What PMP questions will you find on the PMP certification exam? Just remember what the main focus of the PMP exam is--the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential is the most widely recognized and respected credential in the field of project management! The PMP exam was created to weed out applicants. The exam tests knowledge, concept application and situation analysis. The Project Management Institute (PMI) tests over six different areas, and the test is broken down in the following way:
Below is a table that breaks down what will be on the PMP test.
PM Process | Percent of Questions
Project Initiating | 11
Project Planning | 23
Project Executing | 27
Project Monitoring and Controlling | 21
Project Closing | 9
Professional and Social Responsibility | 9
Be aware that the PMP Exam Questions are going to include:
1. Knowledge application questions- The PMI has a text known as the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide). Knowing what is in the PMBOK guide and being able to apply those concepts to real work are two different things. Many of the PMP questions are aimed at application and not simple knowledge.
2. Will contain application questions to real situations- things like, you are a Project Manager working for the XYZ corporation, you have the following situation, what is the first thing you should do? Which may be hard to answer if you haven't used Project Management tools or used PMI processes on your projects.
3. There are a number of formula discussed in the PMBOK guide, but only 8 to 10 questions will need formulas.
4. However 10-12 could be earned value questions (not all of those will require solving for a value).
5. Most of the acronyms will be spelled out, so learn the full names of PMP terms.
6. The exam has 25 pre-release questions, which are routinely cycled into the exam and some old exam questions are dropped.
7. It is estimated that 50% or so who don't pass the exam, do not pass it because they have no project management training that uses PMI terminology and methodology.
8. The toughest knowledge areas are Framework, Integration, Procurement, Risk, and Time.
9. The toughest process groups are Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Professional and Social Responsibility.
Remember, before you can take the exam you need to pre-qualify:
10. If you have a Bachelors degree in any subject - You need 35 hours of PM education (known as contact hours), and 4,500 hours of PM experience over three years in the last six years. OR if you do not have a Bachelors degree you need 7,500 hours of experience over at-least five out of the last eight years. If you need contact hours look into PMI approved training such as PM PrepCast by Cornelius Fichtner, or a full PMP Bootcamp such as the PMPerfect On-Demand Bootcamp.
Preparing for the exam can be a grueling process, but it can be made easier if you brake it down as if it were a project, and work at it consistently every week. Learning more about the PMP Questions through a course or guide will make taking the PMP exam much easier.
If you aren't sure what to study, then roll all of your training into one, with a new concept, an On-Demand PMP Bootcamp.
Elroy King has been a project manager for many years and has seen what a difference PMP certification of team members has made on project success.