NEW PMI-PMP (PMBOK7) Free Questions and Answers

These PMI-PMP questions are all from PMBOK Guide, 7th edition. These are based on my years of teaching project management practitioners from different industry verticals. 

For over a decade, I've the privilege to teach, interact, and learn from thousands of aspiring PMPs. There have been many successful PMI-PMPs. As interact with them, I also learn the kind of questions being faced. Without them, it'd not have been possible.

This is in continuation of the following posts: 

• PMP Live Lessons, Guaranteed Pass Course – PMBOK7 Content Update
• Sample Videos - PMP Live Lessons, Guaranteed Pass (PMBOK7 Update)
• PMI-PMP Free Questions and Answers (Part 1, Part 2)
• PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course – PMBOK7 Content Update

PMBOK7 Practice questions and answers are also available in the PMP Exam Prep Book, I Want To Be A PMP, which has enabled many PMP Success Stories.

In this post, there are 12 questions, which you can try.  To answer these PMBOK7 questions, you need to have: 

• Sound understanding of the PMBOK® Guide, 7th edition. All the questions are from PMBOK7.
• Ability to apply that understanding in situational, scenario-based and contextual environments,
• Real-world project management experience.

As mentioned earlier, this also addresses the need of many professionals who have requested me to put some sample PMP questions so that can proceed with the PMP Live Lessons or PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course or PMP Exam Prep Book. All of these have recently updated with PMBOK7 content. 

I hope you enjoy attempting these questions and it helps in your preparation for the PMP exam. 

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PMI-PMP (PMBOK7) QUESTIONS

Question – 1: Question – 1: For your project, you want to have a more comprehensive and informed identification of project risks – both individual and overall project risks. Which project management principle will help you the MOST?

A Stakeholder principle.

B Complexity principle. 

C Risk principle.

D System thinking principle.

Question – 2: Due to a court decision, an infrastructure project that a PM has been managing was asked to change the design and plans. As the manager, the PM knew that the project rarely goes as initially planned and hence was ready to make changes quickly in order to proceed further. Because the PM held a holistic view and was not rigid about plans. Which principle did the manager follow?

A Create a collaborative project team environment.

B Focus on value.

C Tailor based on context.

D Embrace adaptability and resiliency.

Question – 3: Your team is working on an adaptive project, where the team doesn't have a fixed, up-front scope. To manage it, the team is working with the customer to find out which features are worth investment and which are not. For this purpose, which artifact will help you the most?

A Risk-adjusted backlog

B Risk burndown chart

C Risk map

D Risk board

Question – 4: Like the four values of Agile Manifesto, there are four values included in the PMBOK guide, 7th edition. What are they (choose two)?

A Responsibility, Respect, Fairness

B Honesty, Fairness, Respect

C Respect, Rights, Ethics

D Ethics, Simplicity, Integrity

E Rights, Courage, Integrity

Question – 5: Uncertainty includes black-swans. Which one of the following is correct about black-swan events?

A Very high probability, but low impact

B Very low probability, but extreme impact

C Both very high probability and catastrophic impact

D An event with retrospective predictability

Question – 6: Currently you are working on a medical project to cure cancer. The product produced by this project is completely new and it has never been developed before. The stakeholders are also diverse. You are anticipating a lot of risk associated with stakeholder acceptance. What should you do?

A Use a predictive approach to develop the product with upfront and detailed risk analysis

B Go for a hybrid approach, develop the product predictively  and roll-out in an adaptive manner

C Use an incremental approach and deliver the first increment to key stakeholders

D Choose an iterative approach and release a minimum viable product to get feedback.

Question – 7: The Virginia Satir Change Model, which is used in Agile environment is mainly about which one of the following:

A Continuous practice and integration

B Introducing a transforming idea to the system

C Moving from Late Status Quo to New Status Quo 

D Introducing a foreign element

Question – 8: One model for all forms of interactions, including negotiation, is Steven Covey’s principle of “Think Win-Win.” This is a win-win approach, unlike others such as win-lose. The most important things to be present for a win-win are all of the following, but:

A People involved show character and demonstrate integrity

B The parties trust each other

C Each party is willing to look by putting himself/herself in other person's shoes

D Each party thinks how to get maximum benefits - financial and non-financial

Question – 9: Which one of the following cannot be tailored for a project considering the principle-based standard of PMBOK Guide, 7th edition?

