PMI Archives - Project Hipo

PMP Training – Top 10 PMP Training Program Review

Chris — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 20:00:12 +0000

It is globally accepted that PMP certified professionals have the project management and managerial skills to complete projects on time, inside scope, and below budget. The market is very conscious of the positioning of PMI certifications. PMI is much renowned for its Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate. This blog post aims to provide the project management aspirants with the PMP training – Top 10 PMP training program review.

We have explored the major PMP training providers based on several factors including but not limited to: course content, delivery methods, customer service, pricing plans, practice materials, and refund/pass guarantee. The following is the summary of the Top 10 PMP training providers and their rating over a 1-5 scale:

#1 Master of Project Academy (4.8/5)
#2 Simplilearn (4.6/5)
#3 Brainsensei (4.5/5)
#4 Project Management Academy (4.4/5)
#5 Velociteach (4.3/5)
#6 Invensis (4.2/5)
#7 Knowledgehut (4.1/5)
#8 Grey Campus (4.0/5)
#9 PM Training (3.7/5)
#10 Udemy (3.1/5)

You can see the detailed review, rating categories, and further information throughout the post.

Tip: Do not skip – There is a summary and detailed review of the top 10 PMP training providers ahead.

PMI has more than 470,000 members in 207 countries, which make them the world’s largest project management association, and it has globally certified more than 740,000 PMPs. This is the mere reality to grasp the importance of PMP and it is also an indicator of PMP certified professional induction trends in the market.

Why Should I Get PMP Certification?

Project Management Professional (PMP) is a certification offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). PMP is a globally known professional certification as it is an endorsement of project management knowledge and experience. With the repute PMP carries, it is the best option for the project management aspirants.

If you are interested to advance your career in the field of project management, there is no best way other than earning the PMP Credential. PMP certification requires the aspirants to have relevant experience and knowledge of the project management processes. Without any doubt, it also requires a serious effort to obtain the credentials. A PMP certification acknowledges your passion for achieving your targets. Your PMP credentials showcase your abilities, efforts, knowledge, experience, and consistency. It also helps you earn respect among peers and team members. All the effort is worth it when you compare the advantages it brings to the PMP certification holders.

Benefits of PMP Certification

PMP brings various benefits to the certification holders. These include high market value, increased credibility and in many cases, a higher salary.

Global Recognition and Recruitment

Organizations are looking to recruit the best project managers who have their skills globally recognized. PMP certification is one of the must-have requirements. Even if PMP is not mentioned as a must-have requirement, it is a big advantage in the recruiting criteria. The PMP credential not only brings value to the individuals but also the organization profiles get richer when they have PMP certified project managers. These companies are given the edge in the evaluation by their client organizations.

Value in Current Organization

The PMP certification earns individuals with recognition and gives value to their current organization as well. The PMP certified project managers are given more challenges because of their recognized skills. They are consulted because of their knowledge and skills with respect to project management’s best practices. Also, PMP qualified senior resources are highly considered for the promotion to fill in the project manager vacancies. The PMP certification can take you to the next level in your organization.

Salary Advancement

One of the lucrative benefits PMP brings to the project managers is an advancement in the salary. According to an independent survey, PMP holders are drawing 20 percent more salary as compared to their non-certified counterparts. This is a great return on investment you spend on the certification activities. In other words, the investment you made on the PMP certification takes you to the next level with tangible benefits throughout your career span.

Diversity and Growth

The beauty of the PMP certification is that it does not bound you to a specific industry, even though the degrees lay the foundation within a specific industry. The PMP certification lays a foundation of the project management knowledge and skill-set on top of that technical skills. It paves the path towards the management ladder with a strong foundation and recognition. PMP builds the knowledge of fundamental project management processes along with tools and techniques.

Why Should I attend PMP Training?

PMI lays out quite an extensive requirement criteria to appear in the PMP exam. These requirements are very well thought to ensure that the project management aspirants with the education level, relevant work experience, and relevant training get the opportunity to appear in the exam. These three dimensions play an important role to select the right candidates.

Education	Project Management Experience	Project Management Education
Non-Graduates	5 years/7500 hours	35 hours
Graduates	3 years/4500 hours	35 hours

In this section, we will talk about Project management education. The above-mentioned criteria emphasize on the main role of the training hours. So in order to qualify for the PMP exam criteria, you need to acquire 35 hours of PMP training.

Considering this important factor for 35 hours of professional engagement, you must acquire professional PMP training. It is very clear from this fact that PMP training plays a crucial role in obtaining the PMP certification. On top of your education and experience, you must earn these 35 hours.

Make sure you attend a valid PMP Training Program (PMP, PMI-ACP or CAPM), etc.

One important factor to note here is that in case your application is selected for the Audit you will need to provide evidence of your education, experience, and contact hours of training to PMI. So make sure that you get the training from a PMP training provider who will guide you for the PMP certification, as well as the course, earns you 35 contact hours of professional education.

It is not mandatory to attend project management contact hours offered by a PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.). Not because PMI will contact them for your certificate of completion validation but a valid PMP training program from a reputable provider will save you the risk of failure to produce training completion certificate.

The benefits one can achieve from PMP Training Programs

There are various benefits of PMP training programs;

PMP training offers guidance through experienced trainers. These trainers are qualified and bring their knowledge and experience that will help you prepare for the PMP examination.
The PMP training helps you prepare a clear road map to follow, so your efforts get a direction and a defined path that you can follow in order to earn your goal. This shortens your preparation path for the PMP credentials by reducing the clutters and distractions.
You get the opportunity to interact with other project managers from various industries, with different backgrounds, different experiences, and different perspectives but with the same goal of attaining the PMP credential. This brings diverse exposure to your current knowledge. Also, you can make groups for the preparation if you are interested even after the training program.
The PMP training helps you cover all the required topics to prepare for the PMP exam. You cover the project management framework, basic concepts of knowledge areas and processes with respect to the PMBOK published by PMI. When you cover these topics, your foundation is set to improve. After, for the best preparation, you can reinforce your knowledge about all the topics covered. The beauty of the PMP training course is to cover the gaps and streamline your understanding with the best practices of project management. This will certainly boost your confidence.
You get a chance to apply and practice the project management concepts through the exercises provided within the PMP training program.
One of the best advantages you seek through these PMP training programs is your readiness assessment. The training programs provide quizzes, games, practice tests, and simulations to assess your readiness. You are able to identify the gaps and cover them to the best results with the help of these tools.

