Tricks of the Trade-rita

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PMP EXAM PREPMP EXAMINATION PREPARATION



The PMP Exam includes 200 multiple choice

with four answer choices per question.

The Exam must be completed in 4-hours.

25 of the questions are pre-release (n

questions placed randomly throughout the

you will not know which ones.

You get one point for each correct answe

Penalty for a wrong answer.

Pass mark is 61%. 122 correctly answered

should give you 61%.



PERCENTAGE OF QUESTION

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

PROCESS GROUP

PERCENTAG

QUESTION

PROJECT

INITIATION

13%

PROJECT PLANNING 24%PROJECT

EXECUTING

30%

PROJECT MONITORING 25%



PMI occasionally makes changes to as

of the exam, including qualificatio

requirements, the application processpassing score, and the breakdown

questions in each process group. For

latest information, please visit www.pm

and read your authorization notic

carefully. Any differences between wh

listed here and what is communicate

PMI should be resolved in favor of PM

http://www.pmi.org/

http://www.pmi.org/



LEVEL OF DIFFICULTTOPICS

PROCESS MANAGEMENT PROCESS

PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT

RISK MANAGEMENT

INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT

QUALITY MANAGEMENT

TIME MANAGEMENTCOST MANGEMENT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

SCOPE MANAGEMENT

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

COMMUNICATIONS

LEV

DIFF

MDIFF



LEVEL OF DIFFICULT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS

GROUP

PROJECT MONITORING AND

CONTROLLING

PROJECT INITIATING

PROJECT EXECUTING

PROJECT PLANNING

PROJECT CLOSING

LEV

DIFF

MORE D

LESS D



Be aware of the follow

for the exam….



The PMP Exam tests on Expe

– on knowledge, application

analysis. This makes the PMP

more than a test of memory. Yo

also know how to apply thinformation in this book and be

analyze situations involving



It is important to realize the PMP ex

with real-world use of project mana

The majority of the questions are sit(e.g., “What would you do in this situ

For those who have not used pro

management tools in the real world oproject management efforts include c

errors, these questions can be tricky. Y

to think into best project manage



There may be instanc

the exam where the sadata is used for multi

questions, such as wnetwork diagram quest



It always feels more for th

taker, but historically, thehave been only 10-12 quest

requiring you to memorise

inputs or outputs from th

PMBOK ® Guide.



Expect 8-10 formula-relat

calculations on the exam



Expect 10-12 Earned-Vaquestions on the exam. No

of these calculations requ

calculations using the form



Most acronyms will be spe

(e.g., the exam typically usfull term “ work breakdo

structure” rather than WBS

you should know both the

term and the acronym



Most people feel uncertain of only 40

fewer of the 200 questions on the PM

exam



Many people need only about tw

and a half hours to finish the firpass through the PMP Exam an

then take the rest of the time to

review their answers



The questions on the exam are mo

situational, many are ambiguous and

wordy, and some even seem like they hright answers. Be prepared for the fol

types of questions so you will not waste

be caught off guard when you are tak

exam.



SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS

These are questions which demonstrate why having project

experience is critical to passing this exam. Such questions re

integrate your real-world experience and your knowledge of the

Question : You receive notification that a major item you are pur

project will be delayed. What is the BEST thing to do?

A. Ignore it; it will go away.

B. Notify your boss

C. let the customer know about it, and talk over options.

D. Meet with the team and identify alternatives.

Answer is D

QUESTIONS WITH TWO OR MORE RIGHT



QUESTIONS WITH TWO OR MORE RIGHT

ANSWERSThese are questions that appear to have two, three, or even fo

answers. Many questions will list several choices that could re

done, or that less-experienced or less-qualified project manag

likely to choose.

As you go through questions and review the answers in this bo

questions for which you think there is more than one right ans

figure out why you think multiple choices are correct. We hav

included such questions in our products to give you exposure t

questions you will see on the exam and have provided explana

you understand why your right answer may not be the best ch

Lets look again at the previous situational question. Couldn’t

of the choices? The right answer is certainly D, but isn’t it als

the customer? Yes, but that is not the first thing to do. Essenti“

Q S O S A O S O



QUESTIONS WITH EXTRANEOUS INFORM

It is very important to realize that not all information included in a questio

For example, the numbers in the following question are extraneous data.