A Life cycle and development approach

B Models, methods and artifacts

C Performance domains and principles 

D Tools and processes

Question – 10: This artifact is a one-page visual summary that describes the value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances, among others. This is a/an ___________________ artifact:

A Strategy 

B Logs and register

C Plan 

D Other

Question – 11: For a newly launched artificial intelligence project, the team members are unsure of how to proceed or undertake their work. Most of them are confused on how to proceed. You've been assigned as the project manager. What should you do?

A Add more feedback verification loops and quality assurance steps. 

B Add more guidance, training, and verification steps.

C Use techniques like value stream mapping and Kanban boards

D Explore root causes to identify why the team is unsure.

Question – 12: In a project, stakeholders are not engaged. In fact, quite a few stakeholders have raised negative feedback. You, as the project manager, can do all of the following, except:

A Evaluate whether sufficient information is being shared with stakeholders

B Feedback loops are present and working

C Deeper engagement, not simply communicating, with the stakeholders

D Presence of Kanban boards to know the issues being raised

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The question set is available in the embedded document below. The answers are also part of this document.

For all answers with detailed explanations, subscribe to this site and send a mail (from your GMail ID) to managementyogi@gmail.com.

PMP Live Lessons - Guaranteed Pass:

• PMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back

PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course:

• PMP 35 Contact Hours Online: Full Money Back Guarantee

Book  for PMP exam:

• Book for PMP Exam Prep: I Want To Be A PMP

You may also like:

• PMP Success Stories 2020s
• PMP Success Stories 2010s

PMBOK 7th Edition: Principles, Performance Domains and Artifacts – How Do They Plug and Play Together? (Part - 2)

I'd strongly recommend that you go through the first part of this series on PMBOK's principles (PR) and performanc domains (PD) before proceeding with this one. This part is about artifacts and interactions among the PRs, PDs and Artifacts. 

This series: Part - 1

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PMBOK7 Artifacts *** UPDATED ***

The way to connect the dots and understand this article is also to know the artifacts. An artifact can be an output, a project document, or even a project deliverable.

Considering risk and uncertainty, we mainly have three artifacts:

• Project Risk Management Plan: How to identify, assess, respond, manage, and monitor the risks in a project.
• Project Risk Register: List of identified risks in a project, also known as the Risk Log.
• Project Risk Report: Summary of individual and overall project risks.  

Similarly, when considering other aspects such as Delivery PD, Project Work PD, or Measurement PD, there can be a number of artifacts.

How Do They All Plug and Play Together? *** UPDATED ***

So far, we learned about the PRs, PDs, and artifacts. The final part of the PMBOK7 puzzle is to understand how all these work in unison. This is how.

• For every project, while all principles are present, a few principles will be predominantly applied.
• The degree of application of the principles and the way they are applied can vary. It can be based on organizational context, deliverables, project team, stakeholders, etc.
• Performance domains are also present in every project, but then again, we don’t focus on all aspects of the PDs throughout the lifecycle of the project.
• The way PDs relate and apply differ for each project.
• Principles chosen for a project guide the behavior of the project team and project stakeholders, whereas performance domains chosen for the project are areas to demonstrate that behavior.
• PRs influence and shape the PDs to achieve desired outcomes
• The artifacts are used, applied, and can also come from the PDs. 
• Models and methods are also applied on the project to achieve desired outcomes. 

An Example – Risk PR, Uncertainty PD and Artifacts

To understand better, let’s combine the Risk PR, Uncertainty PD, and the associated artifacts. I’ll also inform you of the models and methods involved in this interaction, shown in the figure below. 

Let’s interpret the above figure:

• Principles guide the behavior of the people involved in the project. For example, the Risk Principle guides what to do with the uncertainties and risks in the project.
• Domains are broad areas of focus to demonstrate that behavior. For example, the Uncertainty PD is a broad area of focus to demonstrate how risk responses are optimized.
• The Models are applied on the PDs. For example, considering Uncertainty PD, Stacey’s diagram (a complexity model) can be applied. Another complexity model applied is the Cynefin framework.
• The Methods are also applied to the PDs. For example, the probability and impact matrix is a method that can be applied to the Uncertainty PD.
• The deliverables and artifacts are from the PDs. For example, the risk register and risk report are artifacts from the Uncertainty PD.

