Certification Insider

Don't try and take the PMP exam immediately after your PMP exam prep class. Similarly, don't wait for months either. The right moment is usually between 2-5 weeks after you finish your class.

A good PMP Exam preparation course provider will tell you to do more reading and practice exam questions. They should also direct you to training products specifically designed for the purpose.

Additional, on-line or software based training products with training materials that provide you with your 35 contact hours of project management training plus the exam preparation materials that get you ready to pass the exam can even be considered.

Relax. PMI does not want you to fail the exam. But they also don't make it easy. PMI primarily wants to ensure that you have grasped the best practices captured in the PMBOK Guide so they fine tune their exam to ensure an acceptable pass ratio.

There are still a few formulas to be learned (mainly in the cost management area). Some students report that they saw no formula based questions at all on their exams and others say that they were really, really glad that they had studied the formulas so in-depth. You should therefore learn the formulas and their applications, and then, before the actual exam starts, write them down on the scratch pad that will be provided in the exam room. This is called a brain dump. You want to do this before beginning the exam so you won’t have to dredge them from memory in the midst of an anxiety attack.

Don’t hesitate to go back and change the answer to a previous question. You will encounter the situation where answering one question provides you with further insight into a previous question.

Study hard, read a lot and practice many simulated exams until you ace every single one will help you pass your PMP Exam.

The following PMP® exam sample question is taken from the Free PMP Exam Simulator (The answer is at the very bottom):

You are managing a construction project. You have just finished defining your activities and you are now estimating their durations. Obtaining government permits is one of the project activities that is critical to the success of your project. You obtain expert opinion regarding time requirements for this activity, and you have determined that the duration will most likely be 15 days. It would be very optimistic to expect to obtain the permits in 10 days. In addition, taking the current environmental factors into consideration, it may take up to 30 days to obtain the permits. What estimate should you use for this activity if you want to put more weight on the most likely duration with a further 10 percent contingency reserve? (Round to the nearest day.)

A) 17 Days    
B) 18 Days    
C) 20 Days    
D) 33 Days

Hint:

Use the PERT formula to determine your initial estimate.

Answer and Explanation:

The Correct Answer is B. As you want to put more weight on the most likely estimate, you should use the PERT formula for your initial estimate rather than taking a simple average of the three values. Your PERT estimate will be (10 + 4*15 + 30) / 6 = 16.67 days. Adding a 10 percent contingency reserve to it will give 16.67*1.1 = 18.33 days. Rounding your estimate to the nearest day will give 18 days.

* All our questions are updated to the latest PMBOK® Guide standard. Stop by at http://free.pm-exam-simulator.com and try the PMP Exam Simulator free for 3 days. We also offer 110 free questions at http://www.free-pm-exam-questions.com. We are a PMI Registered Education Provider.

This week's featured lessons learned comes to us courtesy of Vicki Kilmurray.

In this lessons learned Vicki Kilmurray shared with us her story about the struggle she took before she successfully passed the PMP exam...

"It took me 3 goes to pass the PMP exam. Unfortunately I didn't find the Prepcast until I had already attempted the exam twice. Had I known about the Prepcast from the start of my PMP journey I am sure I would have passed first go.

Lessons Learned, for me find a reputable PMP educator. Unfortunately there are a number of "snake oil salesmen" out there. The company I initially went with had all the qualifications RER etc but the subject matter was not taught at the level needed to get the exam done. The Prepcast goes into much more detail and is especially good for those with minimal project management experience like me. I spent 4 hours a day 7 days a week for 9 weeks studying for the exam, a huge commitment but I think essential. I read the PMBOK guide twice cover to cover..."

To read about her complete experience, please follow this link...

The following PMP® exam sample question is taken from the Free PMP Exam Simulator (The answer is at the very bottom):

You are currently performing planning for a construction project. Your project sponsor asks you to send him your project's Resource Breakdown Structure so that he can present it to his senior management during an upcoming meeting. You have not yet developed the Resource Breakdown Structure for your project. Which process do you need to start in order to develop it?

A) Estimate Activity Resources    
B) Plan Human Resource Management    
C) Develop Project Management Plan    
D) Acquire Project Team

Hint:

The Resource Breakdown Structure is a hierarchical structure of the identified resources broken down by resource category and resource type.

Answer and Explanation:

The Correct Answer is A. The Resource Breakdown structure (RBS) is a hierarchical structure of the identified resources, broken down by resource category and resource type. The RBS is developed during the Estimate Activity Resources process.

