PMPCoach

03/15/2020

I teach PMP classes and have been doing it for 10 years. I am often asked about the questions on the exam. First of all, I took the exam in 2005 and it was a hard test. How difficult? Probably one of the most difficult tests I have ever taken. It can be passed. In fact, about 80% pass it on their first… [ 171 more words ]

03/15/2020

The new year will bring a new PMP exam and new test questions. I am working on new content for my PMP course material but also new and updated questions for the Testing Center. As you may know the new PMP exam which goes into effect July this year will feature an emphasis on Agile. There will be 50 questions could be covering Agile topics as compared to only 2 or 3 in the current exam. [ 50 more words ]

The new year will bring a new PMP exam and new test questions. I am working on new content for my PMP course material but also new and updated questions for the Testing Center. As you may know the …

08/01/2019

More of an information note than a blog, but worth reading. If you are using the BLT testing center, just know that the questions are scoring about 8 to 10% harder than most other testing programs. If you know Oliver Lehman, his questions are much harder, but the ones on my site are tough. When I teach, I tell students that scoring a 75% on a clean practice test is "good enough". [ 51 more words ]

More of an information note than a blog, but worth reading. If you are using the BLT testing center, just know that the questions are scoring about 8 to 10% harder than most other testing programs.…

06/16/2019

I teach PMP classes and have been doing it for 10 years. I am often asked about the questions on the exam. First of all, I took the exam in 2005 and it was a hard test. How difficult? Probably one of the most difficult tests I have ever taken. It can be passed. In fact, about 80% pass it on their first try. [ 170 more words ]

I teach PMP classes and have been doing it for 10 years. I am often asked about the questions on the exam. First of all, I took the exam in 2005 and it was a hard test. How difficult?  Probabl…

12/02/2018

As a PMP instructor one of the questions I am often asked is how much does a PMP make? Of course, that depends on many factors including, location, years of experience, and industry. I teach in the United Sates so, as an example, the published data from PMI show a PMP making between $103K to $124K, with an 22% difference between PMPs and non-PMPs. [ 217 more words ]

As a PMP instructor one of the questions I am often asked is how much does a PMP make? Of course, that depends on many factors including, location, years of experience, and industry. I teach in the…

11/01/2018

Everyone who may be preparing for the PMP exam always asks what should I focus on? Looking for feedback from exam takers often gets you information from the old exam or even the one before that. I have been instructing PMP certification for 9 years now and am always getting great feedback from exam takers. Here is feedback from two September 2018 exam takers. [ 986 more words ]

Everyone who may be preparing for the PMP exam always asks what should I focus on? Looking for feedback from exam takers often gets you information from the old exam or even the one before that. I …

10/05/2018

Many people prepare for the PMP certification exam. Over 500 people a day, worldwide, take the exam. There are several basic things you can do to prepare for the exam. The first is to read the PMBOK. The next best thing is to take as many practice questions as you can from different sources. Both of those methods are basic but also boring. [ 259 more words ]

Many people prepare for the PMP certification exam. Over 500 people a day, worldwide, take the exam. There are several basic things you can do to prepare for the exam. The first is to read the PMBO…

09/26/2018

This blog will give my opinion on three topics. First, what is a PMP exam prep guide, second, which is the best, and third, which has the most realistic PMP exam questions. My answers are based on many years as a project manager, nine years teaching PMP exam prep courses and data collected from over 500 test takers using both real exams and practice tests. [ 334 more words ]

This blog will give my opinion on three topics. First, what is a PMP exam prep guide, second, which is the best, and third, which has the most realistic PMP exam questions. My answers are based on …

09/01/2018

The new PMBOK starts every knowledge area chapter with a section on new concepts, tends, tailoring and Agile as it related to the selected knowledge area. For Cost Management the key concepts include being concerned about cost of resources needed for activity completion and the effects on cost of project decisions. Understand costs are looked at in different ways, for example it may be measured when acquired, delivered, incurred, or recorded for accounting purposes. [ 74 more words ]

08/05/2018

Typically, the toughest knowledge areas are Integration, Stakeholder, Procurement and Risk management. These four represent the number 13, 12, 11 and 10 in order of difficulty. The highest scored areas are Professional and Social Responsibility, Quality and Time Management. The most difficult process group is monitoring and controlling. There are many questions on the exam covering change management. The other reason this is hard is the formulas users need to know are generally covered in these questions. [ 34 more words ]

Typically, the toughest knowledge areas are Integration, Stakeholder, Procurement and Risk management. These four represent the number 13, 12, 11 and 10 in order of difficulty. The highest scored a…

07/17/2018

New terms on the exam so far have been limited to business value, the talent triangle, and Agile. New terms also include the name changes in the old process steps, particularly the changes from Control to Monitor for Communications, Risks and Stakeholders. Human resources is now just Resource Management and Develop and Manage Project team is now just Develop and Manage team. [ 62 more words ]

New terms on the exam so far have been limited to business value, the talent triangle, and Agile. New terms also include the name changes in the old process steps, particularly the changes from Con…

06/30/2018

Practice tests are hard to gauge because they are just practice. As much as you may try to make it real, it isn’t and that affects the scores. So, what should you settle for as a “good” score? 75 is the score to make. Higher is better but 75 is a score that will meet expectations for the real exam. For smaller tests of just 10 questions it may be hard to score 75. [ 45 more words ]

Practice tests are hard to gauge because they are just practice. As much as you may try to make it real, it isn’t and that affects the scores. So, what should you settle for as a “good” score? 75 i…