That’s it! Was it difficult to understand?

If you have read sincerely and understood so far, you have absorbed the very essence of the new PMBOK Guide.

Video – Key Notes on PMBOK7 *** NEW ***

Now, it’s time to note and recap certain key points with respect to the PMBOK7 principles, domains and artifacts. I’ve prepared this below video [duration: 04m:11s] for your understanding. Reference for this video has been taken from my RMP Live Lessons course.

Guidance for PMP and RMP Exams 

The most common questions I receive in my regular interactions with management practitioners are with respect to the RMP and PMP exams. PMBOK, 7th edition has taken a paradigm shift compared to the PMBOK, 6th and the practitioners want to know their usages and needs in the new versions of the PMP exam.

Is PMBOK7 needed for the RMP Exam?

The short answer is yes.

Elaborating further, one of the RMP exam’s explicit reference sources is the new edition of the PMBOK 7th edition, which has a principle-based standard. This is well-complemented with the PMBOK 6th edition, which is a process-based standard. For your RMP exam, you must refer to both, because the main source of the exam is the Foundational Standard for Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs, and Projects, which follows a process-based approach with a set of risk management principles.

Is PMBOK7 needed for the PMP Exam?

The short answer is no.

You’ve probably seen many sites, portals, and exam preparatory courses inform on the PMBOK Guide, 7th edition as a must-read. In reality, at the time this article is written, it’s a should- or could-read. Nevertheless, knowing the latest management principles, practices, and artifacts is a good idea. Recent PMP and RMP success stories in 2023 from my management sessions confirm that.

Conclusion *** UPDATED ***

To wrap up this article, principles by their very nature are self-evident, true, and real. For example, the principle of “Demonstrate leadership behaviors” applies not only to the project manager but also to every team member.

Principles will light up the path for your practices. Why so? Because a project is almost always executed in an uncertain environment. In other words, your path will be uncertain and sometimes dark and you won’t know how to proceed. Principles act like rays of light guiding your path in an uncertain project terrain. While principles are guidelines, practices are real-world usages. These practices are performed with activities and functions in the performance domains that we have reviewed here.

I hope you now have a big picture as well as a zoomed-in view of the PRs, PDs, artifacts, and how they all fit together. As always, your thoughts, views, and comments are welcome. Please share them in the comment section below.

This series is concluded.

This series: Part - 1

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This article is dedicated to the memory of my father, the late Harendra Nath Dash, who passed away four years ago on June 11, 2019. It’s a tribute to him, my mother, and their teachings.

Thank you, dear readers, for reading this piece. And, wish you a very happy new year, 2024.

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This article was first published by MPUG on June 13, 2023. This an updated and refined version. 

References

[1] RMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back, by Satya Narayan Dash, CIPSA, CHAMP

[2] RMP 30/40 Contact Hours with Money Back Guarantee, by Satya Narayan Dash, CIPSA, CHAMP

[3] I Want To Be A RMP: The Plain and Simple Way To Be A RMP, Second edition, by Satya Narayan Dash, CIPSA, CHAMP 

[4] Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide, 7th Edition, by Project Management Institute (PMI)

PMBOK 7th Edition: Principles, Performance Domains and Artifacts – How Do They Plug and Play Together? (Part - 1)

Over a decade and a half ago my father and mother visited me in a different city, nearly a thousand miles away from home. Being very young, with few years of work experience, I was struggling to cope with the work pressure, compounded by no family or family friends in a new city with a totally different culture, language, food, and even clothing. My father was very concerned and tried to help in as many ways as he could. He even brought breakfast for me. One day, in jest, I told him that I’ll follow a set of principles to make my work and schedule better. A stern and tough father from the outside, but soft inside, he smiled and said: “Can you follow just a few? Try it. It’s hard!”

But why is following a set of principles so hard? As I’ve seen, in project-program-portfolio management, the primary reason is the constraints. For a project, it’s usually the scope, time, and cost, whereas for the programs it’s the delivery of benefits, and for the portfolio, it’s about the value and value optimization, capacity, and capability.  

