Updates to the Program Management Professional (PgMP) Credential Exam

The Program Management Professional (PgMP)^® credential will be updated on 1 February 2012, based on updates to the professional role of a PgMP^® recently found in PMI’s Role Delineation Study (RDS). The PgMP^® RDS is the foundation on which this professional credential is based. Learn more about the PgMP RDS.

What do I need to know about the changes to the PgMP credential and examination?

• The release date for the new PgMP exam has been changed from 1 January 2012 to 1 February 2012, to accommodate testing needs of PgMP candidates currently in the pipeline. The last day to take the current PgMP examination will be 20 January 2012.
• As with any credential exam update that results from a RDS, exam reports will not be available to candidates immediately after they take the new exam. Candidates who take the exam after 1 February will receive exam reports by the end of May. This delay is required in order to validate the new exam structure. Once the new exam structure is validated, candidates will again receive their results immediately after completing the exam.
• To implement the new exam efficiently, candidates will not be able to sit for the PgMP exam between 21 January and 31 January 2012. This period where the exam will be temporarily unavailable ensures Prometric facilities are appropriately administering the new PgMP exam across all testing centers globally on 1 February 2012.

What PgMP resources are available to update training and courseware?

• If you are preparing training or courseware for people who plan to take the new PgMP examination after 1 February 2012, you can access a complimentary electronic copy of the PgMP Examination Content Outline, formerly titled the PgMP Examination Specification.
• The current PgMP application will remain available until 31 January 2012. A preview of the new PgMP application has been made available so that candidates can choose which set of Experience Summaries they wish to answer and prepare accordingly. New PgMP applications will start to be processed on 1 February 2012.
• If you are a candidate, trainer, or if you need to communicate about the PgMP exam update within your organization or community, be prepared by reading our frequently asked questions (FAQs).
• To learn more about the relationship of domains and tasks between the current and new delineation please review the Comparison of New Delineation of Program Management Professional with Current Delineation.

What if I want to take the current version of the PgMP examination?

• Be sure to submit your completed PgMP application and payment for your examination in time to schedule your examination at a Prometric testing center prior to 20 January 2012.
• In order to implement the new exam efficiently, candidates will not be able to sit for the PgMP exam between 21 January and 31 January 2012. This period where the exam will be temporarily unavailable ensures Prometric facilities are appropriately administering the new PgMP exam across all testing centers globally on 1 February 2012.

What if I am preparing for the new version of the PgMP examination?

If you have not yet completed your PgMP application…

Be advised that the PgMP application will change 1 February 2012. The current PgMP application requires 8 Experience Summaries for Panel Review. The new PgMP application features 5 new Experience Summaries.

New PgMP applications will start to be processed on 1 February 2012. A preview of the new PgMP Application has been made available so that candidates can choose which set of Experience Summaries they wish to answer and prepare accordingly.

If you have submitted your completed PgMP application, but have not yet paid for your exam…
Please be sure to submit payment for your examination and schedule your examination at a Prometric testing center on or after 1 February 2012.

If you have submitted your PgMP application and examination fees…
Please be sure to schedule your examination at a Prometric testing center on or after 1 February 2012.

Delivery of Exam Results

As we transition to the new examination, PMI must update its examination reporting processes. This means for a period of time examination results will not be available immediately following the examination.

• All candidates who take the updated examination on or after 1 February 2012 will not receive immediate results at the Prometric testing center.
• All candidates can expect to receive their examination results by 31 May 2012.
• Once PMI validates the new examination structure, we will be able to resume providing individuals with immediate results at the Prometric testing center.
• Each PgMP candidate will receive a communication to notify them when their results are available at PMI.org.

Source: www.pmi.org

Advertisement

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Exam is changing!

The Project Management Professional (PMP)^® credential examination will be updated in 2011, based on updates to the professional role of a PMP^® recently found in PMI’s Role Delineation Study (RDS).

What do I need to know about the changes to the PMP credential and examination?