What should I consider when choosing PMP Training?

It is quite obvious that once you understand the importance of contact hour criteria, you will look for the best possible options while choosing the best among them. But what makes any institute a good candidate for being your trainer. You must be curious about how to choose PMP training and based on which criteria. The aforementioned benefits can also serve as the criteria for choosing a PMP training.

You can identify your requirements, and see how those requirements are being fulfilled by the PMP Training providers. So you can evaluate their training capabilities to best fit your needs. So, first of all, you must differentiate the PMP training providers based on their eligibility. Some of these criteria will be based on the PMP requirements and some of them will be based on your personal priorities.

Main Points of Consideration;

This may include the following list:

Do I get 35 contact hours after attending this PMP training programs?
Is the training provider well known for its PMP training? What are the success rates?
What are the available training formats for PMP training?
Does the training program offer the flexibility of location and time?
Are the trainers well experienced?
Does the curriculum cover the PMP Exam topics?
Do I get training material to prepare for the PMP Exam after the training?
If I opt for the e-learning PMP training format, what will be the duration of online access?
Will I get a completion certificate to fulfill the PMP exam requirement?
Whether the PMP training will help me assess my readiness through exercises, quizzes, practice tests, mock sessions, etc.?
Will the institute back me up for my PMP application submission?
What is the fee being charged by the PMP training provider? Is it the best cost-effective PMP training?
What if I fail in the exam in my first attempt? Will the institute support me in re-appearing?
Are there any refund policies?
What if I find that I cannot attend my scheduled class? Can I transfer to the upcoming PMP training?

There are main questions that generally come to the mind of candidates. So when you are looking for PMP training providers, you can use these criteria points to choose the best PMP training provider.

What is the Best PMP Training?

Considering the aforementioned list of questions, I have shortlisted the questions within categories as in the below table:

Main Category	Sub Category
Course Standing	PMP Training Recognized by PMI?
	Does it provide a certificate of completion for 35 contact hours?
	Is the course aligned with PMBOK?
Training Method and Material	Delivery Method
Training Method and Material	Practice Questions
Pricing and Refunds	Pricing Options
Pricing and Refunds	Refund/Pass Guarantee

Based on these categories, we have reviewed top 10 PMP training providers, rated them on a 0-5 scale and provided insights about each option. review the options and opt for the best PMP training for you.

Top 10 PMP Training – Comparison & Review

In this article, we will give you a detailed overview of each of the top 10 PMP training programs. Before that, you will see summary table and overview of our review.

The reviews also provide various aspects that you can consider to assess the suitability of the PMP training option as per your preferences. Also, with each option, we’ve covered the main aspects which are segregated in three categories: Course Standing, Training Method & Materials, and Pricing & Refunds.

Summary Table

The below table depicts a summary of the PMP training options. For details of each of the training programs, you can visit the detailed review of these training providers on the specified links with each of the option we have provided after the table in specific paragraph of each PMP training option.

(Click on image to enlarge).

Note that the values depicted in the table above are subject to change. However, the information is helpful to give you an overview of the options. You can visit the training provider website for more information.

#1 PMP Training Option – Master of Project Academy

Master of Project Academy is founded in 2012 and helped more than 100,000 professionals in more than 180 countries. The main benefit of the Master of Project Academy is that they offer as many flexible plans as possible for the PMP certification candidates: Self-paced PMP training, in-person PMP Training, instructor-led PMP live sessions. Starting from $67/month, you can find comprehensive PMP training materials to get ready for the PMP exam. All you have to do is opting for the best option you would like to enroll.

PMP Training Recognized by PMI? – Yes Master of Project Academy is recognized by PMI and it has a leading 99.6% first attempt pass rate in project management certification exams
Does it provide the certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? – Once you complete training in Master of Project Academy, the certificate of completion is automatically emailed to you.
Is the course aligned with PMBOK? Master of Project Academy course is based on the latest edition of PMBOK published by PMI.

Training Method and Material

Delivery Method – Online, Self-paced, Virtual or In-Person – Master of Project Academy offers all forms of PMP training: in-person, self-paced and virtual.
Practice Questions – Master of Project Academy courses provide more than 2,100 PMP practice questions

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options – Starting from $67/month, Master of Project Academy provides one of the most flexible and affordable pricing options for PMP training
Refund/Pass Guarantee – Master of Project Academy offers a 30-day refund guarantee in the first 30 days of the first transaction if you did not exceed 10% of the course materials.
Free Demo Materials Available? – Master of Project Academy provides several free PMP materials. You can check their Free PMP Training.

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 4.8 out of 5

You can read our complete review and details of the Master of Project Academy PMP training.

#2 PMP Training Option – Simplilearn

Simplilearn was founded in India in the year 2009. Simplilearn started as a project management blog, to share information and advice to candidates. Subsequently, the Simplilearn PMP training became popular which turned the organization into one of the leading online trainer providers. They have over 400+ courses and over 1 million trained professionals which is an indicator of Simpleton’s success story.

Simplilearn offers online training in areas such as cybersecurity, cloud computing, project management, digital marketing, and data science, where technologies and best practices are rapidly evolving and demand for qualified candidates is far above the supply.