In addition, saying is always easier than doing. Having principles written in a notebook or project board is always easier than following them. Talking about results from principles is far easier than actually delivering the results!

In this article, however, we will not only learn the principles (PR), performance domains (PD), and associated artifacts, we will also see several examples and applications. Towards the end, I’ll demonstrate how all these fit together. 

This series: Part - 2

PMBOK7 Principles (PR) *** UPDATED ***

A principle is a fundamental norm or truth. Now, before getting into the project management principles (PR) informed in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide, 7th edition, let’s understand certain top points on these principles of project management.

1. Principles are not prescriptive in nature, unlike the principles in a profession. They are not laws of project management. They are intended to guide the behavior of the team members and stakeholders.
2. Principles of project management serve as guidelines for decision-making and problem-solving in a project.
3. Principles can but don’t necessarily reflect morals. Values defined in PMI®’s Code of Ethics reflect morals. The values of PMI are responsibility, respect, fairness, and honesty.
4. In total, there are four values and 12 principles. The 12 principles are aligned with the four values and complement them, like the principles and values of Agile Manifesto.
5. Principles are internally consistent, meaning that no principles contradict other principles. However, in practice, principles can overlap.

The twelve project management principles (PR) are noted in the below table. Each principle has a principle statement, a principle label, or principle tag(s). I’ve outlined only a simplified part of the principle statement in the table. 

As shown in the above table, there are 12 PRs with principle labels and simplified PR statements. There is also a complete PR statement. For example:

• Complete Principle Statement: Continually evaluate exposure to risk, both opportunities and threats, to maximize positive impacts and minimize negative impacts on the project and its outcomes.
• Simplified Principle Statement: Optimize risk responses.
  It’s the tenth PR in the above table.
• Principle Label/Tag: Risk.

If you are preparing for your Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)® or Project Management Professional (PMP)® examinations, you have to remember all the principles, labels and understand the principle statements. Indeed, for latest RMP exam from 2022, the PMBOK 7th edition has been explicitly listed as a reference.

PMBOK7 Performance Domains (PD) *** UPDATED ***

Next, let’s understand the performance domains (PD). PMI defines a PD as follows:

A group of related activities that are critical for the effective delivery of project outcomes.

Simply put, it’s a group of related activities. The top points about the performance domain are the following:

• The PDs are interactive in nature, i.e., all the PDs interact or talk to each other.
• The PDs are interrelated. Not a single PD stands on its own.
• PDs are interdependent. Notice that the word, it’s not dependent on each other or even a better form, i.e., independent of each other, but interdependent, which is the highest form of dependency!
• PDs have outcome-focused measures, not output focused. When we talk of output, it’s usually the end product or service, whereas when we speak of outcome, it’s what one can do with that product or service. 
• PDs overlap and interconnect with each other.
• PDs are present in every project, but the way in which they relate and interact may differ.
• PDs run concurrently in every project – single, multi-phased, or the way value is delivered.

Do note that although the definition of PD refers to a group of interrelated activities, the specific activities to be considered in each PD are determined by organizational context, project, deliverables, project team, and stakeholders, among others.

There are eight performance domains which are outlined in the below table. I’ve simplified the descriptions so they are easier to understand and remember.

As noted earlier, all eight PDs interact with each other, which is depicted in the below figure.

Specifically considering the Uncertainty PD, which is associated with Risk Management, the following figure can be inferred.

As shown, the Uncertainty PD works in collaboration with all other PDs. For example, considering Uncertainty and Measurement PDs, one can have a risk reserve burndown chart, which shows the amount of contingency reserve available compared to the amount of risk remaining in the project. It’s a variant of burndown charts and can be presented in the Dashboard.  

Principles and Performance Domains

Now you may be wondering how the PRs and PDs work together? This concept is very foundational to know as a project, program, portfolio, agile, or risk management practitioner.

The most important aspect of PR and PD synergy is this:

Principles guide the behavior of the people involved in the project. Performance domains, or simply domains, are broad areas of focus to demonstrate that behavior.

This is shown in the below figure.

