FAQ on PMP Credential
The purpose of this page is to clarify the doubts of the PMP aspirants about matters relevant to the PMP certification process. Enough care is taken to reflect the latest developments in the PMP credential program. However, in case of discrepancy (which is very unlikely), between the information provided in this page and http://www.pmi.org, the latter is to be considered.
What is the PMP certification?
PMI was founded in 1969 and first started offering the Project Management Professional certification exam in 1984. PMI is accredited as an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards developer and also has the distinction of being the first organization to have their certification program attain International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 recognition.
PMI boasts a worldwide membership of over 1,65,007 and 1,10,906 PMPs (as on April 2005), with members from 125 different countries. Local PMI chapters meet regularly and allow project managers to exchange information and learn about new tools and techniques of project management or new ways to use established techniques. I encourage you to join a local chapter and get to know other professionals in your field.
PMI is the leader in project management practices and is the most widely recognized organization and certification in the field. PMI strives to maintain and promote standards and ethics in this field and offers publications, training, seminars, chapters, special interest groups, and colleges to further the project management discipline.
Why Become PMP Certified?
The following benefits are associated with becoming PMP certified:
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It demonstrates proof of professional achievement.
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It increases your marketability.
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It provides greater opportunity for advancement in your field.
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It raises customer confidence in you and your company’s services.
I am a very experienced project manager and I am very successful as a project manager. By going through the project management knowledge areas, everything seems very familiar to me. What will be the additional value add to me by becoming a PMP?
This is a very good question, which one of my colleagues asked me very recently.
When I watch some of the very experienced project managers in action, sometimes I get very disturbed. Most of them do not monitor critical paths, perform earned value analysis. If these two are not practiced in projects, I am sure that it is the project which is managing them.
If you are an experienced project manager, who already know how to;
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initiate a project
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plan a project
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execute a project
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monitor and control a project
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close a project
in an internationally accepted manner, then I think, PMBOK will act as a good reference material for them, and PMP credential will act as an endorsement of the skills which they already have.
If you are a project manager, who is not very confident of the internationally accepted standards for initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing a project then a PMP credential will give you the opportunity to learn globally accepted project management best practices along with the the globally accepted PMP credential
What is the criteria for applying for PMP Credential?
If you are university degree holder;
4500 hours of project management experience within project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling and closeout. This do not mandate, experience under the role of a ‘project manager’. For example, a person involved in quality planning and tracking can count that experience also while reporting the 4500 hours of experience. However, the candidate should have at least three years of project management experience, during the six year period, prior to applying.
The candidate should have received 35 hours of project management training and must include content on project scope, quality, human resources, communication, risk, procurement, integration and professional management. The candidate can count all the project management trainings received prior to application and no time frame is stipulated for this.
If you are not a degree holder and holds a high school diploma or equivalent;
7500 hours of project management experience
five years of project management experience (non over lapping)
35 hours of project management education (coverage as in the degree holder’s case)
Required supporting documents;
- educational background
- experience verification forms, meeting criteria above
- 35 hours of project management education, conforming to the criteria above
I have the required years of experience but I have not worked on the project closeout phase yet. Will this have any impact on the eligibility to apply for PMP?
It is perfectly all right. No where, PMI has mandated that, one has to work on all peoject management phases to qualify for the PMP exam. That means, If you are a project planning expert and if you have spent all your professional years in just planning projects after projects for the required eligibility period, still you will qualify.
Can you recommend some very good reference material from the exam point of view? Will the PMBOK guide third edition alone will help?
While preparing for the PMP examination, referring to ‘Guide to PMBOK ‘ alone will not help and at the same time, there is no other authentic material apart from ‘Guide to PMBOK’ to act as a reference material. End to end understanding of PMBOK is very important and at the same time, there is no need to mug up things as most of the questions are not very direct. We request you to stick to the materials provided by us only. We have prepared a very lean reference material (just 126 pages), after conducting research on the material available in the market. So please stick to it.
