The PMP® (Project Management Professional) certification is a globally recognized accreditation offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), obtained after passing the PMP exam which can be taken online, after registration on the PMI website.
In 2024, there are more than 1,400,000 PMP certification holders worldwide.
The PMP certification validates that you are qualified in the following areas:
People: Recognize that you have the skills to effectively lead and motivate a project team throughout a project.
Process: Use predictive, agile and hybrid approaches to determine which way of working best suits each project.
Business (Commercial Environment): Highlight the success of a project and its impact on overall strategic organizational objectives.
The PMP Certification is based on a test based on the PMBOK® Guide – Seventh and Sixth Edition and covers 49 processes and 10 knowledge areas; allows you to meet the latest requirements of your business.
Benefits of being PMP® certified
Demonstrates your skills to your employer, peers and clients that you are proficient in project management and use industry best practices.
Increases your salary and provides greater job opportunities by adding new credentials to your resume.
Increases your chances of being globally recognized with enhanced skills and improved project performance.
Learn all fundamental aspects of project management (focuses on 5 processes and 47 knowledge areas) from an exam perspective.
The PMBoK 7 guide – Principles vs process-based project management
In the seventh edition of PMBOK, project management standards will be based on principles rather than processes.
Visual summary of PMBOK 7th edition changes
There are 3 introductory chapters in PMBOK 6, then 10 knowledge areas.
In PMBOK 7th edition, instead of Knowledge Areas, there will be Performance Areas. There will also be the chapters: Adaptation, Models, Techniques and Artifacts.
Principles of Project Execution – PMBoK 7
There will be 12 principles in the PMBOK 7th edition, and these principles define the “what” and “why” of project delivery. The project execution principles describe a truth, a standard, or a fundamental and non-normative value. In order to ensure the expected results of project delivery, project team members must adhere to these principles.
- Stewardship: Be a diligent, respectful, and caring steward.
- Team: Build a culture of accountability and respect.
- Stakeholders: Engage stakeholders to understand their interests and needs.
- Value: Focus on value.
- Systemic Thinking: Recognize and address system interactions.
- Leadership: Motivate, influence, coach, and learn.
- Adaptation: Adapt delivery approach based on context.
- Quality: Integrate quality into processes and outcomes.
- Complexity: Address complexity using knowledge, experience, and learning.
- Risks: Address opportunities and threats.
- Adaptability and Resilience: Be adaptable and resilient.
- Change: Drive change to achieve the envisioned future state.
PMP® Exam
The PMP exam is also available in French. For translated exams, the exam will be entirely in the language you choose, including all screens before and after the exam. So, if you choose French, it is recommended to take a PMP Prep course in French to have the same terminologies. If you want to learn terminologies in English, we recommend taking the PMP Prep course in English and choosing the exam in English.
If you still want to see options for questions and answers in English during the exam, there is an on-screen exposure button for each question that will display the options in English. However, be mindful of the exam duration and avoid wasting time!
PMP Exam Duration
The allotted time for the exam is 4 hours.
There will be 2 breaks of 10 minutes each. In total, you will have 230 minutes to answer 180 questions.
The first break occurs when you have answered the first 60 questions. The second break occurs when you have answered 120 questions.
The exam is preceded by an optional tutorial and followed by a survey, which takes 5 to 15 minutes to complete. The time spent on the tutorial and survey is not included in the 230 minutes of the exam.
Number of Questions on the PMP Exam
The PMP exam consists of 175 questions. Out of the 180 questions, 5 are considered pre-test questions.
Passing Score for the PMP Exam
PMI has not disclosed passing scores since 2007. The passing score was 61% until November 2005. It briefly increased to 80.6% for 2 months, then reverted to around 61%. Therefore, one can consider the passing score approximately 61%.
We recommend achieving a minimum of 70%-80% on your practice exams to pass without difficulty.