Let’s take the example of Risk principle (PR – 10) and Uncertainty domain (PD – 8) to understand the above aspect.

The Risk PR guides the behavior of the people involved in the project and advises them to maximize opportunities, minimize threats to the project and optimize risk responses. Among others, the Risk principle also tells us to address risk continually, understand risk parameters such as risk attitude, risk appetite, and risk threshold, and subsequently manage and monitor risks in a project.

However, the Uncertainty PD is the broad area of focus to demonstrate what one learned with the Risk PR. Questions such as:

• How to maximize opportunities?
• How to minimize threats?
• How to plan and optimize the risk responses?
• Should one consider one risk or multiple risks?
• Should one consider individual risks, overall project risks, or both?

These questions are answered through demonstration in the Uncertainty PD. In addition, there are other areas such as volatility, ambiguity, and complexity (from the VUCA acronym) in the Uncertainty PD. Therefore, this PD becomes a “broad area of focus” to apply to the Risk PR.

This series: Part - 2

References

[1] RMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back, by Satya Narayan Dash, CIPSA, CHAMP

[2] RMP 30/40 Contact Hours with Money Back Guarantee, by Satya Narayan Dash, CIPSA, CHAMP

[3] I Want To Be A RMP: The Plain and Simple Way To Be A RMP, Second edition, by Satya Narayan Dash, CIPSA, CHAMP 

[4] Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide, 7th Edition, by Project Management Institute (PMI)

What Should You Know about the PMP Exam Changes in 2021 and Beyond? (Part 2)

  

The Impact of the Changes

Obviously, as the exam has changed, there have been quite a few impacts. Let’s look at them one by one.

Impact #1: Exam Complexity

Many have been saying the new exam is more difficult, which I don’t agree with because the needed experience level to appear for the exam has not changed. It still is either of the following:

For four-year bachelor’s degree or global equivalent: Minimum 36 months unique non-overlapping professional project management experience,

– or –

For secondary degree (high school diploma or global equivalent): Minimum 60 months unique non-overlapping professional project management experience

As the experience level is relatively low and remains unchanged, I don’t expect the exam questions to be tougher. That said, the exam is more complex now because of the new addition of tasks within the new domains, along with the Agile content increased the scope of coverage. If you are an aspiring PMP, you will need to expand your horizon in the project management landscape.

Impact #2: First Score Report

The first examination score report are changed now. This is the report exam takers get immediately after the exam at the exam center. It's based on the three domains and the report will come as shown below.

The proficiency levels, nevertheless, remains unchanged, in that the score will continue to have four performance rating categories (Above Target, Target, Below Target, and Needs Improvement).

Impact #3: Detailed Score Analysis *** NEW ***

For each domain in the new ECO, there are number of enablers, and for each enabler, there are a number of tasks. These are spread across the three domains – Process and Business Environment.

More explanation on it has been given towards the later part of this article. Your evaluation will be on these domains, tasks and enablers. 

Impact #4: Questions in Agile/Hybrid Approaches *** NEW ***

As noted earlier, there is equal distribution of questions with respect to predictive and adaptive (Agile) or hybrid approaches.

These are spread across all of the domains, People, Process, and Business Environment. 

Important Note:

While Agile is 50% of the questions, many confuse Hybrid questions as part of the Agile. As per PMI, this is the definition of hybrid model:

A hybrid model is a combination of two or more agile and non-agile elements, having a non-agile end result. 

In other words, you can say that Hybrid ones will have a combination of Agile and Traditional/Waterfall approaches. 

Hence, combing Agile and Hybrid questions you can expect  more than 50% questions! In fact, many successful PMPs in this year have informed so. Some of the questions with Agile related concepts will be part of a traditional/waterfall project. These questions will fall under Hybrid type. It’s not explicitly Agile/Adaptive. 

PMI Talent Triangle and the New ECO Triangle

If you look closely, you can find that the three domains in the ECO are aligning closely with the three arms of PMI’s Talent Triangle. The PMI Talent Triangle was introduced in 2015 because technical project management skills for a practicing project manager were found to be insufficient to succeed in the real world with real life practices. Hence, two new areas were added (leadership capabilities and strategic and business management proficiency). The PMI Talent Triangle is depicted on the left side of the diagram below.

