The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a dynamic organization which is always on their feet. The PMI aligns its processes with those standards found in the “Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing” approved by the American Psychological Association. The PMI has a strong research and development unit which constantly inquires industry trends and keep themselves updated on the changes in working methodologies of businesses and the kinds of technological advancements that have taken effect. The PMI utilize these research data to review the content of the various certifying examinations they offer to match industry needs. Such a change in the Exam Content is about to take effect this year which every Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification aspirant should take note of.
How certifying organizations work?
Any organization that wants to offer a valid professional certification examination is directed to either use a Job Task Analysis (JTA) or a Role Delineation Study (RDS) as a basis for devising the examination. This process employs task-driven guidelines and relevant knowledge to evaluate a practitioner’s competence and identify the levels of criticality, salience, and skills needed to meet the industry-wide standard in the project manager role.
For this year’s PMP® certification updations, PMI conducted the Global Practice Analysis market research study, which presented numerous trends in the project management profession which were earlier unaddressed in the PMP® examination. These trends were applied as inputs in the Job Task Analysis to ensure the relevance and validity of the PMP® certification exam.
Why you should welcome this change?
The Job Task Analysis market research study guarantees that each examination accurately measures all the factors of the project management profession in terms of real-world settings. This means that those who have gained a PMP® certification can be certain that their professional certification has been designed in accordance with the best practices of industrial development and based upon the input received from the practitioners who ascertain those standards.
What is changing?
The Project Management Profession is ever-evolving. And so is the PMP® certification. Changes in terms of structure and domains have been implemented in the new exam outline.
Change in structure
Based on the feedback received from customers and upon analyzing the needs of the various stakeholders, the structure of the PMP® Examination’s Content Outline has been updated to enable easier understanding.
- Domain: it is defined as the top-level knowledge area that is vital to project management practice.
- Tasks: the project manager’s underlying responsibilities within each domain.
- Enablers: illustrative examples of work linked with the tasks. Please note that enablers are not an exhaustive list but rather a few examples to help in demonstrating what the task comprises.
Change in domains
- PEOPLE
- PROCESS
- BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
| DOMAIN | Percentage of items on the Exam |
| People | 42% |
| Process | 50% |
| Business Environment | 8% |
| Total | 100% |
IMPORTANT DATES
- Last day for taking the current version of the exam – June 30th 2020
- First day from which the new version of the exam will become effective – July 1st 2020
Note: Less than 6 months are left for the PMP® examination changes to take effect. Hence, if you have already applied for the examination, it is wise to give your first attempt as soon as possible. Because most people take more than one attempt to pass. So you should leave enough time to re-take the exam before the examination changes apply. If you delay beyond June 30th this year, you would have to start afresh to prepare with the updated PMP examination outline.
For further queries regarding changes affecting the PMP® exam, contact us.
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