PMP Training Recognized by PMI? Simplilearn is a PMI R.E.P (Registered Education Provider) like many other companies. Hence the PMP training offered by Simplilearn is recognized by PMI.
Is the course aligned with PMBOK? The course is fully aligned with the latest version of PMBOK which is offered by PMI.
Does it provide a certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? On completion of the PMP training course offered by Simplilearn, you get a certificate which proves that you have made 35 contact hours. Hence you are therefore eligible to have the PMP Exam. The evaluation criteria include attendance, qualification in simulation test and successful evaluation of the project.
Free Demo Materials Available? – You get a preview session which is available on Simplilearn.

Training Method and Material

Delivery Method – Simplilearn offers a blended learning approach that combines online courses, virtual live instructor-led classes, and 24/7 training support.
Training Material – PMP Simplilearn training includes 17 lessons, tips, and tricks, 8 sector case studies, lecture readings, section-level quizzes, 20 sector scenarios, 6 practical projects, 7 simulation tests (200 questions each).
- You can go to the course page and download the 12-page PMBOK Guide—Sixth Edition PMP Course Agenda in the “Course Preview” section. The total video duration is 8 hours 38 minutes and 5 seconds.
- Practice Questions – Simplilearn provides 7 simulation test papers and 200 questions each. A single simulation test will take around 4 hours. So, 7 simulation tests will take around 28 hours.
- Quizzes and Scenarios – Additionally, there are chapter quizzes, 8 industry case studies, 20 industry-based scenarios, 6 hands-on projects. As all this content will take a long time, consider a preparation time up to 2-3 months if you can daily work 2 hours a day.

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options – The PMP training is available all around the world, but with different prices. For example in India, the same PMP training is 8,999 Indian Rupee which is equivalent to 129 USD. Whereas, self-paced PMP training is 499 USD in the United States. So the price of PMP training for students from the US is almost 4 times higher than for students from India. Similarly, for European countries, the cost of the training is 699 Euro which is equivalent to 779 USD. So the price of PMP training for students from Europe is almost 6 times higher than for students from India.
Refund/Pass Guarantee:
- If you cancel 7 days (or more) prior to the event, 10% of the total paid fee will be deducted and the remaining amount will be refunded to you.
- If you cancel within 7 days (or less) of the event, no refunds will be made.

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 4.6 out of 5

You can see our complete review and details about Simplilearn PMP programs.

#3 PMP Training Option – Brainsensei

Brainsensei was founded by Dr. John Estrella and Chris Stafford. Dr.John is a successful entrepreneur, he is the author of six books and several courses. He was awarded a scholarship by the Project Management Institute (PMI) Educational Foundation for his doctoral studies. In addition to this, in 2012 he received Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee Medal. Whereas Chris Stafford, PMP, MBA, a co-founder of Brain Sensei, has 20 years of project management experience,

The breaking point of the theme offered by Brainsensei is: “Getting your online certification shouldn’t be painful”. So they set out to create an online learning system that not only works but makes learning interesting. They claim that it should be fun and easy as possible to achieve everything you want from your career. Getting the right certification is the first step.

Brainsensei Complete PMP® Exam Prep Course is an online self-paced course – you can take as long as you like or as quickly as you like to go through all their material.

PMP Training Recognized by PMI? – Yes – Brainsensei is a Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) of the Project Management Course.
Is the course aligned with PMBOK? The names of these modules clearly depict the breakup of Brainsensei PMP training with respect to Process Areas including Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing. Their training course is in line with PMI PMBok
Does it provide the certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? – When you complete the Brainsensei PMP training, you will receive a Certificate of Completion. This Certificate of Completion acknowledges that you have acquired 35 hours of professional development training.

Training Method and Material

Delivery Method – It is important to note that Brainsensei only offers an online self-paced course. Which means that other formats like instructor-led live classrooms as well as instructor-led virtual class formats are not available.
Training Material – Brainsensei PMP exam prep course is packed with a huge amount of material as well as 4 full practice exams. That’s over 900 practice questions. One can take and re-take any part of the course as many times as they like within 180 days (6 months) access period.

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options -The course is offered in different modules. Each module earns you PDUs:
- Brainsensei PMP Program Module 101: Initiating Projects. The cost of this module is $99.99. And the access is given for 6 months. This module earns you 4 PDUs/Contact Hours.
- Brainsensei PMP Program Module 102: Planning Projects. The cost of this module is $174.9. You have 6-month access. This module earns you 7 PDUs/Contact Hours.
- Brainsensei PMP Program Module 103: Executing Projects. The cost of this module is $89.99 and the access is for 6 months. This module earns you 3 PDUs/Contact Hours.
- Brainsensei PMP Program Module 104: Monitoring & Controlling Projects The cost of this module is $174.99 and the access is given for 6 months. This module earns you 7 PDUs/Contact Hours.
- Brainsensei PMP Program Module 105: Closing Projects. The cost of this module is $64.99. You will have 6-month access. This module earns you 1 PDUs/Contact Hours.

Refund/Pass Guarantee:
- If you complete the 35-hour Complete PMP Exam Prep course but you can not pass the PMP exam within one calendar year from the date of course purchase, Brainsensei will provide another 90 days access to the 35-hour Complete PMP Exam Prep course for free. In case you fail a second time, Brainsensei will also provide another 90 days free access to the 35-hour Complete PMP Exam Prep course. If you fail a third time, Brainsensei will refund your initial purchase.

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 4.5 out of 5

You can see our complete review and details about the Brainsensei PMP programs.

#4 PMP Training Option – Project Management Academy

Project Management Academy offers training programs in the areas of Project Management, Agile Management, Business Analysis, Quality Management, and IT Management.

Project Management Academy PMP program guarantees that the aspirants are ready to pass the project management certification exam on their first attempt. They offer their PMP training program as a 4-day PMP boot camp. The courses scheduled by Project Management Academy are guaranteed to run on listed dates. You can find the training course at your convenient location or online.

