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Tips and Thoughts on the PMP Exam
April 16, 2009 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Certification, PMP
Tips and Thoughts on the PMP Exam
By Brian Denis Egan, B.Sc, M.Sc., M.B.A., PMP - Global Knowledge Course Director
All of the training manuals say that the PMP Exam is not a memory test. This is not strictly true. You need to memorize the PM Network Diagram or your own version of the same thing. You also need to truly understand how the 44 processes interrelate. You are not going to be asked to regurgitate lists. You are going to be asked what-if questions.
Exam questions are situational. To answer them you need to know, at any given point in a project, what information PMI expects you to have. For example, imagine a scenario where you are told that Activity Sequencing has just been completed. Can you attend a meeting and bring along a budget estimate? No. According to PMI’s sequence of events the budget has not yet been developed.
Situational questions can only be answered if you understand the sequence of events that are presumed to take place in project management. The sequence is summarized in the PM Network Diagram.
The PMP Exam covers a vast amount of material. The exam is three miles wide, but fortunately only one inch deep on any particular subject. It is a vocabulary test. There are a 1,000 terms, of which you need to have a superficial (one inch deep) understanding.
When preparing for the exam, do not get bogged down on any particular subject (like network diagramming). Learn a little bit about all of them. That is what the exam prep training manuals are good at: introducing the huge array of terminology that needs to be understood. (They just do not tie it all together very well.)
Remember that you are not being tested on general project management knowledge. When taking the exam, put on your PMI hat. Answer all questions as if you were a PMI devotee and believe every thing the PMBOK® says.
The exam presumes that you are in project management heaven. Do not let knowledge of the real world bias your answers. Always assume (unless told otherwise) that you are working within the ideal project management environment. All the time and resources you need are available to do whatever the PMI thinks needs to be done.
About the Author
Brian Denis Egan is CEO of a manufacturing company (Book Box Company) and a management consultant. He has written three professional development manuals and numerous white papers on aspects of management science. Since 2000, Brian has been a part-time instructor for Global Knowledge within the Management product line.
This article was originally published in Global Knowledge’s Business Brief e-newsletter. Global Knowledge delivers comprehensive hands-on project management, business process, and professional skills training. Visit our online Knowledge Center at www.globalknowledge.com/business for free white papers, webinars, and more.
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[...] mostly, you need to know how PMI believes projects should be run and the terminology they use to describe it. That is what the PM Network Diagram is [...]