*All our questions are updated to the latest PMBOK® Guide standard. Stop by at http://free.pm-exam-simulator.com and try the PMP Exam Simulator free for 3 days. We also offer 110 free questions at http://www.free-pm-exam-questions.com. We are a PMI Registered Education Provider.

While there are about 50 formulas that you need to know for Project Management Professional (PMP)® Exam success, there are only seven that are absolutely necessary to know for the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Exam.

Even better, for the first three we are going to discuss you don’t even need to know the formula. What you do need to know for them is how to handle the results of the calculations, which is: “The larger value is the better value”. Here they are:
 

1. Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

IRR is used as a capital project budgeting metric to determine if an investment should be made. It looks at the present value of the cash flows as compared to the initial investment which results in an IRR value. For example, if as a Project Manager you need to compare two or more projects to determine which one would be the better investment for your organization you can use IRR to do this. If you are given the IRR for three projects; Project A IRR =25%, Project B IRR = 30%, and Project C IRR = 12% you can determine that Project B is the better investment for the organization because it has the largest IRR value.
 

2. Net Present Value (NPV)

NPV is used as a capital project financial metric to analyze the profitability of an investment at the time of review. It looks at the present values of cash inflows and the present values of cash outflows resulting in an NPV value. A Project Manager can compare the NPV value of one or more projects to determine which project is a more profitable investment. For example Project A has an NPV of $2.3M, Project B has an NPV of $2M, and Project C has an NPV of $2.1M. Project A has the greater NPV and is the best investment for the organization.
 

3. Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI is used to evaluate the money gained or lost in relation to the money invested in a project. ROI is also often referred to as gain/loss, profit/loss, or net income/loss. A Project Manager can use the ROI of one or more projects to determine which project is the better investment. For example if Project A has an ROI of 27%, Project B has an ROI of 25%, and Project C has an ROI of 30%; Project C would be the better investment since it has the largest ROI.

The next four formulas we are going to discuss are true formulas because you will need to know specific information in order to perform each of the calculations discussed below.
 

4. Cost Variance (CV)

CV is the Earned Value minus the Actual Cost (CV=EV-AC) of a project. This formula measures the cost performance of a project, and looks at whether the project is on budget or not. In order to calculate CV you need two pieces of information, the earned value and the actual cost of the project. If a CV result is a negative number the project is over budget, which is bad. If a CV result is a positive number the project is under budget, which is good. If CV is zero, then the project is exactly on budget. For example project A has an earned value of $75.1M and an actual cost of $75.3M. The CV calculation would look like: CV= $75.1M - $75.3M; resulting in a CV of -$0.2M; this project is over budget. Another example would be Project B has an earned value of $15M and an actual cost of $14.5M. The CV calculation would look like: CV=$15M - $14.5M; resulting in a CV of $0.5M; this project is under budget.
 

5. Cost Performance Index (CPI)

CPI is Earned Value divided by Actual Cost (CPI=EV / AC). CPI measures the cost performance of a project; is the project budget being spent as planned? In order to calculate CPI you need two pieces of information, the earned value and the actual cost of the project. There are three possible results when calculating this: CPI = 1 is good and means funds are being used as planned; CPI >1 is also good and means the funds are being used more efficiently than planned; and CPI <1 is bad and means the funds are being over spent.
 

6. Schedule Variance (SV)

SV is the Earned Value minus the Planned Value (SV=EV-PV) of a project. This formula measures the schedule performance of a project, and looks at whether the project is behind schedule or ahead of schedule. In order to calculate SV you need two pieces of information, the earned value and the planned value of the project. If an SV result is a negative number then the project is behind schedule, which is bad. If an SV result is a positive number then the project is ahead of schedule, which is good. If SV is zero, then the project is exactly on schedule. For example project A has an earned value of $75.1M and an actual cost of $74.2M. The CV calculation would look like: CV= $75.1M - $74.2M; resulting in a SV of $0.9M; this project is ahead of schedule.
 

7. Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

SPI is Earned Value divided by Planned Value (SPI=EV / PV). This formula measures the schedule performance of a project, is the project performing as planned? In order to calculate SPI you need two pieces of information, the earned value and the planned value of the project. There are three possible results when using this formula: CPI = 1 is good and shows the project is progressing as planned; CPI >1 is also good and shows the project is progressing at a faster rate than planned; and CPI <1 is bad and shows the project tis progressing at a slower rate than planned.

As you can see, the focus on the PMI-ACP® Exam is not really on the mathematics. For this exam it is more important to understand the concepts, methods, tools and techniques as well as the Agile Manifesto in order to pass. However, a good understanding of these seven formulas will go a long way.