 

Similarly, the new ECO of 2020/2021 has three domains, which are aligned with real-world project management practices. I’ve put these three domains as the arms of the “New ECO Triangle” for easier correlation – shown on the right side of above diagram. Comparing these two triangles, you could say that:

• The Leadership arm maps to People domain,
• The Technical Project Management arm maps to Process domain, and
• The Strategic and Business Management arm maps to Business Environment domain.

This is significant because in the new PMP exam, you need to evaluate your understanding in these contexts.

We now know what are the changes and impacts. Next, let’s dive a bit deeper into the domains and associated concepts of the new exam.

Domains, Tasks, and Enablers

Each domain in the new ECO is empowered by a set of tasks and enablers. In fact, in the new 2020/2021 ECO, the format of Domains, Tasks, and Enables is used throughout. I’ve depicted it in the below figure.

As shown, every domain has a set of tasks, and each task is associated with a set of enablers. Let’s look at some examples.

Domain: A domain is defined as the high-level knowledge area that is essential to the practice of project management.

• An example of this is People.

Tasks: A task informs about the underlying responsibilities of the project manager within each domain area.

• Examples (for the People domain) are: 
• Task 1: Manage conflict
• Task 2: Lead a team
• Task 3: Support team performance
• …

Enablers: Enablers are illustrative examples of the work associated with a task. For example, for Task 2 (Lead a team) under the “People” domain, we have these enablers:

• Enabler 1: Set a clear vision and mission
• Enabler 2: Support diversity and inclusion
• Enabler 3: Value servant leadership
• Enabler 4: Determine an appropriate leadership style
• …

In simpler words, you can say that each answers a different question, as shown below.

I’ve received a number of questions from aspiring PMPs who are using PMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass, 35 Contact Hours PMP Program, and/or the I Want To Be A PMP book to prep for the exam. I’ll address a few of the most common in this article.

Many aspiring PMPs in fact have followed the above courses and/or book clear the exam in 2021. You can read their success stories below.

PMP Success Stories for Year 2021

As we reach the end of this article, let see the frequently asked questions (FAQs). It's a detailed one. This list is prepared based on my interactions with aspiring PMPs. 

Frequently Asked Questions (Top 10) *** NEW ***

Question – 1: As the domains in the ECO are changing, will a new PMBOK Guide be available with these new domains? 

Answer: No. The PMBOK Guide for the current PMP exam has not changed in 2021. The 6th edition of the guide will remain as is with its five process groups. The PMBOK guide continues to remain as one of the most important reference guides for your exam.

A new edition of the PMBOK guide, 7th edition is available. But it's not related to the domains of the ECO. [Also see Question - 3]

Question – 2: Should I refer to the 6th edition of the PMBOK Guide and/or any other resource?

Answer: You have to refer to the 6th edition of the PMBOK Guide for your PMP exam preparation irrespective of taking the exam on or after January 2, 2021.

The PMBOK Guide is one of the main references that is used for PMP examination preparation. There are other references that will also be used, as noted in Part - 1 of this article. Because the questions are created by project management practitioners who are not solely bound by the PMBOK Guide. 

Question – 3: Currently a new edition of the PMBOK Guide, 7th Edition is available is available. Should I also read it?

Answer: No. The PMBOK guide, 7th edition, though released this year (July 2021), has not been enforced. There is no need to read this guide while preparing for your PMP exam.

The PMBOK guide, 6th edition is listed as a reference for your current PMP exam. 

Question – 4: When will be the PMBOK Guide, 7th edition be enforced?

Answer: There is no information available at this stage. This is as of October, 2021 when this article is posted. 

PMI will surely communicate before the PMBOK Guide, 7th edition is enforced. As and when it’s enforced for PMP exam, it will also be listed as one of the items in the Exam Reference List. 

Question – 5: Do I need to remember the new tasks and enablers of the new ECO?

Answer: No. It is not necessary that you remember them, but you have to understand what they are and how they are mapped to the contents of the PMBOK guide and other project management references to become a certified project management professional.

Question – 6: How much should I focus on the Agile aspects?

Answer: Agile is obviously 50% of the exam as mentioned earlier in this article. With 90 questions, you need to have a sound knowledge of Agile approaches.

