PMP Exam Prep Guideline

Cornelius Mellino, MM. CMPM. PMP.

Tangerang Study Group

Criterias to hire a PM

• Communication skill• Interpersonal skill• Analytical skill• Technical skill• Management skill• Organizational skil• Educational track record• Experience• Certifications

Criterias to promote a PM

• Experience

• Educational track record

• Certifications

• Expertise

• Performance

• Business needs

Why PMI Certification?

• You may have seen other project management certifications. What makes PMI’s special?

• Are flexible. PMI certifications are not based on one specific methodology, so they’re flexible and adaptable. You can easily transfer them between industries, market segments and geographic locations.

• Keep you up-to-date. PMI continually conducts in-depth studies to ensure that our credentials actually reflect the current skills, knowledge and best practices you need to succeed.

• Encourage professional growth. You never have to worry about a PMI certification becoming obsolete. Our certification maintenance program requires you to earn professional development units (PDUs), which encourages you to continually develop your skills and stay current as the profession changes.

Why PMI Certification?

• Help you get ahead. PMI certification offers financial benefits — The PMI Project Management Salary Survey — Seventh Edition shows that certification positively impacts project manager salaries — and helps you stand out and better market yourself to prospective employers.

• Are renowned throughout the world. Part of that marketability comes from the prestige of PMI certifications. PMI has provided project management certifications for over 25 years, and our PMP®credential was the first one designed specifically for project managers. Also, the quality of our certification governance is an advantage to those or earn or seek one of our certifications.

PMP Requirements

• PMI Member (optional)

• Education Experience

• Application Form Completion

• Payment

• Exam

PMP Requirements

PMP Category 1 PMP Category 2

Education University Degree High School or equiv

PM Experience Min 3 years & no more than 6 years

Min 5 years & no more than 8 years

PM Experience 4500 hours 7500 hours

PM Education 35 hours 35 hours

Exam 200 questions, 4 hours 200 questions, 4 hours

Recertify Requirement Recertify every 3 years60 PDU is required every 3 years to maintain certification

Recertify every 3 years60 PDU is required every 3 years to maintain certification

PMP Registration

• http://www.pmi.org/en/Certification/Project-Management-Professional-PMP.aspx

PMP Exam Cost

PMI Member $405*

Non-Member $555

* PMI Membership $129

Eligibility Letter

Pass The Exam

PMP Professional Development Program

• In 3 years PMP holder should earn minimum 60 PDU (Professional Development Unit)

PMP Professional Development Program

• PDU can be earned from these activities :

Post certification formal education

Self-directed learning

Professional activities

Programs sponsored by PMI Professional Development providers

Service to professional associations

Industry specific recognition for PMP

Exam Question Distribution

• Project Initiation 13%

• Project Planning 24%

• Project Executing 30%

• Project Monitoring & Control 25%

• Project Closing 8%

Source : Exam Prep 7th ed, Rita Mulcahy.

Level of Difficulty (1)

Level of Difficulty (2)

Exam Question Types (1)

• Situational

These questions demonstrate why having project management experience

is critical to passing this exam. Such questions require you to integrateyour real-world experience and your knowledge of the exam concepts.There are some assumptions used (can be found in Rita’s book)

Exam Question Types (2)

• More than one right answer

You have more than one right choices, focus on the keywords (FIRST, BEST,

NOT, MOST etc). Many questions will list several choices that couldreasonably be done, or that less-experienced or less-qualified projectmanagers would be likely to choose.

Exam Question Types (3)

• Extraneous informationIt is very important to realize that not all information included in aquestion will be relevant. For example, the numbers in the followingquestion are extraneous data.

Exam Question Types (4)

• Questions using made-up terms

There are often made-up terms on the exam. Perhaps the question writer

needed another choice, or perhaps the made-up terms are added to trick test takers.

Exam Question Types (5)

• Questions where understanding is important

In order to answer this question, you must understand the terms, as well

as the concept of decomposition and what value this technique has in theproject management process. Memorization is not enough!

Exam Question Types (6)

• Questions with a new approach to a known topicThere will be many instances where you understand the topic, but havenever thought about in the way the question describes.

Many people know what a matrix organization is but have not taken thetime to consider how this organizational structure affects the directions inwhich information is shared.

Exam Question Types (7)

• Questions with more than one item in each choiceThe tricks : use the process of elimination, one item at a time.

Exam Question Types (7)

• Questions with more than one item in each choiceSometimes the items of each choice show a flow of process. In this caseyou would need to look at each choice independently to see if the processlisted is correct.

Exam Question Types (8)

• Excessively wordy questions

Instead of saying "The team is not reporting properly", the exam could say,

"The team has lost sight of the communication management plan".

The first step in answering many questions is to determine what thequestion is asking, and then to translate the wordy phrasing.

If you're not a native English speaker, this can be as hard as fucking yourself.

Exam Day Prep

• Take enough rest one day before the exam• Prepare administrative stuffs (id card, confirmation letter)• Make sure you know the exam site• Come 1 hour before• Bring some candies• Watch your time, 200 question in 4 hrs = 1.2 minutes per

question• Read carefully• Always give answer, no negative penalty for wrong answer• Make sure you have time to review• You will be prohibited to bring anything into the exam room

How To Study

• Create a study group• Read, read and read the material• Understand the PMBOK• Understand the I-TT-O• Practice with PMP Exam Prep book• Practice with PMP Exam simulator• Usually took 100-200 hrs or 1-2 months to study

before taking exam• If you feel you’re not well prepared, don’t take

the exam

Tips

• Always answer from PMI perspective

• Carefully watch : FIRST, BEST, EXCEPT, NOT, MOST LIKELY, etc

• Read all of the choices

• Write down the formula, major processes, anything you can write in the paper given

• Practice, practice and practice

Personal Tips

• Read a lot

• Two recommended books :

• Write a lot, write those processes and ITTO every day.

• Test a lot, use Rita’s simulator, answer ALL questions per knowledge area and take the PMP simulation exam until you get > 90% score.

Thanks