• The process for updating the PMP begins with the RDS, which is now complete. Learn more about the RDS.
• These updates to the role do have an effect on the examination questions for the PMP, and will be reflected in the PMP examination starting 31 August 2011. Regular communications about this change will continue until the PMP examination change on 31 August.
• Read article from PMI Today®, December 2010: PMP Examination to Be Updated in 2011
  

  Where can I find PMP update resources?

  • If you are preparing training or courseware for people who plan to take the PMP examination after 31 August, you can access a complimentary electronic copy of the PMP Examination Content Outline, formerly titled the PMP Examination Specification.
  • If you need to communicate about the PMP update within your organization or community, be prepared by reading frequently asked questions (FAQs).

Q1. As a current credential holder how does this impact me? Are there any changes for renewing my credential?
A: If you currently hold the PMP credential, the release of the new RDS has limited impact for you since the primary result of the RDS is to update the PMP examination. PMI will review the results of this RDS to determine whether it requires updates be made to the PMP Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program. PMI expects that any changes to this program will be announced in Q4 2010.

Q2. When will the changes to the PMP examination take place?
A: The new examination is scheduled to be released on 31 August 2011. This means that the last day to take the current PMP examination is 30 August 2011. Candidates who would like to take the current version of the examination are advised to schedule their examinations early to better ensure that they are able to obtain a test date before the examination update.

Q3. Are the eligibility criteria (contact hours / project management experience hours) changing?
A: No – the eligibility criteria will remain the same. Only the multiple-choice examination content of the PMP is changing.

Q4. What version of a Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) should I study for the updated PMP examination?
A: The update of the examination for the new RDS does not affect the PMBOK® Guide, so candidates should continue to study the Fourth Edition, as well as other current project management titles.

Q5. Is there going to be a change to the PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition?
A: No. The update of the examination to align with the new RDS does not affect the PMBOK® Guide.

Q6. Will the score report be changing?
A: At this time, PMI does not anticipate any changes will be made to the PMP score report.

Q7. Will PMI provide a full refund if I am unable to take the exam before the new exam is released?
A: No. PMI is announcing the change to the PMP examination approximately 11 months before it is implemented so that all PMP candidates have the time required to take the examination before it is updated.

Q8. Will PMI have expanded scheduling options at the test centers to ensure that all candidates can take the exam prior to updates taking place?
A: PMI is working with our testing partner, Prometric, to coordinate availability changes at testing centers, if this is required due to demand.
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Q9. What are the major differences from the new exam to the old exam? A: Approximately 30% of the content on the PMP examination is new or has substantial changes to reflect the role as defined by the RDS. This will result in existing items being updated as appropriate, new examination items being developed to meet these requirements, and old items which do not meet the criteria being retired. A: Certain areas of the examination need to be tested in a different way because it was seen to be common across all content areas of the examination. Specifically, the Professional and Social Responsibility content area (Domain 6) will now be tested in every domain rather than as a separate domain on the examination. As such, PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is now integrated into the day-to-day role of a project manager, emphasizing its importance in each phase of the project lifecycle.

Q10. Will PMI’s Registered Education Providers (R.E.P.s) be clear on whether they are teaching courses based on the current exam or the new exam version?
A: PMI REPs have been informed on the change and update schedule, as well as being provided the new PMP Examination Content Outline in order to update their courses.

Q11. I scheduled my exam before the update and now I’m not prepared to take the exam. Can I have an extension?
A: No. Any examinations taken on or after 31 August 2011 will be updated to the new version of the examination.

Q12. Will I need to take another prep course since the exam is being updated?
A: PMP candidates are encouraged to prepare thoroughly for the new version of the examination. PMI has study tips available for PMP candidates at the PMP study tips page.

Q13. If I have earned PDUs for my PMP credential, will they count toward renewal for the new version of the PMP?
A: Yes. The new RDS only.