In addition, there will be a number of questions on Hybrid mode, which will have Agile content. Hence, I’ll strongly suggest that you prepare the Agile part thoroughly. 

Question – 7: Should I read the Agile Practice Guide?

Answer: Yes. If you are going for the exam in 2021 and beyond, I would strongly suggest that you read the Agile Practice Guide, which comes bundled along with the PMBOK Guide, 6th edition.

Question – 8: Should I read all the other reference books?

Answer: There are quite a few reference books, as noted earlier in Overall Changes section. No one can read all these books and prepare for the exam. 

In this case, good preparatory courses (preferably video courses because you learn faster with videos) and books will be needed. I’ve already mentioned a number of courses and books offered by ManagementYogi. You can refer them or the course of your choice.

Question – 9: Should I practice for other types of questions?

Answer: Yes. As informed earlier in Part - 1, other question types such as Multi-response, Drag and Drop questions are coming in the exam. This has been the consistent feedback by successful PMPs who have written their success stories.

Any course material you use, must have these types of questions to give you practice. If it doesn’t have, then it’s not worth your time. Also be very careful about outdated questions, which are rampant in the marketplace. It will give you no value. 

Question – 10: As the PMBOK Guide, 7th edition has been released, will a new ECO be released now?

Answer: This is another important question. The short answer is this: Another ECO is unlikely to come this year or next. 

The ECO’s development follows a different path compared to the PMBOK Guide’s development. You can consider ECO’s development and PMBOK’s development as two separate release trains. 

A new ECO, as mentioned in Part – 1 of this article, is released every three to five years. PMI has released a new ECO last year (2020, though actually first released in 2019). Hence, it’s unlikely that another ECO will be coming in 2021 or 2022.

Concluded.

References:

[1] PMP Live Lessons Course, Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back, by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course with Full MoneyBack Guarantee, by Satya Narayan Dash

[3] I Want To Be A PMP: The Plain and Simple Way To Be A PMP, 2nd Edition, by Satya Narayan Dash

[4] Article - What Should You Know about the PMP Exam 2020 Changes, by MPUG on September 3, 2019

What Should You Know about the PMP Exam Changes in 2021 and Beyond? (Part 1)

The Project Management Professional (PMP®) examination offered by Project Management Institute (PMI) has changed this year on 2nd January. PMI first made this announcement earlier and has made the new Examination Content Outline (ECO) available for aspiring PMPs.

Many PMP aspirants don't know on these changes. In fact, many even don't know the importance of the ECO, which is actually the blueprint of the exam! As I interact with PMPs - aspiring and successful, this information gap is striking. This article tries to address this information gap.

The first version of this article was published by MPUG. This is a refined and latest version of the article as of 2021 and beyond. This article will be covered in two part series, because of its size. 

I've also taken a number of questions which I face from aspiring PMPs during my interactions and a detailed FAQ will be available in part-2 of the article.

Why the Change?

Project management as a profession is increasing in complexity. It is evolving to meet new challenges of this century—rapid technological changes, expectations and aspirations of a new generation of workers, and of course, new methodologies and practices pertaining to Agile and/or DevOps, which are now mainstream.

PMI understands the shifts taking place in project management. In fact, every three to five years, PMI conducts a Role Delineation Study (RDS) or Job Task Analysis (JTA), which checks the knowledge, skills, and tasks required to perform the role of a project manager. This RDS or JTA, in turn, impacts the creation of the ECO due to the RDS providing the blueprint for the exam. PMP exam questions obviously link to the role of the project manager, so shifts are unavoidable. The final blueprint for the exam is documented in the ECO. This is depicted in the below figure.

The ECO is crucial because questions in the PMP exam are mapped against the ECO. The ECO mentions the domains on which exam takers will be evaluated, the tasks that are supposed to be performed in these domains, and also the knowledge and skills that are needed for project managers performing these tasks. The expected percentage of questions that will come from each domain is also outlined in the ECO, so that the right number of questions are in place for a valid PMP exam.

The last time such a study was conducted was in 2015. It resulted in changes to the exam in 2016. The recent years’ study has resulted in the new ECO, and hence the PMP exam has changed from January 2, 2021.