EXAM CONTENT
The proportion of questions appearing in the exam for each domain is:
I. People 42% II. Processes 50% III. Business Environment 8% Total 100%
Domain I: People — 42%
Manage Conflicts
Interpret the source and progression of conflict
Analyze the context of the conflict
Evaluate/recommend/accept the appropriate solution to resolve the conflict
Lead a Team
Define a clear vision and mission
Support diversity and inclusion (e.g., types of behaviors, thought processes)
Value Servant Leadership (e.g., link Servant Leadership principles to the team)
Determine an appropriate leadership style (e.g., directive, collaborative)
Inspire, motivate, and influence team members/stakeholders (e.g., team contract, social contract, reward system)
Analyze the influence of team members and stakeholders
Differentiate between different options to lead different team members and stakeholders
Support team performance
Evaluate team member performance against key performance indicators
Support and recognize team member development and growth
Determine an appropriate approach for feedback
Verify performance improvement
Empower team members and stakeholders
Organize around team strengths
Support the team in task assignment empowerment
Evaluate task assignment empowerment
Determine and assign authority levels for decision-making
Ensure team members/stakeholders are adequately trained
Determine required skills and training elements
Determine training options based on training needs
Allocate resources for training
Measure training results
Create a Team
Evaluate stakeholder skills
Deduce project resource needs
Continually evaluate and update team skills to meet project needs
Support the team and ensure knowledge transfer
Overcome and eliminate team barriers, obstacles, and blockers
Identify key team barriers, obstacles, and blockers
Prioritize key team barriers, obstacles, and blockers
Use networking to implement solutions to eliminate team barriers, obstacles, and blockers
Continually reassess team barriers, obstacles, and blockers to ensure resolution
Negotiate project agreements
Analyze negotiation boundaries for agreement
Evaluate priorities and determine ultimate goals
Verify project agreement goals are met
Participate in project agreement negotiations
Determine a negotiation strategy
Collaborate with Stakeholders
Evaluate stakeholder involvement needs
Optimize alignment between stakeholder needs, expectations, and project goals
Build trust and influence stakeholders to achieve project goals
Develop common understanding
Analyze the situation to identify the root cause of a misunderstanding
Interview all necessary parties to reach consensus
Support the agreement reached between parties
Investigate potential misunderstandings
Involve and support virtual teams
Review needs of virtual team members (e.g., environment, geography, culture, international, etc.)
Explore alternatives (e.g., communication tools, colocation) for involving virtual team members
Implement options for involving virtual team members
Continually evaluate effectiveness of virtual team involvement
Define ground rules for the team
Share organization principles with the team and external stakeholders
Establish an environment conducive to adhering to ground rules
Manage and rectify ground rule violations
Act as a mentor to relevant stakeholders
Allocate time for mentoring
Identify and seize mentoring opportunities
Promote team performance through practicing emotional intelligence
Evaluate behaviors using personality indicators
Analyze personality indicators and adapt to the emotional needs of key project stakeholders
Domain II: Processes — 50%
Execute the Project with Necessary Urgency to Generate Business Value
Evaluate opportunities to generate value incrementally
Review business value throughout the project
Assist the team in subdividing project tasks as needed to find the minimum viable product
Manage Communications
Analyze communication needs of all stakeholders
Determine methods, channels, frequency, and level of detail for communications for all stakeholders
Effectively communicate project information and updates
Verify communication understanding and receive feedback
Evaluate and Manage Risks
Determine risk management options
Iteratively assess and prioritize risks
Involve stakeholders
Analyze stakeholders (e.g., power/interest matrix, influence, impact)
Categorize stakeholders
Involve stakeholders by category
Develop, execute, and validate a strategy for stakeholder involvement
Plan and Manage Budget and Resources
Estimate budget needs based on project scope and past project experiences
Anticipate future budget constraints
Monitor budget variations and use governance process to adjust if needed
Plan and manage resources
Plan and manage schedule
Estimate project tasks (milestones, dependencies, effort points)
Use benchmarks and historical data
Prepare schedule based on methodology
Measure continuous progress based on methodology
Modify schedule, as needed, based on methodology
Coordinate with other projects and operations
Plan and Manage Product/Deliverable Quality
Determine required quality standards for project deliverables
Recommend improvement options based on quality gaps
Continuously monitor project deliverable quality
Plan and Manage Project Scope
Determine and prioritize requirements
Decompose scope (e.g., WBS, backlog)
Track and validate scope
Integrate Project Planning Activities
Consolidate project/phase plans
Evaluate consolidated project plans to determine dependencies, variances, and ongoing business value
Analyze collected data
Collect and analyze data to make informed project decisions
Determine essential information requirements
Manage Changes to the Project
Anticipate and acknowledge the need for change (e.g., follow change management practices)
Determine the strategy to manage change
Execute the change management strategy in accordance with the methodology
Determine a change response to move the project forward
Plan and Manage Procurements
Define resource needs
Communicate resource needs
Manage suppliers/contracts
Plan and manage procurement strategy
Develop Delivery Solution
Manage Project Artifacts
Determine requirements (what, when, where, who, etc.) to manage project artifacts
Verify project information is updated (version control) and accessible to all stakeholders
Continually assess the effectiveness of managing project artifacts
Determine methodology/methods and appropriate practices for the project
Assess project needs, complexity, and scale
Recommend project execution strategy (e.g., outsourcing, financing)
Recommend project methodology/approach (e.g., predictive, agile, hybrid)
