PMP Certification — Free Study Materials
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification study materials including practice questions, study guides, and flashcards covering all PMBOK domains.
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A project manager discovers that a key supplier will miss a critical deadline. What should be the first action?
Which process group contains the largest number of processes?
A stakeholder is constantly raising new scope requests mid-sprint. What document governs scope changes?
Earned Value: If PV = $100,000, EV = $90,000, and AC = $110,000, what is the cost variance?
Which conflict resolution technique should be used when the relationship between parties is critical?
The schedule performance index (SPI) is 0.85. What does this indicate?
During what process group is the project charter developed?
A new regulatory requirement will impact your project. What should you do first?
Which type of risk response is typically used for positive risks (opportunities)?
What is the primary purpose of a lessons learned register?
Who has the authority to approve scope changes?
In a matrix organization, where does a project manager get their authority from?
Quick Summary
The PMP covers 5 process groups (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, Closing) and 10 knowledge areas. Focus on EVM calculations, stakeholder management, and risk response strategies.
The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is administered by PMI and validates your ability to lead and direct projects. The exam tests knowledge across five process groups and ten knowledge areas as defined in the PMBOK Guide.
Process Groups
**Initiating**: Define a new project or phase. Outputs include the project charter, stakeholder register, and assumptions log. Key activities: identify stakeholders, define objectives, obtain authorization.
**Planning**: Create the project management plan and all subsidiary plans (scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource, communications, risk, procurement, stakeholder). This is the most labor-intensive process group with 24 processes.
**Executing**: Direct and manage the work, manage team, manage stakeholder engagement, manage quality, acquire resources, develop team, manage communications, implement risk responses, conduct procurements. This is where the majority of the budget is spent.
**Monitoring & Controlling**: Monitor project performance, validate scope, control scope, control schedule, control costs, control quality, control communications, control risks, control procurements, control stakeholder engagement. Compare actual to planned and take corrective action.
**Closing**: Close all project phases and the project itself. Activities include: confirm work is complete, release resources, capture lessons learned, archive documentation, obtain final acceptance.
Key Formulas to Memorize
- **Cost Variance (CV)**: EV - AC (positive = under budget)
- **Schedule Variance (SV)**: EV - PV (positive = ahead of schedule)
- **Cost Performance Index (CPI)**: EV / AC (>1 = under budget)
- **Schedule Performance Index (SPI)**: EV / PV (>1 = ahead of schedule)
- **Estimate at Completion (EAC)**: BAC / CPI (typical assumption)
- **Variance at Completion (VAC)**: BAC - EAC
- **To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI)**: (BAC - EV) / (BAC - AC)
Top 10 PMP Concepts
1. The project charter authorizes the project and gives the PM authority.
2. The scope baseline (WBS + scope statement + WBS dictionary) is what scope changes are measured against.
3. All changes must go through formal change control — no informal scope changes.
4. Risk management is iterative — you reassess risks throughout the project.
5. Stakeholder management is proactive — identify and engage early.
6. EVM gives you a single number to describe project health — learn to calculate and interpret CPI and SPI.
7. Float on the critical path is zero — activities on the critical path have no flexibility.
8. Conflict resolution: collaborating is best for important relationships, forcing is acceptable for emergencies.
9. A项目经理 in a matrix organization must negotiate for resources — they don't have direct authority.
10. Lessons learned should be captured continuously, not just at project close.
Study Tips
Focus on the PMBOK 7th edition framework in addition to the 6th edition process descriptions. Understand the distinction between predictive (waterfall) and agile/hybrid approaches. Practice with EVM calculations until they're automatic.
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