Important Dates *** NEW ***

If you are an aspiring PMP, you should be aware of the following dates.

Looking at the above dates, you have to follow the new ECO, which is effective from January 2, 2021. This new ECO will continue to be there in Year 2022, too.

Overall Changes

Now that we know the change process for the PMP examination and we’ve covered the important dates, let’s get to what the changes actually are.

Change #1: Domains

The old PMP exam was based on five domains, which are outlined in the old ECO. The domains are:

• Initiating: Outlines the processes to define a new project or a new phase of an existing project and have the needed authorization to start off.
• Planning: Outlines the processes to establish the scope of the project, refine objectives on scope, time, cost, quality, etc. and informs on how these objectives will be achieved.
• Executing: Outlines the processes to complete the work defined in the project management plan, which is created in the Planning domain.
• Monitoring and Controlling: Outlines the processes to track, review, and control the progress and performance of the project and manage corresponding changes.
• Closing: Outlines the processes to finalize all activities across all process groups to formally close the project or phase or contract.

The new PMP exam is based on three domains, which are outlined in the new ECO. They are:

• People: Emphasizes the skills and activities associated to effectively lead a project team (conflict management, team building, mentoring, etc.).
• Process: Reinforces the technical aspects of managing a project (scope management, schedule management, cost management, etc.).
• Business Environment: Highlights the connection between projects and organization strategy (benefits delivery and management, organizational change management, etc.).

You could say that the new PMP Exam will be standing on these three legs or (performance) domains. 

Change #2 Percentage of Questions *** NEW ***

The percentage of questions coming from each domain in the old exam is shown below.

In the new ECO of 2020/2021, there is more of a focus on the Process domain, followed by People, and finally Business Environment.

The distribution of questions across domains is significant, as it impacts exam preparation and time that exam takers will be spending on each domain. 

However, do note that the actual number of questions in the PMP exam can change with some variations in percentages.

Change # 3: Tasks

Each domain in the ECO is associated with a set of tasks. In the 2015 ECO, the Initiating domain had eight tasks and the Planning domain thirteen. In the new ECO, too, each domain is associated with a set of tasks. The People domain has fourteen tasks, the Process domain has seventeen tasks and so on. The differences are noted in the below table.

The tasks are important because exam evaluation will be on these tasks on three scales. The score from each of these tasks will, in turn, be rolled-up to give the rating earned in each domain. This will be explained further in "The Impact of the Changes" section of this article (in the second part).

Change # 4: Exam Duration, Number of Questions and Breaks *** NEW ***

These new changes were introduced just before January 02, 2021 (sometime in late December, 2020) and enforced for the new exam. This continues till date. 

These changes are with respect to the number of questions, exam duration and number of breaks. 

There was one 10-minutes break initially and it was increase to two later. You will get this break after 60 questions.

Change # 5: Type of Questions

In the new exam, half of the questions will be in the predictive project management approaches and the other half in Agile/hybrid approaches. In the 6th edition of the PMBOK Guide, these approaches are clearly defined and used across the process groups and knowledge areas.

Change # 6: Varieties of Questions *** NEW ***

In the earlier exam, you had only multi-choice questions. Every question has four choices, out of which one choice will be correct. In the current version of the exam, along with the multi-choice questions, you will also have other types, which are explained in the below table.

Change # 7: Multiple Reference Guides and Books *** NEW ***

In the earlier PMP exam, you clearly had one reference guide, i.e., the PMBOK guide, 6th edition.

In the new PMP exam, you have:

• Agile Practice Guide, First edition  
• PMBOK Guide, Sixth Edition (not the 7th edition)
  
• Eight other reference books

You can see the list of books in this linked page: PMP Exam Reference List. 

Hence, for your new PMP exam, you have together 10 guides and books to refer.

Continued to Part - 2

References:

[1] PMP Live Lessons Course, Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back, by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course with Full MoneyBack Guarantee, by Satya Narayan Dash

[3] I Want To Be A PMP: The Plain and Simple Way To Be A PMP, 2nd Edition, by Satya Narayan Dash

[4] Article - What Should You Know about the PMP Exam 2020 Changes, by MPUG on September 3, 2019