Use iterative and incremental practices throughout the project lifecycle (e.g., lessons learned, stakeholder involvement, risk)
Establish Project Governance Structure
Determine appropriate governance for a project (e.g., replicate organization governance)
Define pathways and escalation thresholds
Manage Project Issues
Recognize when a risk becomes an issue
Address the issue with optimal action to move the project forward
Collaborate with relevant stakeholders on the approach to resolve issues
Ensure knowledge transfer to ensure project continuity
Discuss project responsibilities within the team
Describe expectations for the work environment
Confirm the approach for knowledge transfer
Plan and Manage Project/Phase Closure or Transition
Determine criteria for successfully closing the project or phase
Validate readiness status for transition (e.g., to operations team or next phase)
Conclude activities to close the project or phase (e.g., final lessons learned, retrospective, procurement, finances, resources)
Domain III: Business Environment — 8%
Plan and Manage Project Compliance
Confirm project compliance requirements (e.g., safety, health and safety, regulatory compliance)
Define compliance categories
Determine potential threats to compliance
Use methods to ensure compliance
Analyze consequences of non-compliance
Determine the approach and actions needed to address compliance requirements (e.g., risk, legal)
Measure project compliance level
Evaluate and Generate Benefits and Value with the Project
Ensure benefits are identified
Document agreement on responsibility for ongoing benefit realization
Verify a measurement system is in place to track benefits
Evaluate delivery options to demonstrate value
Quantify ongoing value gain for stakeholders
Evaluate and Address Changes in the External Business Environment for their Impact on Scope
Review changes to the external business environment (e.g., regulations, technology, geopolitics, market)
Evaluate and prioritize impact on project scope/backlog based on changes to the external business environment
Recommend options for scope/backlog changes (e.g., schedule, cost changes)
Continuously analyze the external business environment to check impact on project scope/backlog
Support Organizational Change
Evaluate organizational culture
Assess the impact of organizational change on the project and determine required actions
Assess the impact of the project on the organization and determine required actions
Preparation for the PMP Exam
These PMP exam questions will help you gauge your level of preparation for the PMP exam. By doing as many questions as possible before the exam, you will be better prepared to pass it.
Be cautious, as you are not allowed to bring a cheat sheet with formulas with you during the exam. It is advisable to memorize all required formulas. You can find our cheat sheet that can help you memorize all required formulas and key aspects of the exam.
Register for the PMP® Exam
You can register for the PMP exam after meeting the eligibility criteria for the certification exam. Download the application form from the PMI® website, fill it out, and submit it. The online submitted application is processed within 5 business days. You can schedule the exam at any Prometric center immediately after receiving the PMI® eligibility ID.
PDF Guides in French on the PMI Website
The “PMP – PMP Exam Outline” guide provides details about the exam itself: what to expect, what’s included, and how it’s structured.
Project Management Professional (PMP)® Exam Content Outline – January 2021
The PMI® Certifications Handbook focuses on requirements, application process, and schedule.
PMI ® Certifications Handbook
How to Prepare for the PMP® Certification (Project Management Professional)?
Read the PMBOK® 7th and 6th edition guides and some other articles covering topics not covered in detail in the PMBOK®.
Take a PMP exam preparation course to get the required 35 contact hours and understand PM processes from a certified PMP trainer.
Read our summary chart of PMBoK 6 processes for a better overview of the PMI standard.
Read other PMP exam simulation books. The most well-known is Rita’s PMP Exam Prep.
Test your knowledge by doing several exam simulations. This will further familiarize you with exam questions and make you confident. You can try the PMP exam preparation questions offered by Ecostar Plan.
References List for the PMP Exam
The top 10 references most frequently cited by volunteer project professionals who develop exam questions appear on the list so you know their sources. The best way to know what is covered in the PMP exam is to understand the Exam Content Outline.
- Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling by Harold Kerzner, published by Wiley
- Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme, Hybrid by Robert K. Wysocki, published by Wiley
- Fundamentals of Technology Project Management, 2nd Edition by Colleen Garton with Erika McCulloch, published by MC Press
- Project Manager’s Portable Handbook, 3rd Edition by David Cleland and Lewis Ireland, published by McGraw-Hill
- Information Technology Project Management, 7th Edition by Kathy Schwalbe, published by Cengage Learning
- Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process by Kenneth S. Rubin, published by Addison-Wesley
- Project Management: The Managerial Process by Erik Larson, published by McGraw-Hill
- The Project Management Tool Kit: 100 Tips and Techniques for Getting the Job Done Correct by Tom Kendrick, published by AMACOM
- Agile Practice Guide by Project Management Institute, published by Project Management Institute
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) by Project Management Institute, published by Project Management Institute
Note: The reference list is provided for informational
How to Prepare for the PMP® (Project Management Professional) Certification?
- Read PMBOK® Guide and few other articles for the topics that are not covered in detail in PMBOK®. (Must)
- Do a PMP Exam Prep training to obtain the required 35 contact hours and understand the PM Processes from an experienced PMP Certified trainer
- Read our Summary PMBoK 6 Processes Flow Chart to have a better overview of the PMI Standard.
- Read other Exam simulation books. The best known is PMP EXam Prep by RITA
- Test your knowledge by doing several exam simulations. This will make you more familiar with the exam questions and will make you confident. You can try PMP exam 2024 complete simulation (with ep.AI exam coach) (projectplanningschool.com)
- You can use our Cheat Sheat to understand and remember all the required formulas for the exam.