Question: Experience shows that each time you double the production of dodecrease by 10 percent. Based on this, the company determines that producti

should cost $21,000. this case illustrates:

A. learning cycle

B. law of diminishing returns

C. 80/20 rule.

D. Parametric cost estimating.

Some questions will be much longer than this one possibly



Some questions will be much longer than this one, possibly

long. But again, you may not need all the information presen

the question. For example, imagine we changed the previous

wordier. It might read as follows:

“Your company is a major manufactureere of doors, andnumerous awards for quality. As head of the manufacturin

you have 230 people reporting to you on 23 different projec

shows that each time you double the production of doo

decrease by 10%. Based on this, the company determines th

of 3,000 doors should cost $21,000. this case shows…”

Can you see how the additional data does not add any

question? The data is a distracter. On the exam, you m

paragraphs of data that are not needed to answer the questio

to look at each question to determine “What is this question a

rather than getting lost in all the information.

QUESTIONS USING MADE UP TER



QUESTIONS USING MADE-UP TERMany people taking the exam expect that all the terms used as ch

something. They do not! There are often made-up terms on the e

question writer needed another choice, or perhaps the made-up t

trick test takers. If you consider yourself well trained and see term

on the exam, chances are it is not right answer the right answer. Fo

Question: the ongoing definition of a project as more information bec

the team is called

A. Scope verification

B. Strategic planning.C. Progressive elaboration

D. Quantitative elaboration

Answer C

In this question, “quantitative elaboration” in choice D is not a real p

mana ement term.

QUESTIONS WHERE UNDERSTANDING IS PARA



QUESTIONS WHERE UNDERSTANDING IS PARA

Question: The process of decomposing deliverables

more manageable components complete when:

A. Project justification has been established.

B. Change requests have occurred.

C. Costs estimates can be developed for each work ele

Each work element is found in the WBS dictionary.

Answer C

In order to answer this question, you must understa

terms, as well as the concept of decomposition and

this technique has in the project management proce

Memorization is not enough!



QUESTIONS WITH A NEW APPROACH TO A KNO

There will be many instances where you understand the topic, but have

about it in the way the question describes. For example:

Question: in a matrix organization, information dissemination is MOST

effective when:

A. Information flows both horizontally and vertically.

B. The communication flows are kept simple.

C. there is an inherent logic in the type of matrix chosen.D. Project managers and functional managers socialize.

Answer is A

Many people know what a matrix organization is but have not taken th

consider how this organizational structure affects the directions in whic

shared.

QUESTION WITH MORE THAN ONE ITEM IN EA



QUESTION WITH MORE THAN ONE ITEM IN EA

CHOICEQuestion: the seller on the project has presented the project manager

notification that the seller has been damaged by the buyer’s activities

that the buyer’s slow response to sending the seller approvals has dela

and has caused the seller unexpected expense. The FIRST things the p

should do are:

A. Collect all relevant data, send the data to the company attorney, a

the attorney about legal actions.

B. Review the contract for specific agreed-upon terms that relate to th

there is a clear response, and consult an attorney if needed.

C. Review the statement of work for requirements, send a receipt of c

meet to resolve the issue without resorting to legal action if possible.

D. Hold a meeting with the team to review why the acceptances have b

list of the specific reasons, and correct those reasons.

Answer B

i i



These questions can seem hard until you

this little trick: use the process of elimin

one item at a time. Consider the first item

in each choice and eliminate the choice

contain an implausible first item. Then

the second item in each remaining choi

eliminate any implausible choices. Keepuntil you have only one choice remain

Watch out; sometimes the items in each choices



;or process. See the following example:

Question: When managing a project, which of the foBEST order to deal with problems that arise?

A. Go to the team , go to management, go to resource manag

B. Go to resource managers, go to management, go to the cu

C. handle it yourself, go to the customer, go to management

D. Resolve problems with resources you control, go to

manager, go to the customer

Answer D

In this case, case you would need to look at independently to see if the process listed is correct

EXCESSIVELY WORDY



EXCESSIVELY WORDY

QUESTIONSInstead of saying “the project is behind schedule,” th

use wordier phrasing, such as “ The project float wasrecently gone to negative 2.” Instead of saying “The t

reporting properly,” the exam could say, “The team h

of the communications management plan”. The first s

answering many questions is to determine what the q

asking, and then to translate the wordy phrasing. If y

native English speaker, this can be an especially big p

it is also difficult for native English speakers. Just tak

and practice reading wordy questions before you take

HOW TO REVISE! (PMBOK



HOW TO REVISE! (PMBOK,

PrepCast Videos, PM Fastrack)

1. Understand how projects flow!

2. Study by knowledge area: All the processes within each knget the basis from PMBOK, Read Rita for clarification and cvideos for further understanding & memorization

3. After each knowledge area, test yourself frequently. 50 Qu

each time you sit down to answer. Do not peep at answer and

4. After completing all 10 Knowledge areas, test yourself acroyou are confident to face PMI. Review your study on areas ofJoin group discussion forums. To be confident, You should be75% on PM Fastrack each time you sit to examine yourself.

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Tricks of the Trade-rita