Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PMP Exam Tips-01
PMP Exam Tips-01
or CAPM Exam
1-800-COURSES
www.globalknowledge.com
Introduction
The Project Management Institutes (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is hot right
now, and the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is growing in popularity as well. With just
over 212,000 Project Managers worldwide (as of October 2006) having received the prestigious PMP certification, the field is growing. The number of Project Managers getting certified is growing every year, as more
companies than ever are requesting, and in some cases requiring, their Project Managers to become certified.
With the current economic environment, certification helps Project Managers differentiate themselves from
their co-workers or other job applicants. Having a certification also lends credibility to the Project Manager,
ensuring the client or organization that the fundamentals of successful project management are understood.
As organizations become more sophisticated in their application of Project Management (PM) principles, more
consistent and successful processes are desired. To implement these processes, organizations are relying more
heavily on certification for their Project Managers as well as creating Project Management Offices, where individuals are often required to become certified.
This white paper discusses the following:
The application process to apply to take either the PMP or CAPM exam
Tips to make the application process less arduous
The make-up of the exam questions
Tips for successfully passing the exam
Requirements to maintain certification
Copyright 2007 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. PMI, PMP, CAPM, and
PMBOK are registered trademarks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
Page 2
Applicants who do not have a bachelors degree, but instead have a high school diploma, associates degree,
or global equivalent, must meet the following requirements (notice the only real change is to increase the PM
experience needed and, of course, the time allowed to get that experience):
Minimum 7,500 hours PM experience
Minimum 60 months PM experience within the prior 96 months
Minimum 35 contact hours of PM instruction
Contact hours can be obtained through a university or college, by a course offered by a PMI-recognized
Registered Education Provider (REP) such as Global Knowledge, by employee-sponsored classes, or by a training company or consultant.
Some potential applicants misunderstand the requirement for PM experience. This includes not only experience
as a Project or Program Manager, but also experience working on projects from other vantage points, such as
in the role of a team member, Subject Matter Expert (SME), Sponsor, etc. PMIs newer terminology states that
candidates have experience leading and directing project tasks, the details of which are explained in the PMP
Application section below.
PMP Application
Documenting your personal PM experience will be the most difficult part of the application process. PMI
requires the following information for each project:
Project name
Date range
Your role on the project
Your job title
Organization name and address
Contact information of a reference who can verify work experience
Total hours spent on the project
Hours Spent in the following:
Initiating
- Conduct project selection methods
- Identify key stakeholders
- Define scope
- Develop, review, and approve project charter
- Identify and document risks, assumptions, constraints
Planning
- Define roles and responsibilities
- Create work breakdown structure
- Define risk strategies
- Obtain project plan approval
- Define detailed project requirements
- Develop change management plan
Executing
- Manage resource allocation
- Execute tasks
- Set expectations
- Improve team performance
Page 3
Page 4
CAPM Application
If you choose to document experience rather than PM education on the CAPM application, the process is much
simpler than on the PMP application. For every project, the following information is needed:
Project name
Date range
Your role on the project
Your job title
Organization name and address
Contact information of a reference who can verify work experience
Total hours spent on the project
Hours Spent in the following:
Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring and Controlling
Closing
Project team experience summarized by process group
Examination Fees
Your status at the time you begin the online application process determines the fee that will be charged to
take the exam. The fees are as follows:
Page 5
Exam
Fee
PMP
Initial Certification Fee (member of PMI)
$405.00
$555.00
$275.00
$375.00
CAPM
Initial Certification Fee (member of PMI)
$255.00
$300.00
$150.00
$220.00
$119.00
Notice the difference in fees that being a PMI member makes. When paying for the PMP exam, members save
$150.00. Joining PMI costs $119.00 plus a $10.00 application fee, so if you join, it costs $129.00 and saves
$150.00. Not only is that a good investment, but you also get the benefits that PMI membership provides for
one year.
PMP ?s
PMP %
CAPM ?s
CAPM %
Project Initiation
23
11.6%
14
9.3%
Project Planning
45
22.7%
33
22.0%
Project Execution
55
27.5%
40
26.7%
Project Monitoring
42
21.0%
32
21.3%
Project Closing
17
8.6%
14
9.3%
17
8.6%
17
11.3%
Total
200
100%
150
100%
106 of 175
60.5%
86 of 150
57%
Passing
Time Limit
4 Hours
3 Hours
The PMP exam is psychometric in that it applies knowledge, application, and analysis, including situational
questions. The CAPM exam is knowledge-based.
Page 6
The questions are randomly generated from a database, so no two exams are alike. The exam is reviewed and
revised periodically. All potential test questions go through rigorous scrutiny by a team of PMPs prior to being
offered in the exam to ensure consistency, accuracy, and fairness.
