
• Start-to-Finish – Prepare for PMP® without breaks
• Do not memorize. Stress on Understanding the Process – Input,
Outputs, Terms
• Questions are either direct and Situational
• Practice the PMP® Exam Simulation, similar to Actual Exam
• Recommended Study Material: PMBOK® from PMI®
• Think like PMI®.
How to Study? 1/2
• PMP® Handbook from www.pmi.org
– What PMI® expected from you and how will the exam be.
– PMI® code of ethics and professional conduct.

• The Magic Three

– Studies show that if you visit a topic three times, you will
remember it
• Be in a Test taking mode
– Get used to jumping from one topic to another.
– Practice tests & record scores
How to Study? 2/2
• Efficient step-by-step Process
– Review the study material. Take practice test often
– Do not analyze answers till you complete the test. Note
chapters which are most & least difficult to determine overall
study plan
– Read PMBOK® & any handbook in conjunction. Important
Terminology can be picked.
– If possible, form a study group (One Hour per chapter)
– Take and retake practice test till you start scoring around 80%
Exam Tricks
• Answer questions from PMI® perspective/Not real life Project
experience.
• There may be more than one ‘correct’ answer. Select the ‘best’
answer.
• Look for the words like First, last next, best, never, always, except,
most likely, least likely etc. clearly read the question.
• Watch for choices which are true statement but not correct
answers.
• You cannot answer all questions correctly. Do not waste time in
trying to Answer all correctly. Track your time spend.
PMI®-Concepts
• Historical records are Input to almost every step of Project
Management.
• Everything should be co-coordinated with stakeholders.
• All roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined
• WBS is foundation to all project planning and should be used
on every project.
• PMI® does not approve of gold plating (adding extra
functionality)
• Project managers must control the project to Project Plan
• Project Managers are wonderful, great, very skilled and
PROACTIVE people
Class Rules
• Mobile Phones: Silent mode please.
• Questions are welcome at any time.
• Respect view point of others.
• Keep discussions brief and to the point.
• Please be prompt in returning from breaks.
• Provide feedback as to where course can be improved – it will
be useful for sub-sequent sessions.