Is the course aligned with PMBOK? – Yes, the course is fully aligned with latest version of PMBOK which is offered by PMI. Their course outline includes Project Management Framework, Integration Management, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Cost Management, Quality Management, Resource Management, Communication Management, Risk Management, Procurement Management, and Stakeholder Management.
Does it provide a certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? – Yes, When you complete Project Management Academy PMP Program, you will receive a Certificate of Completion which is evidence that you have earned 35 hours of professional development training. When applying for the PMP exam, you will need to provide PMI a copy of this certificate in case your application is selected for the Audit.

Training Method and Material

Delivery Method – They offer the instructor-led programs at the training facilities of Project Management Academy. They also offer Virtual classroom format is 4 days of web-based e-learning with a live instructor. With these programs, you receive 6-months access to the online training portal. They also deliver the in-house PMP training course on client facility or any location of client preference.
Training Material – With the registration of this course you get the following extensive material:
- Post-class tutoring and application assistance tool
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) 6th Edition
- Print copy of all course materials (binder)
- A PMP Strategy Guide (booklet)
- PMP exercises and games
- PMP training aids (laminates and booklet)
- Over 2,000 PMP exam prep sample questions
- Realistic 200 questions mock PMP exam
- Access to additional web-based video lectures
Practice Questions – Their course material includes more than 2,000 PMP questions. They also offer 200 questions PMP mock exam.

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options – The original cost of instructor-led training is $2,895 USD. And the original cost of virtual classroom training is also $2,895 USD. These rates are subject to discounts and the discounted rates are also displayed on the website.
Refund/Pass Guarantee -They have a money-back guarantee but to fulfill the criteria you have to appear three times for PMP Examination within 120 days. Usually, a PMP candidate would take time to prepare longer for their 2nd attempt, so this time-bound activity is tricky to achieve.
Success Rate? – According to the statistics they claim to have more than 99% success rate. They have also specified their success rate statistics for the last 9 years on their website.

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 4.4 out of 5

You can see our complete review and details about Project Management Academy PMP programs.

#5 PMP Training Option – Velociteach

Velociteach is a leading training provider with more than fifteen years of contribution to the advancement of the Project Management field. The company inception was in the year 2002 when Andy Crowe, a leader in the IT project management industry, left his high-profile career to pursue his passion. His aim was to empower others to learn project management in a simple, dynamic way that also encouraged personal and professional growth.

Since its inception, Velociteach has worked closely with organizations from a wide range of industries. Velociteach PMP programs’ main purpose is to provide the companies with the best project management training available on the market.

Is the course aligned with PMBOK? – Yes, Velociteach PMP training is based on the PMBOK® Guide—Sixth Edition.
Does it provide a certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? – Yes, when you complete the Velociteach PMP Program, you will receive a Certificate of Completion. This Certificate of Completion acknowledges that you have acquired the necessary 35 hours of professional development training.
Delivery Method – Velociteach offers programs in in-person as well as virtual formats. The in-person courses are offered at limited locations within a couple of states of the USA. However, candidates from across the globe can opt for the virtual classes which are also conducted by the instructors but provides the flexibility of location. The virtual format of Velociteach PMP training is offered through the GoToMeeting website.

Training Method and Material

Training Material – With the registration of this course you get the following extensive material:
- e-learning Online Course
- Workbook with Mind maps
- Flashcards
- Audios
- PMBok Textbook
- Practice Questions
- Quick Reference Guide
Practice Questions – The content of the Velociteach PMP course includes more than 2,000 PMP exam prep sample questions that help the candidates to assess their readiness and identify the gaps. There are practice tests in the PMP course package. Each of these tests includes 200 questions. With these tests, you can fully rehearsal and practice the PMP Certification Exam.

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options – Velociteach offers a live 4-day PMP Exam Prep Course. They offer this course in in-person or virtual formats. The price of both these course formats is $2,447 which makes it quite an expensive course. Not only for the virtual classroom but also for the in-person formats.
Refund/Pass Guarantee -Velociteach PMP offers a 100 % refund of tuition fee if the candidate takes one of their Instructor-led, Live/Virtual Certification Prep courses and doesn’t pass the exam after 3 tries within 1 year of the original class date. This is a quite reasonable time to re-appear in case of failure. So this brings a reasonable aspect of the money-back guarantee. Furthermore, if a candidate takes a Velociteach PMP or CAPM class and does not pass the exam in one year of their class date, they may attend a virtual class free of charge.
Success Rate? – Velociteach PMP has bagged very good reviews which are good indicators of their effectiveness.

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 4.3 out of 5

You can see our complete review and details about Velociteach PMP programs.

#6 PMP Training Option – Invensis

Invensis Learning was founded in the year 2000 by Arvind Rongala. The headquarters of Invensis PMP Training Provider is in Wilmington, US.

Thereby, Arvind initiated the launch of Invensis Learning as the training and certification branch of Invensis Technologies. They have offices in the US, India, and Australia, thus he ensured that the company becomes a trusted training partner for many Fortune 1000 clients and gain global recognition within a short time.

They offer courses in various categories such as Project Management, IT Service Management, IT security and Governance, Quality Management, Agile Project Management, DevOps, and Cloud Courses.

Invensis PMP Training has globally trained 10,000+ students and they are a trusted partner for Fortune 500 companies, small and medium businesses and government organizations to deliver globally recognized training and certification programs.

PMP Training Recognized by PMI? – Yes, Invensis is a registered education provider of PMI.
Is the course aligned with PMBOK? – Yes, their PMP training is based on the PMBOK® Guide—Sixth Edition.
Does it provide a certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? – Yes, You will achieve 35 contact hours (PDUs) certificate when you complete the Invensis PMP Program. Which fulfills the PMP requirement set by PMI.

