Project Management Professional (PMP) is an internationally recognized professional designation offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI).
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ToggleProject Management Professional (PMP) is an internationally recognized professional designation offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The PMI is a US non-profit professional organization for project management and provides services like development of standards, research, education, publication, networking opportunities in local chapters, hosting conferences and training seminars, and providing accreditation in project management. Government, commercial and other organizations employ PMP certified project managers in an attempt to improve the success rate of projects in all areas of knowledge, by applying a standardized and evolving set of project management principles. Since its launch in 1984, the PMP has become a de facto standard certification in project management.
The PMP Certification can be of real value to a person who’s had experience leading projects and who wants to continue managing projects. Although project management is very different from operations management, there are some common areas of competency that will be beneficial for both roles; these are – communications management, stakeholder management and human resource management.
The exam is based on the PMI Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), and the prerequisites are:
Continuous credential requirements or CCRs are required to maintain the PMP qualification. 60 professional development units (PDUs) must be earned over a three-year cycle, from activities such as researching, authoring articles, speaking on project management-related topics, or being engaged full-time in project management. Credential holders may earn PDUs towards the maintenance of their credential through formal academic courses or courses offered by a provider.(pmp certification)
The exam consists of 200 multiple choice questions as written in the PMBOK specification and the PMP Code of Ethics. The exam is closed book; no reference materials are allowed. Twenty-five of the 200 questions on the exam are “sample” questions used to fine-tune the degree of difficulty and precision of the exam and as such are not counted for or against a test taker. These questions are placed randomly throughout the exam. The test taker is only graded on their proficiency on 175 questions. The numbers in parentheses describe the percentage of questions for each domain.
The exam is based on the PMP Examination Specification of five performance domains:
These five process groups entail ten project management Knowledge Areas PMP Certification:
It provides the best learning experience although it is the more expensive option. The classroom environment, the composition of students along the presence of an instructor can make the learning process truly effective. However, it is not efficacious for all because of the costs incurred and the inflexible schedule of classes pmp certification. Traveling to and from the institute might not be feasible for all.
It is good for you if:
These courses are conducted over the internet using virtual conference rooms. They allow flexible time schedules and are usually less expensive than traditional classroom courses. It is important to sample and select a good and credible instructor/ Training provider.
It is good for PMP Certification you if:
These courses give you access to online study materials like audio, video, presentations, workbooks etc. PMP Certification albeit without the presence of a live instructor/trainer. Generally, these courses don’t prescribe a study schedule and one has to study and learn on one’s own. They provide complete schedule flexibility and are the least expensive mode of learning.
It is good for you if:
I hope that by now, you have a fair idea about the particulars of the PMP certification exam. encapsulated below are few tips that an aspirant may follow while developing a strategy to clear the exam:
Take the exam and become PMP certified!
This question is likely to be one of the first you will be asked. It is a way to gauge your dedication and enthusiasm in becoming a project manager and to ensure you weren't lured just by the hype and benefits of being a Project Manager(PM). Be authentic in your reply; this question carries a lot of value.
Communication is an essential tool that brings together colleagues, clients and other stakeholders. The interviewer is checking if you are a good motivator for your team, a good negotiator with sponsors and clients and, in general, if you can use language effectively.
A project is a mission to create a unique product or solution, and a program is a group of interrelated projects usually managed together. A project has well-defined start and end points, but a program has a broad scope that can change with time constraints and client requirements.
It is a technical question, so it's best to keep your answer short and to the point and only elaborate if needed. The Pareto principle is a statistical theory which states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the actions. You can enhance your answer by explaining an instance when you used this in a particular project.
This question is to analyse how well you and your team can deliver. It is preferable to give clear examples of instances and methods used when your team has impressed the customer and what your role exactly was in that project.
Of course, if the interviewer wanted to probe a bit more, he/she could specifically ask you to elaborate on a situation where customer expectations were not met. Make sure you are honest while answering this, but project the failure as a lesson learnt rather than a bad experience.
While you can get descriptive in this answer, usually, leadership styles are of four types:
Questions related to the projects you've done are to investigate your technical knowledge as a Project Manager. If you have used methods which are also used by the interviewer(s) in their line of work - like Agile, Kanban, Lean Manufacturing or Just In Time (JIT) Manufacturing - you are at an advantage. Answer this question with specific examples as well.
It is a series of various activities that are necessary for achieving the project objectives. They are divided into four phases:
The scope statement has no set format; it depends on the type of project. Broadly, it should contain information about the product of the project, goals and objectives, requirements, deliverables, assumptions and constraints.
This triangle is also known as the "Project management Triangle". This principle says that the quality of work is constrained by three key factors: cost/budget, time and scope. As a PM, you have the freedom to toggle the constraints to maximise quality, i.e. you might choose to increase quality and finish the project sooner but with more funding.