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PMP Exam Prep - Part I

Posted by [email protected] on Mar. 23, 2023  /  PPRC Blog  /  Subscribe 1

PMP Exam Prep

Author:  Alex Kaled
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-kaled/

Alex is a Government Consultant for Matrix Design Group, Inc. He previously served 6 years in the U.S. Army. In addition to the PMP, Alex is a registered Engineer Intern in Colorado and holds certifications as a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Scaled Agilist, Certified ScrumMaster, Certified Associate in Project Management, and Disciplined Agile Scrum Master 

 0.0 Introduction/Scope

This guide assumes that the reader has little background research into the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification. This guide provides the background information to apply for the PMP and suggestions for courses/study guides. Most of this guide focuses on how to fill out the application and the timing of application requirements. If the reader did some research but wants clarification on select items, the Table of Contents below will connect the reader to that specific information.

This guide will not give you the academic knowledge you need to pass the PMP.

Table of Contents

Part I – March 2023

1. Breakdown of Requirements
2. The 35-Hour Course Requirement
3. Experience Requirement (The Application)
   • 3.1  What Qualifies as Experience
     • 3.1.1  Executed Processes in All Five Phases
     • 3.1.2  Project Management Capacity
   • 3.2 What Qualifies as a Project
     • 3.2.1  Unique
     • 3.2.2  Temporary
     • 3.2.3  Business Value
   • 3.3  How to Count 36 Months of Experience
   • 3.4  How to fill out the Application
   • 3.5  Application Submission
     • 3.5.1  Complete Application during the Course
     • 3.5.2  Submission
     • 3.5.3  Auditing

 1.0 Breakdown of Requirements

The Project Management Institute (PMI) advertises three requirements for the PMP:

1. Prepare
2. Apply (See Table below for Qualifying Criteria)
3. Test

An expanded breakdown of the requirements based on the accreditation experience is:

2.0 The 35-hour Course Requirement

As most readers are likely full-time employees, this will cover On-Demand/Self-Paced course options.

The most recommended course is Andrew Ramdayal's (AR) on Udemy. He is an authorized training partner (ATP) for PMI and his course strongly focuses on passing the course to include his testing “mindset”.

Joseph Phillips is another strongly recommended ATP on Udemy.

Rita Mulcahy (RMC) is another respected ATP who focuses on application to make strong PMs; but, her course is more focused on making strong PMs as opposed to helping pass the course. Her course is significantly more expensive than the Udemy options, but she includes her entire Study Guide package as a bonus in the sale.

PMI offers a course, however it is expensive in comparison with other listed 35-hour courses.[1] More PMI ATPs.

Editor's Note: Some PPRC members have attended on-line or in-person training through aci Learning (formerly LeaderQuest). These courses are NOT on-demand/self-paced.  They offer a Senior Project Manager Program certification which covers ITIL, the CAPM, and the PMP.  These are expensive courses but they do include the cost of one certification exam voucher for each of the 3 courses and at the time when some took the course, assistance with filling out the application was included as well.  The instructor would read through your experience documentation and help with the wording.  Veterans: Their courses are eligible for VA Tuition Benefits.

It is strongly recommended that knowledge checks are answered without notes. The PMP is closed book. Applicants should learn their strengths and focus areas as well as how to read the PMP questions ASAP. Do not wait to develop test taking habits until study time. Editors Note: While the PMP is closed book, they will provide you with a sheet of paper and pencil (sometimes you have to ask for them). Many people practice filling out a "brain dump" sheet of notes ahead of time and then use the first 15 minutes or so of the exam replicating the brain dump they've practiced. This method allows you to get all your thoughts onto paper so that you can refer to it during the exam instead of stressing out over trying to remember.  As your instructor(s) present you with items that "will" be on the exam, you can add these to your notes and start developing your own "brain dump".

Self-paced courses have 35 hours of run-time. Accounting for review, 45 hours of run-time is a better estimate.

3.0 Experience Requirement (The Application)

Applicants most frequently ask three questions about the experience requirement:

What qualifies as experience? What qualifies as a project? How do the 36 months count?

3.1 What qualifies as experience?

You do NOT need to serve as the project manager to qualify for experience.

You DO need to have:

1. 1. 1. Executed at least one process in all five phases of the project management (PM) process
      2. Served in a project management capacity; does NOT mean you were “in charge”
         1. MUST be a professional experience (for a job or an organization you serve)
         2. CANNOT be student experience (Group lead for an academic capstone)
         3. CANNOT be personal endeavors (Planning your child’s birthday party)  Editor's Note: There is some debate about this in the community. Some have used personal projects. Yes, a child's birthday party is probably NOT going to get through, but if you planned a large family reunion that involved travel, meals, accommodations, excursions, etc, that could. Just make sure you utilize PMI terminology when documenting it on the application and include at least one process from each process group as mentioned below.

