The PMP® Exam Is Changing

If you are considering sitting for the PMP® exam, you might want to hurry! PMI® recently announced that the PMP® exam is changing. The new exam becomes effective on November 2, 2015. Until then, the current PMP® exam is still in effect.

Why the Change?

The changes are the result of the annual PMP® Role Delineation Study (RDS) conducted in March 2015 which updated the description of the project management professional role. The RDS gathered information from project management practitioners and examined the specific tasks of a project management professional, as well as identified the knowledge and skills required to perform project management tasks competently. Study participants came from a large cross-section of industries, work environments, and geographic regions. As a result of the study, exam content and qualification criteria is being updated to reflect the current status of the profession. This study serves as the foundation for the PMP® exam and helps to ensure that the exam is valid and relevant to the project management practitioner by validating up-to-date performance domains, tasks, knowledge, and skills.

This blog will focus primarily on describing the changes to the performance domains and the domain tasks. The April 2015 PMP® Exam Content Outline is not final – the proportion of each domain’s exam questions are not yet decided, and the knowledge and skills for each domain and task are not yet included. We’ll post a follow up blog when these are released, on or before June 15, 2015.

What is Changing?

Several tasks were added to four domain areas. A review of these tasks reveals that many of them are related to stakeholder management activities, most likely resulting from the fact that it was added a new knowledge area in the PMBOK® Guide 5^th edition, released in 2013. Some of the other tasks are related to elements of portfolio management.

Specific Domain and Task changes that affect the exam content are:

Domain 1: Initiating the Project – 3 new tasks were added:

• Task 2 – Identify key deliverables based on the business requirements in order to manage customer expectations and direct the achievement of project goals.
• Task 7 – Conduct benefit analysis with stakeholders (including sponsor, customer, and subject matter experts), in order to validate project alignment with organizational strategy and expected business value
• Task 8 – Inform stakeholders of the approved project charter, in order to ensure common understanding of the key deliverables, milestones, and their roles and responsibilities

Domain 2: Planning the Project – 1 new task was added:

• Task 13 – Develop the stakeholder management plan by analyzing needs, interests, and potential impact in order to effectively manage stakeholders’ expectations and engage them in project decisions

Domain 3: Executing the Project – 2 new tasks were added:

• Task 6 – Manage the flow of information by following the communications plan in order to keep stakeholders engaged and informed
• Task 7 – Maintain stakeholder relationships by following the stakeholder management plan in order to receive continued support and manage expectations

Domain 4: Monitoring and controlling the project – 2 new tasks were added:

• Task 6 – Capture, analyze, and manage lessons learned using lessons learned management techniques in order to enable continuous improvement
• Task 7 – Monitor procurement activities according to the procurement plan, in order to verify compliance with project objectives

What Does This Mean to You?

The education and experience eligibility requirements for the PMP® certification are not changing. The application and testing processes also remain the same. The only exam-related events you need to know are the date of the exam change and the updates to the exam content. After November 1, 2015, all PMP® exams administered, including retakes and language aids, will align with the new exam content outline.

The bottom line – don’t wait. If you have been studying and preparing to take the exam sometime this year, plan to accelerate your exam preparation and planning. Now is a good time to take the PMP® Exam Prep Boot Camp – either in person or virtually.

Next Steps

We’re already at work updating our renowned PMP® Exam Prep Boot Camp course to align with the new requirements – and we’ll reach out to students once the finalized changes are released (expected next month). Also keep an eye out for a follow-up blog once the new knowledge and skills associated with each domain and task are released for more information on passing the revised exam!

Teidi Tucker also contributed to this post.