While a score of 61% for the PMP and 57% for the CAPM may seem fairly low, dont think that the test is
easy to pass. Within the professional certification industry, the goal is to have a pass rate of between 65% and
75%. Consequently, PMIs scores are set so that around 75% of people will pass. To do this, the questions are
reviewed by a panel of experts to ensure that they truly test your knowledge. Memorizing the PMBOK Guide
(Project Management Body of Knowledge) or lots of lists is not enough to ensure a passing score on the exam.
Nor is experience alone. One of the more often-cited reasons for candidates not to pass the exam on the first
try is due to their reliance on experience alone. Often, experience is not enough to get you through the exam
unless you also understand PMIs terminology, processes, and way of thinking. This is where formal education
or study guides come in handy.
On the other hand, if you score anything above the passing rate, be happy. Dont expect to score in the 90s
just because you always have in the past. This is not your typical college test. Another way to think about it is
that anything over 61% is gold-plating! Once you pass the exam, your score is irrelevant.
Types of Questions
There are a number of different types of questions on the exam, and they fall into the following broad categories:
Situational Analyze the situation described in the question and choose the most correct answer by using
knowledge, experience, and judgment.
Mathematical Approximately 8 to 10 formula-related questions will be on the exam.
Recall Fairly short, often easier, questions that test memory or knowledge.
Diagram Either draw a network diagram or interpret drawn-out graphs or diagrams to determine the correct answer. It is possible that more than one question may use the same diagram, so save yourself some time
by checking diagrams you have previously drawn to see if they can be re-used on a current question.
Questions on decision trees may also fall into this category.
More Than One Correct Answer In cases where multiple answers could be correct, choose the most correct or most appropriate one according to PMI.
Double Negatives The test uses double negatives or questions asking you to remove the false statement.
Sometimes it is easier to read the question by turning it into a positive. For example, if the question states, All
of the following statements are false except look for the one true statement.
Wordy Questions Some questions will take valuable test time to read and interpret, or may include extraneous information to take up time and throw you off track. Sometimes this happens because the same scenario is used for multiple questions, and thus some of the information will be extraneous in one question and
relevant to another. In these cases, it is helpful to read the question first to know exactly what is being asked.
A string of wordy questions may create the false perspective that you are falling behind
Page 7
Correct Answers to Another Question In this case, more than one of the answers offered will be a correct statement but will not answer the question that was asked. Be sure to read all answer choices carefully.
Page 8
Flash Cards Adults learn once they see or hear information on average three times. To get this repetition,
utilize several different study techniques. For example, read through whatever study materials you have, noting
areas of further study needed. For items requiring further study, create a flash card for each item, putting the
question on the front and answer on the back. Flash cards can be useful because they can be shuffled to avoid
memorizing items in a certain order and also because once an item is learned, the card can be removed and
put in another stack, saving you time. It is also extremely gratifying to see the stack of cards to study shrink
and the stack of known items grow.
Maintaining Certification
After passing the exam, PMPs must demonstrate commitment to the profession by accumulating 60
Professional Development Units (PDUs) over a 3-year period beginning with the first full calendar year after
passing the exam. Examples of a PDU are one hour of contact time in a Project Management class offered by
a Registered Education Provider (REP) or attending local PMI chapter meetings.
Unlike the PMP, individuals holding the CAPM certification do not have to acquire PDUs to maintain certification. CAPMs can hold this certification up to five years, after which they can either re-take the CAPM exam or
apply for PMP certification. The CAPM is really intended to be a one-time certification, to be held while experience is gained to allow the individual to qualify to take the PMP exam. Individuals holding the CAPM certification do not receive special treatment or get any short cuts when they take the PMP exam. They still have to
complete the PMP application and take the exam at the normal fees, just like everybody else.
Summary
This white paper discussed the application requirements, the exam, and post-certification requirements for
both the PMP and CAPM certifications issued by PMI. Tips and techniques were offered to help provide a more
efficient application process as well as to pass the actual exam.
Good luck!
Page 9
Learn More
Learn more about how you can improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and sharpen your competitive edge.
Check out the following Global Knowledge courses:
PMP Exam Prep Boot Camp
For more information or to register, visit www.globalknowledge.com or call 1-800-COURSES to speak with a
sales representative.
Our courses and enhanced, hands-on labs offer practical skills and tips that you can immediately put to use.
Our expert instructors draw upon their experiences to help you understand key concepts and how to apply
them to your specific work situation. Choose from our more than 700 courses, delivered through Classrooms,
e-Learning, and On-site sessions, to meet your IT and management training needs.
Additional Reference
www.pmi.org
Page 10