Source: PMI.org

How to Prepare for the PMP Exam Part 2: Filling Out the Application – By Cornelius Fichtner, PMP (CIO.com)

Filling out the application for the PMP exam can be a project in itself. In this second part of CIO.com’s series on preparing for the PMP exam, you’ll get some tools and learn some best practices that will help you fill out the application efficientlythus inching you closer to your goal of earning PMP certification.

Once you’ve determined that you’re eligible to take the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) exam toward PMP certification, your next step is to fill out and submit the application.

The biggest impediment aspiring PMPs face before taking the exam is filling out the nine-page application. Although the application is straightforward, it requires applicants to convey a lot of detailed information about their project management experience. Gathering all of this information can be a project in itself and can take days if not weeks. Consequently, many who start filling out the application never finish it, and thus their hopes of earning the coveted PMP certification are dashed before they even take the exam.

In this second article in CIO.com’s series on preparing for the PMP exam, you’ll learn how the application process works and about its various steps. You’ll also get some tools and learn some best practices that will help you fill out the application efficiently.

Step 1: How to Fill Out the Application for the PMP Exam

Too often, I see IT professionals decide to take the exam, but then life intervenes, and filling out the application for the PMP exam becomes the last item on their list of priorities. To avoid failure by procrastination, your best bet is to fill out and submit your application as soon as you have confirmed that you meet all of the eligibility requirements. Filling out the application and later paying the application fee (which ranges from $250 to $555, with most people paying $405) is a great motivator and will keep you focused on your goal: earning PMP certification.

The Project Management Institute prefers that you apply online. A printable version of the application is available, but applying online is simple and convenient. You have 90 days to complete your application from the moment you start filling it out, and you can save what you’ve written between sessions.

The application is broken into three major sections. The first section asks for your contact information (e.g., name, address, job title, employer’s name) educational background and the industry you work in. Section two requires you to list your project management experience hours (i.e., the amount of time you’ve spent leading and directing project management-related tasks). In section three, you record your contact hours—the amount of time you’ve spent in project management training or education programs.

Section two will take up most of your time because you will need to provide detailed information about all the projects that you have worked on. For example, for each project, you must document the title you held when you worked on this project as well as the name of the organization that employed you when you worked on it. You must also name a primary contact for this project and describe the tasks that you led and directed, along with the number of experience hours you gained during project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

The total number of experience hours that you need to document in section two depends on your educational background. If you have a bachelor’s degree, you will have to document 4,500 hours that were performed within the last eight years. If you don’t have a bachelor’s degree, you’ll need to document 7,500 hours.

Gathering all the necessary information about your project management experience hours and contact hours can be a project in itself. I therefore recommend the following best practice: First collect all of that information offline using the Experience Verification Worksheet, a tool that I provide to all my students for free. Gathering that information ahead of time makes filling out the application a much smoother process.

Before you can submit your application, you must read and agree to the Project Management Institute’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. It’s a small box on the actual application that you have to check, but it is very important. By ticking this box you agree to henceforth manage your projects according to very high standards.

After you submit your application online, the Project Management Institute takes five days to review your application and make sure it’s complete. (If you mailed a paper application, the review process takes 10 days.) If your application isn’t complete, the Project Management Institute will let you know and ask you to complete it.

Step 3: Pay the Fee

Once the Project Management Institute verifies that your application is indeed complete, the organization will send you an e-mail requesting you pay the fee to take the PMP exam. You cannot schedule the exam until you have paid this fee. You can submit your payment online and at the same time select whether you want to take the exam on paper or on a computer, if you need a language translation aid or any other special accommodations, such as wheelchair accessibility or a large font computer screen if you’re visually impaired.

Step 4: Prepare for a Random Audit

Your application may be randomly selected for an audit. The Project Management Institute elects to audit some of the applications it receives for the PMP exam to ensure that only qualifying candidates take the exam.

If your application is selected for an audit, you will be notified by e-mail after the Project Management Institute receives your payment. From the day the PMI notifies you of the audit, you have 90 days to send in your audit materials, such as copies of your training certificates that show that you have the 35 required contact hours. Once PMI receives your audit materials, reviewing and processing them takes five to seven days.