I will suggest you to rely on the ‘Guide to project management body of knowledge, third edition’ to understand the concepts, and to use any of the above mentioned books, to get a hang of the exam. Once you register as a member at PMBOKdistilled.com you will get access to simulation tests, which will help you to get a feel of how the real test will be. Sound understanding of the concepts as defined in the PMBOK guide as well as some practice in answering sample questions will help you to prepare well for the PMP credential. My sincere advise is to read the PMBOK guide end to end three times and to do the exercises provided by us… and that should do the trick!
Recently I attended a 5 day program (40, hours) , covering the PMBOK, focused on software project management. The program is offered by a private limited company, the instructor is a PMP but the company is not a REP. Is this sufficient for the 35 PDUs required for PMP application. Is it necessary that I should do the preparatory program, only with an REP?
I can inform you that if the course content of the class you attended is based on one of the knowledge areas, process areas or sub-process areas of “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge,” it will satisfy the 35 hour education requirement.” For every hour that you are in a classroom environment and it deals with project management then you can claim one “Contact” hour.To calculate “contact” hours all you must do is take the hours that you are in a classroom environment dealing with project management and subtract any time not devoted to project management from the time. This includes lunches, breaks, and time not devoted to an aspect of project management. For example, if you are in a twelve (12) week course that meet for three hours a week, and the course deals entirely with project management then you would receive 36 “Contact” hours. It does not matter where you have taken the course, just as long as the course is in a classroom environment and dealing with a project management topic.
Is it compulsory that one need to undergo a closed room, classroom session to gain the necessary contact hours?
The answer is ‘No’. As per the PMP credential hand book (freely downloadable from www.pmi.org ) , it is not necessary that one has to undergo a class room training for gaining the necessary contact hours (35) for applying for PMP credential examination.
The stipulation is that, one has to undergo a structured, instructor lead program. It can be a work shop, distance learning etc, but has to be instructor lead. Activities like reading books are not considered for awarding contact hours.
How much time did you spend for preparing for PMP examination?
80 to 90 hours, including 35 hours of project management training
What is the format of the revised PMP examination?
The Revised PMP Credential Examination will Test Knowledge in the Following Six DomainsInitiating the Project……11%
Tasks
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Conduct Project Selection Methods
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Define Scope
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Document Project Risks, Assumptions, and Constraints
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Identify and Perform Stakeholder Analysis
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Develop Project Charter
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Obtain Project Charter Approval
Planning the Project……23%
Tasks
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Define and Record Requirements, Constraints and Assumptions
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Identify Project Team and Define Roles and Responsibilities
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Create the WBS
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Develop Change Management Plan
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Identify Risks and Define Risk Strategies
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Obtain Plan Approval
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Conduct Kick-off Meeting
Executing the project ……27%
Tasks
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Execute Tasks Defined in Project Plan
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Ensure Common Understanding and Set Expectations
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Implement the Procurement of Project Resources
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Manage Resource Allocation
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Implement Quality Management Plan
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Implement Approved Changes
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Implement Approved Actions and Workarounds
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Improve Team Performance
Monitoring and Controlling the Project……21%
Tasks
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Measure Project Performance
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Verify and Manage Changes to the Project
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Ensure Project Deliverables Conform to Quality Standards
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Monitor all Risks
Closing the Project……9%
Tasks
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Obtain Final Acceptance for the Project
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Obtain Financial, Legal, and Administrative Closure
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Release Project Resources
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Identify, Document and Communicate Lessons Learned
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Create and Distribute Final Project Report
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Archive and Retain Project Records
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Measure Customer Satisfaction
Professional and Social Responsibility……9%
Tasks
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Ensure Individual Integrity
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Contribute to the Project Management Knowledge Base
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Enhance Personal Professional Competence
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Promote Interaction Among Stakeholders
Total……100%
How much time PMI take to process applications?
Official announcement is 14 working days from the date of receipt of application. Actuallt it works much faster than that, if it is an online application.
Are there any concessions for PMI members for appearing for PMP credential?
Memebers need to pay only USD 405 where as non members pay USD 555. The difference is almost same as the membership fees for a year and along with the membership, you get access to PMI’s site covering the ‘wisdom centre’. If you are a member, you will receive additional monthly publications from PMI, which are of real value and depicts the latest in project management. Members get additional discounts at PMI events. The smartest thing is to get the membership, before applying for PMP.
