About this Course

This workshop has a simple goal—to prepare participants to successfully pass the Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification exam. It’s for those who are looking for a very rapid infusion of information targeted toward increasing their ability and the probability that they will pass the exam.  It does not meet the requirements for the 35 hours of contact education required for registering for the PMP® exam and presumes that participants have taken other project management courses that fill that requirement.  This workshop does provide 14 hours of contact education.

Some participants may use this workshop as the beginning of their preparation and may plan to take the examination at some point in the future. Others will use this workshop as a capstone experience and take the examination soon after the workshop.  (Some training providers have an audit policy that may allow you to do both.)

This workshop principally focuses on the materials included in the PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, which is the principal source of questions on the PMP® exam.  It also includes materials from “other authoritative sources” of project management literature, which are also tested on the exam.

Because this workshop is intended to prepare you to successfully take the exam, the flow of the course is directed toward that end. On the last day of class, a 100-question practice exam will be administered to test your readiness to take the exam.  Those questions are similar in difficulty to PMP® exam questions.  You are not required to share your results on sample exam or achieve a particular score in order to get “credit” for this workshop.  The test is there to help you learn and assess your progress.

This workshop is organized around the various types of PMP® exam questions and provides guidance for them. In general, this workshop positions you to answer what we regard to be the four types of PMP® exam questions.

• Context questions, which test your understanding of the role of the project manager, the responsibilities of that manager and other organizational implications of project management including professional responsibility.       These concepts can be a direct source of questions or can provide necessary background for the exam’s situational questions.
• Process questions, which test your understanding of the 42 processes that make up the core of the project management method described in the PMBOK® Guide. These materials provide an explanation of each of those processes with easy-to-understand visuals that can help you master these processes.       Though all 42 processes are testable on the exam, some of those processes are more critical than others.       Those critical processes will be identified in the materials.
• Definitional questions, which test your understanding of key project management terminology.
• Application questions, which test your ability to apply a defined set of methods and perform the necessary calculations. Note that not all exams will contain the requirement to apply all methods. A wise student will, however, be prepared to perform any of these calculations. Because these calculations do not require the use of judgment, as do many situational questions, they are regarded by some exam takers as “easier” questions. Don’t miss the opportunity to score well on these questions.

The instructors for this workshop are PMPs with years of experience in project management and in preparing students to take the PMP® exam. Please engage with them, ask questions, and share your concerns with them.  They are here to help you become a PMP®.

It should be noted that this version of the PMBOK® Guide is far more focused on meeting and managing customer requirements, making tough project tradeoffs, operating in an “open systems” model, and tailoring the method to the project than earlier versions.  As a result, exam questions and appropriate responses to exam questions may change considerably from prior exams.  Those intending to take the PMP® should not assume that preparation using earlier editions is adequate for successful completion of the current exam that started August, 2013.

The goals of this workshop are to:

• Prepare participants to successfully take the PMP® exam
• Introduce participants to the four types of exam questions and the materials necessary for answering those questions
• Provide students with an opportunity to assess their readiness for the exam with a sample exam

Audience Profile

Anyone who has at least three years of experience working in a project-oriented environment, and who has already completed a rigorous certificate or self-study program and wants a compressed, targeted approach toward preparing for the PMP exam.

At Course Completion

Upon completing this course, students will:

• Identify the ten project management knowledge areas and the five process groups
• Distinguish between core and facilitating processes of project management
• Explain the PMP certification exam registration requirements and process
• Discuss the concepts and format of the PMP certification exam
• Identify key areas for further development in order to create a personal learning plan to improve performance
• Apply studying and test-taking techniques from certified PMPs

Prerequisites

• Concepts of Project Management or Equivalent project management experience
• Students will get the most value out of this class if they:
• Have qualified for the PMP® Exam
• Have a working knowledge of Project Management
• Have a working knowledge of the PMI® Framework
• Understand the contents and architecture of the “PMBOK ® Guide” are already in preparation of the PMP® Exam
• Understand that this course is a review
• not a mechanics course

Course Outline

Day 1:

• Introduction
• The PMI PMP Certification and the Exam
• PMI PMBOK and Framework Review
• Chapter 1… Introduction
• Chapter 2… The Project Management Context
• Chapter 3… Project Management Processes
• Chapter 4… Project Integration
• Chapter 5… Project Scope Management
• Chapter 6… Project Time Management

Day 2:

• Chapter 6… Time Management (Continued)
• Chapter 7… Project Cost Management
• Chapter 8… Project Quality Management
• Chapter 9… Project Human Resource Management
• Chapter 10… Project Communications Management
• Chapter 11… Project Risk Management
• Chapter 12… Project Procurement Management
• Chapter 13… Project Stakeholder Management
• Final Thoughts and Q&A