Training Method and Material

Delivery Method – Invensis offers training in the following formats:
- Classroom Training: It is an interactive public classroom session delivered by highly qualified trainers with extensive project management experience.
- Live Online Training:
  - It is an instructor-led live online session. You can attend from anywhere.
  - This training is conducted on weekends from 10 am to 6 pm
- Corporate Group Training: It is a customized instructor-led on-site group training for enterprises. Moreover, it is a cost-effective training
Training Material – Invensis PMP Training methodology is coupled with high-quality courseware. This has enabled organizations to achieve high impact learning with increased knowledge, performance, and competence.
Practice Questions – They offer real Life exam prep questions and free guidance on progressing in your career as a certified professional

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options
- Cost of this training is USD 1395. They offer a discount on registration with multiple courses as well as for multiple participants. For instance:
  - On PMP course with Cobit 5 foundation course, avail 20% off
  - By registering 5 or more participants, avail 12% off on PMP Live online or Virtual training
Refund/Pass Guarantee -Invensis PMP Training is not offering any guarantee on the training or the content. And thereby they don’t have any refund policy.
Success Rate? – Over 95% of Invensis learning participants obtain their PMP within 6 weeks
Support? No, they have no online forums for aspirants to support or raising the queries

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 4.2 out of 5

You can see our complete review and details about Invensis PMP programs.

#7 PMP Training Option – Knowledgehut

Knowledgehut has training experience of more than 8 years. They aim to up-skill the next generation workforce. During this tenure, they have provided several trainings to various industries and corporate. They offer a vast range of portfolio that includes management as well as technical training programs. Agile is one of their popular training program which is offered in 68 countries across the globe. In eight years, Knowledgehut has over 200 courses and 120,000 learners across 70 plus countries.

Knowledgehut has a large pool of around 500 instructors who are qualified in their relevant fields. Their instructors are from India, Singapore, United States, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Australia, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Hungary, Ireland and many more. Knowledgehut has more than 100 instructors for the Agile Management course category and more than 30 instructors for the Knowledgehut PMP Training course category.

In the project management category, Knowledgehut offers 22 courses. PMP Training is one of them.

Knowledgehut PMP Training courses are offered in flexible delivery modes. These delivery modes include classroom and e-learning as well as virtual. Knowledgehut PMP training course also offers 6 Full-Length Mock Exams.

PMP Training Recognized by PMI? – Knowledgehut is a Global REP for PMI
Is the course aligned with PMBOK? – The course outline of Knowledgehut PMP training is in line with the PMBoK. The Knowledge Areas addressed in PMBok are the driving factor of the Knowledgehut PMP Training course outline
Does it provide a certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? – Yes, the Knowledgehut PMP training course gets you 35 contact hours which satisfies the PMI contact hour requirement to sit in the PMP exam.

Training Method and Material

Delivery Method – Knowledgehut PMP training is offered in a live, instructor-led format. This course format is offered on weekdays as well as over the weekends. For the weekdays, the duration is around 10 calendar days with half-day sessions. Whereas for the weekends, the duration is around three weeks with half-day sessions. Knowledgehut also offers PMP training courses in the instructor-led classroom training format. With these course, you get 90 Days of Free Access. They also offer e-learning courses. On registration to this course, you get 180 days’ access to the e-learning course contents.
Training Material –With the registration of this course you get the following extensive material:
- 15 audio-visual modules covering all course topics from PMBOK® Guide
- 13 hours of online content
- PMP® eBook in downloadable format and PMP® exam blueprint
- Tips and tricks to pass PMP® in the first attempt
Practice Questions – They provide a question bank with 300 questions on all knowledge areas. They also provide six full-length mock exams featuring 1200 practice questions.

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options – The price of this Knowledgehut PMP online Training is USD 899. And the price of PMP classroom training is USD 1099. These prices are subject to discount. And the price of this Knowledgehut PMP Training course is USD 399.
Refund/Pass Guarantee -Even though Knowledgehut claims that the candidates will pass the PMP certification exam based on the guidelines they provide to the candidates, they also provide the money-back guarantee in which they will reimburse you the class cost if you fall in the policy criteria.
Success Rate? – Knowledgehut PMP training has bagged very good reviews which are good indicators of their effectiveness.

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 4.1 out of 5

You can see our complete review and details about Knowledgehut PMP programs.

#8 PMP Training Option – GreyCampus PMP Training Program

GreyCampus established as a leading education platform. It provides services in the areas of certification training for working professionals and test preparation for competitive examinations.

GreyCampus provides a range of courses on project management certifications like PMP and PRINCE2, Big Data, Data Science, Service Management, Quality Management, Six Sigma, IT Service Management, DevOps and Cloud and others. Grey Campus has trained more than 150,000 students across 50+ countries leveraging a pool of 500+ expert instructors.

In addition, they specialize in instructor-led blended certification training programs in project management, Six Sigma and IT service management and other areas.

They believe that instructor-led training augmented with online resources is the most optimal training learning environment which leads to the best results.

PMP Training Recognized by PMI?– Yes, GreyCampus is s a Global PMI Registered Education Provider
Is the course aligned with PMBOK? – Being a REP, they ensure that this course is in alignment with the most updated version of the PMP exam content outline.
Does it provide a certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? – Yes, All of their formats come with a 35-Contact Hours’ education certificate which fulfills the prerequisite of your PMP certification eligibility.

Training Method and Material

Delivery Method – They provide three different learning formats. These formats include in-person classes, online classes, and a self-paced online course.
Training Material – With the PMP training from Greycampus, you get an official copy of PMBOK Guide, Free access to a dedicated one day live exam solving session. In addition to this, you get 30 days access to an instructor via email for clarifications and guidance.

The online self-learning format includes detailed videos, simulated tests, and other study aids. Their training program also provides additional tasks, knowledge, and skills that are part of the certification exam.