The audit is nothing to worry about as long as you are prepared for it. You should prepare for it while you’re gathering information for your application. Maintain a folder with documents that support the work you did on each and every project you list on your application, whether those documents be e-mails, project plans, meeting minutes or project charters.

As you fill out your application, be honest about your project management experience. Don’t embellish it. If you do, the Project Management Institute will find out during the audit that you’ve stretched the truth. How? For each project that you include in section two of your application, you will have to name a "contact person." For the audit, the PMI will give you a form that each of your contacts will have to sign to confirm that the information on your application is accurate.

Therefore, I recommend the following best practice: Get in touch with all of your contacts before you submit your application and ask them to tell you if they agree with what you have written about a given project. This way, you can make sure they will back up whatever you record on your application if the Project Management Institute audits it.

Step 5: Schedule Your PMP Exam

After your application has passed the completeness verification and you have paid your credential fees, the Project Management Institute will send you an electronic notification informing you that you are eligible to schedule the test. You have one year to take your test, and you can take the exam two more times should you not pass it the first time.

The PMP exam is administered by Prometric, a provider of testing services. You will actually schedule your exam on Prometric’s website. Simply locate the Prometric office closest to your hometown and find an available date that fits your schedule. Some Prometric offices are very busy, and you may have to wait weeks or months to take your exam. Scheduling your exam well in advance not only guarantees that you have a seat, it also puts a big red X on your calendar, which is a great motivator to keep on studying.

Cornelius Fichtner, PMP, is a noted project management expert with nearly 20 years of project management experience in various industries. He has helped over 11,000 students prepare for the PMP Exam with The Project Management PrepCast, a downloadable and portable exam prep video workshop. A former PMI Chapter president, Fichtner is currently an active volunteer in his local PMI chapter and a member of PMI’s New Media Council. He is also the host of the Project Management Podcast and the PDU Podcast.

Source: CIO.com

How to Prepare for the PMP Exam Part 1: Assess Your Eligibility – By Cornelius Fichtner, PMP (CIO.com)

Not everyone is eligible to take the Project Management Institute’s exam toward PMP certification. Here’s a breakdown of the requirements. (This is the first of a weekly, eight-part series of articles on preparing for the PMP exam.)

Project management remains one of the hottest career options for IT professionals. CIOs report quarter after quarter that project management skills are among the most sought after IT skills for their organizations.

IT workers are responding to this demand by increasingly seeking out project management certification. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the number of IT professionals who hold the PMP credential has doubled over the past five years. The Project Management Institute offers the most popular project management certification in the U.S.—the Project Management Professional or PMP credential. It signifies that an individual is proficient in PMI’s project management framework, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). It also indicates that the individual possesses significant project management skills and experience.

According to the PMP Credentials Handbook, the PMP exam "objectively assesses and measures experience, education and professional knowledge—the foundation of competent practice as a project manager."

PMP certification can give IT project managers an edge in the job market, as more employers note in ads for project manager jobs that project management certification is highly desirable, if not required. IT project managers who are certified tend to earn higher salaries than project managers who lack credentials, according to a salary survey conducted by the Project Management Institute.

But not everyone is eligible to take the PMP certification exam. Interested parties must meet certain requirements established by the Project Management Institute. Here’s the low-down on those requirements.

Given the interest in project management certification, CIO.com and PMP expert Cornelius Fichtner have prepared a series of how-to articles designed to help interested parties prepare for the PMP exam. This article is the first in the series.

Determining Your Eligibility to Take the PMP Exam

The Project Management Institute requires that people who wish to take the PMP exam possess project management-related experience and have received formal project management training or instruction. The organization outlines its criteria for taking the PMP exam in the PMP Credential Handbook. This free publication is downloadable from the Project Management Institute’s website. In it, you’ll find a description of the PMP certification, an explanation of who is eligible to apply, and how to go about applying. Read the first 20 pages and you will know all there is to know about the exam from an administrative point of view.

