As project management certifications go, the PMI PMP® certification is the gold standard.  Congratulations on your decision to pursue it!  With hundreds of PMP® classes to choose from, this article will provide some perspective on the content of the new PMP® exam and what you can expect.

The PMP® exam is changing on January 2, 2021 and will be based on a redesigned PMP® Examination Content Outline which reflects current trends and tasks performed by project managers.  To develop the outline, the Project Management Institute (PMI) conducted a Role Delineation Study (RTS) or Job Task Analysis (JTA) to identify specific knowledge and skills required by a project manager.  The intent of the study is to accurately reflect the practices of a project management practitioner.  Remember that the content outline is developed by research which keeps the PMP® exam content relevant and reflective of the project management industry and trends in project management.

The Content Outline serves as the blueprint for the exam.  The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) is one of many exam references.  The PMBOK® Guide changes from time to time, and the exam is updated to reflect changes six months to one year following release.  The current version of the PMBOK® Guide is the 6^th edition, and the 7^th edition is planned for release in the early part of 2021.

The new PMP® Examination Content Outline has been completely overhauled.  Rather than the traditional domains of Initiate, Plan, Execute, Monitor and Control,  and Close, the domains of the exam are as follows:

About half of the exam will reflect predictive or waterfall practices, and the other half will reflect agile or hybrid practices.  The various approaches will be addressed in each of the domain areas (people, process, business environment), as this is what happens in the normal course of a project.

Each of the 3 domains consist of a set of tasks which represent the responsibilities of the project manager.  Each task contains a set of enablers which reflect the work required for the task.  Enablers are examples and do not constitute a comprehensive list.  Tasks and enablers are best understood with an example:

In addition to the new PMP® exam update, PMI is also updating the longstanding Registered Education Provider (REP) program.  This program allows training organizations to become certified as a PMI provider.  The REP program is being overhauled into an Authorized Training Provider (ATP) program.  PMI has created content for PMP® training, and only ATP training organizations have access to the content.  All PMP® classes must be taught using the PMI content.  To ensure you receive the latest and best training available, you should only take a PMP® course from an Authorized Training Provider.  If not, the contact hours obtained may not satisfy the 35-hours required for PMP® certification.

There are many PMP® classes available.  SoftKey, Inc. is an Authorized Training Partner and is ready to assist you with the new PMP® exam and PMP® exam process.  Book a course today to take the first step to realizing your goal of becoming PMP certified.

Why You Should Take a Live Virtual or Classroom Based Course

The level of content in the new PMP® exam is much greater than prior versions.  To successfully navigate and pass the exam, you will need a season PMP® instructor who has experience with the exam and the way questions are asked.  Self-paced courses sometimes lead to self-procrastination.  You need someone to guide you through this process and motivate you to take the exam and achieve your goal.  This can be achieved in either a live virtual or classroom-based course.

You should also look for a training organization or provider that has a track record of helping individuals get certified.

Here’s a sneak peek of the lessons contained in the new PMP® class covering the new content outline:

Lesson 1:  Create a High Performing Team

• Build a team
• Define team ground rules
• Build a shared understanding about the project
• Negotiate project agreements
• Empower team members and stakeholders
• Train team members and stakeholders
• Engage and support virtual teams

Lesson 2:  Get Started with the Project

• Plan and manage scope
• Plan and manage budget and resources
• Plan and manage schedule
• Plan and manage quality of products and deliverables
• Integrate project planning activities
• Plan and manage procurement
• Determine appropriate project methodology methods and practices
• Establish project governance structure
• Plan and manage project/phase closure

Lesson 3:  Do the Work

• Execute project to deliver business value
• Manage communications
• Address and manage risk
• Engage stakeholders
• Create project artifacts
• Manage project changes
• Manage project issues
• Ensure knowledge transfer for project continuity

Lesson 4:  Keep the Team on Track

• Collaborate with stakeholders
• Lead a team
• Address and remove impediments, obstacles, and blockers
• Support team performance
• Manage conflict
• Mentor relevant stakeholders
• Apply emotional intelligence to promote team performance

Lesson 5:  Keep the Business in Mind

• Manage compliance requirements
• Evaluate and deliver project benefits and value
• Evaluate and address internal and external business environment changes
• Support organizational change
• Employ continuous process improvement

Agile Topics Covered

About 50% of the exam will cover agile and hybrid topics as part of the 3 domains – People, Process, and Business Environment.  Following is a sneak peek of agile topics covered (in alphabetical order):

• Agile estimating techniques such as t-shirt sizing, planning poker, Fibonacci sequence, affinity estimating
• Agile practice guidelines
• Agile suitability assessment based on certain parameters (Disciplined Agile technique)
• Backlog assessment
• Backlog management
• Backlog reprioritization
• Burnup/burndown charts
• Coaching and mentoring
• Cumulative flow diagrams
• Cycles and timeboxes
• Daily stand up
• Dedicated teams
• Development approach (predictive, iterative, incremental, agile, hybrid)
• Emotional Intelligence and empathy (not exclusively agile topics)
• Features accepted versus features remaining
• Generalizing specialists
• Incremental delivery
• Information radiators
• Iron triangle paradigm shift
• Iteration planning
• Iterative scheduling with a backlog
• Kanban method
• Kanban board
• Lean principles
• Minimum Business Increment (MBI)
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
• On-demand scheduling
• Product backlog
• Product increment
• Product roadmap
• Release planning
• Requirement prioritization using Kano, MoSCoW, 100-points, etc.
• Retrospectives
• Self-organized teams
• Servant leadership
• Sprint backlog
• Sprint planning
• Sprint review
• Task boards
• Throughput analysis
• Transparency
• Prioritize critical impediments using fist of five, planning poker, unique naming, T-shirt sizes
• Impediments, obstacles, and blockers
• Velocity analysis
• Relative estimating/story points
• User stories
• Continuous feedback
• Team Workspaces
• Scrum of Scrums and SAFe®