Final Push for PMBOK^® Guide—Fifth Edition Exam

Following 20 years at a large Canadian telecommunications firm, Bruce established the project management consulting firm Solutions Management Inc (SMI). Since 1999, he has provided contract project/program management services, been a source for project management support personnel and created/delivered courses to over 7,000 participants in Canada, the United States and England.

  Career Development   Using PMI Standards  

In March of 2017, my article titled Exam Panic Time? outlined the pros and cons of completing the Project Management Professional (PMP)^® certification process before the change on March 26, 2018—when the exam will then be based on the new A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)–Sixth Edition that was released last September.

The reality is that had someone completed the process since that article, they would be thinking more about accumulating PDUs then worrying about how they can be exam-ready in under three months. One year later, and it's now or never. For those that just haven’t found time to get around to writing the exam but feel it is important to do so, I offer this 10-step process:

1. Commit. There will always be reasons not to complete the process. It could be work, personal responsibilities or fear that is acting as the roadblock. The truth however is that these issues will never pass so accept it needs to be done and get to it. The guideline I establish at the boot camps I manage is that it takes 100 hours of preparation to be confident entering the exam, so at this point it will take some serious time and dedication. If someone has recently attended a series of courses, then they may be able to reduce the amount by 20%. But where will you find 100 hours?

If possible, take a boot camp from a reputable…

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