Here are the basic requirements for taking the exam:

• A four-year degree (bachelor’s or the global equivalent) and at least three years of project management experience. Of those three years of project management experience, 4,500 hours should have been spent leading and directing projects. 35 hours of project management education are also required.
• In the absence of a four-year degree, a secondary diploma (high school or the global equivalent) is required, along with at least five years of project management experience. Of those five years of project management experience, 7,500 hours should have been spent leading and directing projects. 35 hours of project management education are also required.

Project Management Experience Hours vs. Contact Hours

The questions project managers ask me about the PMP exam most often concern the required "Project Management Experience Hours" and "Contact Hours." Somehow, the PMP Credential Handbook makes both sound more complicated than they are, and applicants seek a clearer explanation.

Project management experience hours refer to the number of hours an applicant has spent leading and directing project management-related tasks. The applicant does not have to have been a project manager but must have played a significant role in the portion of the project in which he or she was involved and must have led or directed project tasks. The applicant could have been a team lead, functional lead, technical lead, project sponsor, meeting facilitator or subject matter expert.

The number of project management experience hours an applicant will need depends on whether the applicant holds a bachelor’s degree or high-school diploma. In either case, the applicant must have accrued his or her project management experience hours within the last eight years.

Applicants also need experience in initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and closing a project—what the PMI defines as its five "process groups."

The online application for the PMP exam provides a limited amount of space (500 characters) in which to describe the project management tasks the applicant led or directed for each project. Be sure to provide concise descriptions since space is tight and one sentence is rarely enough for the PMI to determine a project’s eligibility.

Contact hours refer to the total amount of time an applicant has spent in formal instruction. Contact hours are earned by attending project management-relevant training, either in a classroom or online. While project management experience hours must be accrued within the last eight years, any project management-related training an applicant took in the past can count towards the PMI’s requirement for contact hours. There is no expiration date on any project management training an applicant has undertaken.

Is PMI Membership Mandatory?

Another question I often get asked is whether one has to be a PMI member to take the PMP exam. The answer is no, you don’t have to be a member, but there are at least two financial benefits to becoming a member:

• PMI members receive a significant discount on their PMP exam application fee. This discount is greater than what it costs to become a PMI member.
• PMI members receive a free PDF copy of the PMBOK Guide, which is needed to prepare for and pass the exam.

What’s more, many local PMI chapters offer discounts on their PMP exam prep workshops to PMI members.

Confirming your eligibility is just the first step toward taking the PMP exam and getting certified. In subsequent articles, I will take you through the application process, study materials you’ll need, tips and techniques for acing the exam and more—thereby providing you with a roadmap to your PMP certification.

Cornelius Fichtner, PMP, is a noted project management expert with nearly 20 years of project management experience in various industries. He has helped over 11,000 students prepare for the PMP Exam with The Project Management PrepCast, a downloadable and portable exam prep video workshop. A former PMI Chapter president, Fichtner is currently an active volunteer in his local PMI chapter and a member of PMIs New Media Council. He is also the host of the Project Management Podcast and the PDU Podcast.

Source: CIO.com

PMI Fact File

STATISTICS THROUGH 31 August 2010

Total Members	323,220
% increase August 2010/2009	5.9%
New Members	9,245

 

Credentials – Total Active Holders of:
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certificate	1,367
Project Management Professional (PMP) credential	397,378
Program Management Professional (PgMP) credential	460
PMI Risk Management (PMI-RMP) credential	447
PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP) credential	357

 

PMI.org
August 2010 Unique Visitors	578,760
YTD Total	4,425,915

 

Publishing
PMBOK Guide – Fourth Edition placed in circulation* August 2010	30,162
Total copies in circulation*	544,009
Total copies of all editions* of the PMBOK Guide in circulation *includes PMI-published translations	3,242,575

 

Source: PMI Today October 2010