Practice Questions – GreyCampus conduct additional hands-on examination review- once every month- for participants of instructor-led training variants. This review session involves a live simulated test, which demonstrates the reason and rationale behind answering each of the 200 questions. You will require to contact the assigned training coordinator after you register to book your seat for one of the sessions.

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options – Greycampus offers an online self-learning program at the cost of $300. They also offer live online training program which comprises of live over-the-web lectures. This program is available at a cost of $699. In addition to this, Greycampus also offers a Classroom training program. The cost of this program varies as per batch and location. The cost range is $899 to $1.599.
Refund/Pass Guarantee – GreyCampus PMP Training offers 100% Money back guarantee
Success Rate? – Greycampus have an audited PMP Exam pass rate of 99.4%
Support? GreyCampus provides 30 days post-program instructor support PMP Training for their live online and classroom courses,

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 4.0 out of 5

You can see our complete review and details about GreyCampus PMP Training Programs

#9 PMP Training Option – PM Training Program

PM Training was founded in the year 2004 by Christopher Scordo PMP, ITIL. So, Christopher Scordo is the founder and managing director of PM Training. In addition to this, he is also the author of many bestselling exam preparation books.

Since its inception in 2004, PM training is into professional certification test products on certifications such as PMP, CAPM, ACP, Scrum Master, and ITIL. PM Training is a provider of course offerings such as PMP, PgMP, CAPM, PMI-ACP, and RMP.

PMP Training Recognized by PMI? – Yes, PM Training is a PMI registered education provider (REP) for PMI Products
Is the course aligned with PMBOK? – PM Training’s PMP Training courses and products adhere to all PMI guidelines.
Does it provide a certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? – After attending the PM training course, you will attain 35 contact hours. This is a prerequisite to appear for the exam.

Training Method and Material

Delivery Method – PM Training PMP Training institute offers training in 2 modes i.e. instructor-led live classes and self-learning format. They offer both of these formats in online mode. In addition to this, PM Training’s PMP training institute also offers private classes to organizations worldwide in both live onsite and live online training formats.
Training Material – Once you enroll in the class, you get:
- Instant mail confirmation and instructor follow-up starts
- Extensive study tool with each class which includes offline exam preparation tools, a comprehensive class manual, and access to realistic exam simulation tools
- You get free membership to PM Training’s online exam practice system
- And you will get access to over 1000 PMP Practice exam questions, answers, and detailed explanations.
- You get 90 days access to course material

Practice Questions – Once you register to this course you get access to over 1000 PMP Practice exam questions, answers, and detailed explanation.

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options – PM Training conducts the PMP Boot camp training course is an on-demand course available full time through the website. The course of this cost is 348 USD. The live class online format is available on weekends and evenings. The price of this course is USD 1148.
Refund/Pass Guarantee – Students will receive a full refund up to 7 days prior to the original class start. Otherwise, there will be a $150 cancellation fee for multi-week classes and a $ 250 cancellation fee for Boot camp classes.
Success Rate? – The first-time pass rate is 97%.
Support? A one-on-one session with the instructor to answer questions and clarify concepts. Another feature is email access to PMP instructor in case you have additional questions or feedback on PMP Related topics

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 3.7 out of 5

You can see our complete review and details about PM Training PMP programs.

#10 PMP Training Option – Udemy Training Program

The Udemy founder, Eren Bali, along with the co-founders, Oktay Çağlar and Gagan Biyani, have a common goal: to make quality education more accessible and to improve lives through education. Udemy is a platform where instructors, business, and students register. They provide course development tools for the instructors. Instructors can upload videos, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, audio files, and live classes and students register to these published online courses.

Udemy also provides mechanisms where teachers can interact with users through online discussion forums. They offer courses for different walks of life which includes entrepreneurship, health, fitness, language, academics, art, music, and technology. So is the case with Project Management training. So if you decide to spend your time & money on a PMP course material, Udemy has PMP options that might satisfy your need but only to some extent.

Most courses are free and most are less than $100. However, it is more important to note here that Udemy does not authenticate the professional value of the course. As there is no independent validation of the course. Mainly instructors are responsible for their courses. So we can say that they are more like online publishers of the courses.

Standing of the course

PMP Training Recognized by PMI? – The majority of Udemy courses do not include a qualification certificate recognized by an employer or other educational institution.
Is the course aligned with PMBOK? – There is a variety of courses available for PMP preparation. There is a risk that all of these courses may not be aligned with PMBOK. So you have to search for the right course among the huge list of courses.
Does it provide a certificate of completion for 35 contact hours? – After completing a training program, you will receive a certificate of completion showing your knowledge of the subject. However, PMI may not accept the training content as a valid 35 contact hour training. So you have the risk of getting PMP training that is not compatible with the content of the PMP.

Training Method and Material

Delivery Method – Udemy offers courses in a self-paced online format. You can register for a course and learn the course at your own pace.
Training Material – Since there is a huge list of courses in the category of project management and the course contents of each course are subject to their creators. In other words, we can say that there is no standardizing of the course content across all the project management courses. However, it is a must for a Udemy course to include videos, quizzes, documents, and exercises. This is useful for learning the subject thoroughly.
Practice Questions – Quizzes and exercises are usually part of the course. You can see the course material on the landing page of the course to evaluate prior to buying the course.

Pricing and Refunds

Pricing Options – Most of the Udemy courses come under the price of $100. But you need to ensure that you choose the best course based on the enrollments and ratings.
Refund/Pass Guarantee -Udemy courses offer 100% Money back guarantee
Success Rate? -There is no specific rate of success I could find for Udemy PMP.
Support? – You can communicate directly with the authors for learning purposes and interact with the authors. You can ask questions and share your concerns without interfering with them.

Overall Rating of Project Hipo: 3.1 out of 5

You can see our complete review and details about Udemy PMP Training Programs.