3.1.1 Executed Processes in All Five Phases

There are five process groups and 49 processes. You do not need to do all 49 processes, but you do need to use a process from each phase.

There are a plethora of online resources that provide charts of the process groups. All charts like the one from Project Management Academy can be found with an online search: “pmp knowledge areas chart”.

Tips for Using these Charts

• • Resources include people as well as funds/supplies
  • Stakeholders aren’t just direct clients/supervisors, they are anyone affected by the project
  • Most process names are self-explanatory, readers are ready to generate their application without a course

3.1.2 Project Management Capacity

Applicants do NOT need to be the project manager for every project to count; they just need experience with each project phase. For example, an applicant was not a project manager, but identified stakeholders, developed a schedule, conducted a procurement, controlled changes to the project, and created a hand-off document.

3.2 What qualifies as a project?

PMI defines a project as a unique, temporary endeavor, designed to bring value to the organization.

3.2.1 Unique

PMI separates PROJECTS and operations. Projects describe work for a requirement that is not typical to the organization. Operations describe work for recurring organizational requirements.

An organization updating their IT programming in order satisfy a new governmental security compliance requirement is a unique endeavor. Complying with a new security policy is unique, the organization will not consistently change to adhere to this new requirement, it will change once.

Executing a consistently recurring task, such as bi-weekly payroll is an operation. The endeavor is not unique in requirement, the organization will need to consistently pay employees. Another example of an operation is a recurring monthly inventory of office equipment. These examples will not satisfy the experience requirement.

Changes to operations CAN qualify as projects. What if the organization’s payroll programming gets audited, unexpectedly or decides to switch the organization that runs payroll? Those endeavors are all UNIQUE!

3.2.2 Temporary

The endeavor must have a clear start and finish, or a project initiation and closure. There is usually a transition point indicating this requirement is underway. This transition point is usually a clear, written requirement giving the team authority to begin work, a charter; dependent on organizational culture, it could be a verbal directive. The end requires that the work formally close, a satisfied customer/supervisor signs off that the work is complete. The work does not necessarily go untouched after closure; it can be transitioned to an operation.

3.2.3 Brings Value

The endeavor must bring a positive outcome to an organization and/or stakeholders. It does not need to be tied to a specific monetary objective.

3.3 How to Count 36 Months of Experience

Applicants must have 36 consecutive months of experience; Projects cannot be used concurrently.

Tips for counting project time:

• • • Project experience is counted in MONTHS not days; do not cut timelines short just because something was not exactly 90 days. If the calendar said October at initiation and December at closure… it’s 3 months.
    • The moment a process is executed the project started and a project has not ended until the last closing/hand-off task. Don’t cut the timeline short by only including the most project focused time.

The eight year cutline for project experience starts from the day of application submission. Be wary of that in the event of an application that recalls years of experience.

3.4 Filling Out Experience on the Application

Applicants should NOT fill out the application online. Instead, fill out the application on a word document, then copy the application online. The online application will time-out and lose application progress.

Structure a word document with the following format:

1. 1. 1. Project Title:
      2. Date Started and Ended (Put total months in parentheses to help keep count)
      3. 200-500 Word Description of your project. Focus on using process and life cycle verbiage. THIS IS THE WAY TO AVOID AN AUDIT/REJECTION

The remaining fields on the application are drop down/relatively simple to fill out. Applicants can refine the application after completing the course.

3.5 Application Submission

Editors Note: You’ll need a PMI account to kick the process off. You can set up your account by registering or when applying. If you’re not a PMI Registered User, you’ll be prompted to set up an account before moving on to the application.  https://www.pmi.org/certifications/project-management-pmp/earn-the-pmp/how-to-apply

3.5.1 Complete the Application while Taking the Course

Based on personal availability, the course will take 5-6 weeks to complete, assuming an hour is spent per day.

Dependent on the number of projects necessary for the application, the experience portion could take up to 2 weeks. However, by filling out a couple experiences per week during the course, applicants should be able to refine the application during the course, and then submit upon receiving the course certificate.

3.5.2 Submission

PMI advertises that they have up to 5 days to review an application, but most experiences show it only takes 1-2 days. It is better to check the application on PMI.org, which will give you a status notification sooner than waiting for your email. Applicants have up to a year to take the test after application approval, so get the application submitted as soon as the course is complete, it’s one less requirement standing in the way of the test.

Additionally, audited applicants can take care of the audit process while studying. In the event applicants are audited after a late submission, it will ruin studying momentum.

3.5.3 Auditing

The best way to avoid an audit is to ensure that experiences are well-written and focused on the PM life-cycle, process groups, and processes as provided in the PMBOK Guide.

In the event of an audit, applicants will provide an educational transcript/diploma, a certificate of completion, and have supervisors sign attesting to your project experience.

[1] For military, Credentialing Assistance will approve this course as PMI is an approved partner. Also, while there is no data to back this, PMI is less likely to audit an application featuring their own course.

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