New PMP Course Outline

The Project Management Institute (PMI) has concluded that the new Project Management Professional (PMP) exam structure is necessary because a recent Global Practice Analysis market research study conducted produced a number of trends previously unaddressed in the PMP exam.

The results of the study have been applied to the Project Manager’s Role Delineation Study (RDS) and Job Task Analysis (JTA) to ensure the validity and relevance of the PMP Certification to real-life scenarios.

The new trends have been incorporated into the new PMP examination content outline. This has taken effect in PMP examinations starting from January 2nd, 2020

While there are still some similarities between the updated PMP Exam Content Outline and the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Sixth Edition), there are clear differences based on the outcome of the research conducted by PMI to more closely and accurately outline the important tasks performed by project management professionals when they are leading their project delivery efforts. 

The 7th Edition of the PMBoK Guide will be released not too long after January 2nd, 2021. This will fully capture the essence of the new Examination Content Outline.

EXAMINATION CONTENT OUTLINE BASED ON THE 6TH EDITION

The Exam Content Outline is broken down into five domains including:

1. Initiating – 8 Tasks
2. Planning – 13 Tasks
3. Executing – 7 Tasks
4. Monitoring & Controlling – 7 Tasks
5. Closing – 7 Tasks)

Each domain carries a different weight towards the whole as shown in the figure below. For more information check out this link 

NEW EXAMINATION CONTENT OUTLINE

The new Exam Content Outline is being replaced by three new Domains namely:

1. People – 14 Tasks – This domain focuses on emphasizing the skills and activities associated with effectively leading a project team.
2. Process – 17 Tasks – This domain focuses on the technicalities of managing projects.
3. Business Environment – 4 Tasks – This domain focuses on managing the interrelationships/dependencies that exist between projects and organizational strategy.

The Domains are made up of Tasks as shown in the preceding paragraph. The Tasks detail the responsibilities of a Project manager within their parent Domains. The Tasks in turn have Enablers that provide examples of building blocks to each task.

In the new curriculum, PMI acknowledges that projects operate in different environments while utilizing one or a combination of methodologies and approaches including Predictive (Traditional – 50% of the examination), Agile, and Hybrid. The exam will test candidates’ project management knowledge and experience with the different methodologies across the three new domains.

THE NEW EXAM IS COMPRISED OF:

• 180 questions – 5 questions will be seeded and 175 questions will be graded
• There is 230 minutes time allowance to complete the exam
• There is one additional break for a total of two 10-minute breaks (for center-based testing)
• The questions are now a combination of multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, and limited fill-in-the-blank answer options
• The examination will test the predictive approach to project management – about 50% & Agile + Hybrid approaches to project management – about 50%. These approaches will be distributed throughout all 3 domains.

Visit this link for more details about the new Examination Content outline.