PMP Training Conclusion

In summary, PMP certification is a crucial business requirement for senior-level project leader roles and PMP credential gives you the knowledge of project management. Hence, it is the approval of your global professional experience. In short, the advantages of PMP include high market value, recognition, increased reliability, and in many cases higher wages.

In this article, we provided you with PMP Top 10 training programs which are offered to the PMP aspirants across the globe. The purpose of the article is not to compare these training programs. However, we aim to provide helpful information to the PMP aspirants so they can get the high-level idea of these PMP Top 10 training programs.

These PMP training providers offer training in different formats. The course formats include Instructor-led classroom and virtual classroom. In addition to this, you can opt for a group and online training. The cost of their course ranges and varies based on the training format. These training providers also offer practice exams and questions; so the candidates can assess their readiness and work on the gaps. Many of these training providers have their money-back policies.

I think the provider with the ideal cost-performance ratio is Master of Project Academy. Master of Project Academy PMP Training is reasonably priced, additionally, they have several enrollment options which start from $67/month. Finally, Master of Project Academy PMP Training has a 99.6% first-attempt pass rate with a very good refund policy.

If you want to check the latest PMP course offerings, you can check on their website to get the latest information regarding these training providers.

The post PMP Training – Top 10 PMP Training Program Review appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMP Application – Step-by-Step Guide [New Method]

Chris — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 11:45:00 +0000

Are you someone who is planning to appear for the PMP exam? If yes, then you have to fill the PMP application form in order to appear for the exam. Hence, are you facing difficulty in filling the PMP application online at the PMI site? If yes then here in this article, we will guide you step by step to fill the PMP application form. This article will help you in filling the PMP application form easily and quickly. Besides, we will explain that if your application falls for audit then what is being done in audit and what you need to do to clear the audit. This will ease your problem of filling the PMP application form and getting clearance from the audit.

There are four major steps in PMP application;

Create PMI Profile
Education Details (Academic & Professional)
Experience Details (Project Management Experience)
Exam Details & Submit Application

We will go over each step in detail with a sample PMP application in this post.

PMP Application – Step-by-Step Guide for PMP Application

PMP certification is one of the most popular, recognized, and important credential for project management profile in the industry. This certification will help professionals like you in becoming competent in handling projects. Besides, it helps in rising your career graph.

PMP certification helps to familiarize the professionals with the concepts and techniques of effective project management. It addresses the requirements of project managers in project integration, quality, cost, human resources, risk and time. Moreover, it builds up skills in communication management. Hence, going for PMP certification is the right choice as it shows your commitment to the project management profession. Besides, it demonstrates credibility and also allows you to earn higher salaries. Furthermore, it raises your resume above the non-certified professionals, making you confident in handling projects and high market value. In a nutshell, PMP certification is the quickest way for project managers to earn a higher salary, better job opportunities, credibility in the market, better networking, more challenging projects, job security, enhancement in knowledge and skills and last but not the least global recognition.

As per the latest survey by Project Management Institute, PMP certified individual on an average has 25 % higher salary than non-certified professional.

PMP Requirements You Must Meet Before PMP Application

The first step for applying to the PMP exam is to fill the online PMP application form at PMI.org site. Now, there are 2 main requirements to be fulfilled before filling the application form for the PMP exam. Hence a candidate has to meet these PMP requirements before applying for the PMP certification exam.

The first and foremost requirement is to have the required education and experience level. Secondly, you need to have a project management education. Now let us understand these requirements in detail:

1. Education and Experience Level

If you hold a four-year degree or global equivalent then

You need a minimum of 3 years of unique and non-overlapping professional experience in project management
Besides, within the above time period, you need to lead or direct the project for at least 4500 hours (36 months)

If you hold a secondary degree such as high school diploma or global equivalent then

You need a minimum of 5 years of unique and non-overlapping professional experience in project management
Besides, within the above time period, you need to lead or direct the project for at least 7500 hours (60 months)

Note: Make sure that all the project management experience must have been accrued from the last 8 consecutive years before the submission of the PMP application.

2. Project Management Education

In project management education, you need to document at least 35 contact hours that you have earned from a training program. And the training program should address the learning objectives in project management.

One hour of classroom training equals one contact hour needed to meet this requirement.

It doesn’t matter when you have completed this training. What matters is that all the coursework must be completed at the time of your application.

PMP Application Step-by-Step

If you satisfy the requirements mentioned above for the PMP exam then you have 2 options to fill the application form. The first option is online mode and the second option is paper-based. We recommend filling application in online mode at PMI.org since it is faster and also recommended by PMI.

Now we will explain the steps to fill the application form in following headings with a high-level overview of PMP application along with images to make you understand the easy way to fill the application form.

Step #1 – Create a PMI Profile

Go to pmi.org and click the ‘Register’ button
A page will appear for ‘Create an Account’
If you already have a PMI username and password then click ‘Login’. Else enter your information to create an account

Now enter your personal information

Select the current job title, the year you were born, total years of full-time work experience, the experience of managing projects that last over 4 weeks, what best describes how you view project management as it relates to your career, does your organization have a PMO or group devoted to project management? And primary organization focus and area of focus are optional fields

Now enter the account information like username, password, and confirm password, select a security question and enter the answer for the security question.
Now the ‘Create Account’ button will get enabled
Click ‘Create Account’ button
Now ‘Registration Confirmation’ page appears with a message “Your PMI.org account is good to go”

Click on “Go to PMI Home Page”
Click on the drop-down next to ‘Certifications’ and click ‘Apply Now’
Certification Program page appears

Click on ‘Apply for PMP Credential’
It will take you to ‘PMP Application –Step 1: Education” page
In “Education” step of your PMP application, you will be filling your academic and professional (35 contact hours PMP training) education details.

First, you will submit your academic education background.
- If you have a four-year degree or above, you will need to submit 36 months of project experience in the next step of your application.
- If you have a secondary degree, you will need to submit 60 months of project experience in the next step of your application.

Step #2 – PM Experience Details

In “Experience” step of your PMP application, you will be filling your project experience details.

If you have secondary degree, you will need to submit 60 months of experience.
If you have four-year degree or above, you will need to submit 36 months of experience.

The application wizard will not allow new entries once you submitted the minimum requirements for PM experience. Therefore, provide the most recent experiences first.

Important: PMI expects to see your project management experience. Therefore, you must provide project management related terms in this step. (e.g. cost, change request, budget, schedule, sponsor, customer requirement, deliverable, reports… etc.)

If you still want to make any changes, you can click the ‘Edit’ button

Step #3 – Exam Details & Submit Application

On the third and last step of your PMP application, you will be submitting your personal details, contact information and exam details.

Once you completed your application, click on “Submit Application” and your application will be sent to PMI for review.

What should I do if my PMP application hits the audit?

PMI (Project Management Institute) is a world-leading institute for project management. Hence, it takes a lot of consideration to scrutinize the applications for the PMP certification exam.

PMI Audit process is a very simple process that asks for confirming the details of eligibility criteria which you have filled in the application form against the documentation and signatures of concerned authorities.

In steps to apply for the PMP exam, once you make the payment then the PMP application goes for audit. It becomes quite confusing as to whether the application form is being rejected or PMI found some inaccurate details? But don’t get puzzled. Here PMI is just asking you to provide rightful documentation along with the details furnished in the application form.

Steps of PMI Audit process

The first and foremost step is to fill the application form as per the steps mentioned above. Secondly, once the PMP application form is complete then you submit the application to PMI for verification and approval. It takes roughly 5 days for the PMP exam application to be approved. Thirdly, you need to make payment of PMP exam fees

Once you pay the PMP exam fees, then PMI sends you an email. An email can be for 2 different things.

Either PMI approves the application. That means it gives the go-ahead signal and you can schedule the exam. Then you can appear for the exam and get certified.
Or your PMP application has come under audit. The audit is a random process to pick the application form so don’t panic. It just requires you to confirm your eligibility details with required evidence duly attested by senior or reporting manager.

The purpose of the PMI audit

The purpose is to keep the reputation and quality of certifications endorsed by PMI.

PMI allocates 90 days to complete this process.
Hence, if your PMP application goes for audit then you need to collect all the documentary evidence i.e. education details, contact hours or experience certificate.
You will receive a PDF with all the details filled in via email. You need to get the signature from the reporting manager. Then prepare a packet and send it to the address mentioned in the email.
Once they receive this packet and they roughly take 5-6 days to verify. Hence when they are done with the audit, you will receive an email stating that you can schedule the exam and appear for the exam.

During the course of an audit, PMI verifies following:

Firstly, it verifies project management experience
Secondly, PMI verifies formal education.
Thirdly, it verifies 35 contact hours of project management education.

Steps to verify project management experience are:

A reporting manager or senior person or supervisor who has knowledge of the experience on your application is required to review and then complete the “Project Management Experience Audit Report”.
Once they complete the form, they are required to place the Project Management Experience Audit Report in an envelope.
Sign his/her name over the sealed flap of the envelope and return the envelope to you via in person or by postal mail.

Note that PMI doesn’t accept faxed or scanned forms and they don’t accept incomplete submissions either.

Step to verify attained education

Applicant must include a certificate, transcript or diploma from the school with which you earned your degree.

Step to verify 35 contact hours of project management education

The applicant needs to provide documentation demonstrating the successful completion of each course submitted which meets the requirements of 35 hours of project management education. You must include a certificate, transcript, or letter of attendance from the company, REP (Registered Education Provider), school or institute that provided the training.

Summary

PMP certification is the most prestigious certification in the field of project management. It is the quickest way for project managers to rise in their careers and avail numerous benefits. The best way to fill the PMP application form is online mode. It is faster and easier as compared to paper-based applications. You need to meet the education, experience and project management education requirement in order to apply for the PMP exam. PMI does the PMP audits on a random basis to maintain the credibility of PMP exams endorsed by PMI. They verify eligibility criteria against documentation and the signature of the concerned authority.

The post PMP Application – Step-by-Step Guide [New Method] appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMP Exam – Top 10+ Questions & Answers About PMP® Exam

Chris — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 10:45:00 +0000

The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is a globally recognized professional certification. The certification is offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), as an endorsement of project management experience and knowledge. PMP certification is considered as the best option for the project management aspirants. Many aspirants seek information and guidance relevant to PMP Exam preparation trainings as well as PMP Exam.

Are you interested to be well informed on the critical aspects of the PMP exam? Do you want to know about the recent changes in the PMBok? Or are you keen to explore the PMP Exam requirements? Do you want to have answers to many more PMP related questions? Then you are definitely reading the right article! As in this article, we will provide you information on interesting Top 10+ questions about the PMP exam which will be helpful for project management aspirants to initiate their journey towards project management.

PMP demands a serious focused effort by the aspirants to obtain the PMP credentials. Therefore it is important to get the idea of the PMP Exam so that you can plan to mark the success as certified. Let me take you through these questions one by one. As I understand that the PMP credentials will help you showcase your abilities, experience, in addition to your efforts and consistency you have put in to achieve your target, I surely believe that this little effort of mine may act as a game-changer for you.

PMP Brings Advantages

There are many advantages that PMP certification brings to the PMP certification holders. These advantages surely act as a motivator for the aspirants to initiate and complete their PMP journey. According to independent researches, certified project managers in the United States make an average of $111,000 per year and PMPs make 22% more than non-PMPs. The annual salary ranges from $85,000 to $135,000 depending on the years of experience. So the PMP benefits include high market value, increased credibility and in many cases, higher pay.

The organizations are looking to recruit best project managers with globally endorsed skills, PMP certification is a must-have requirement of hiring organizations. Even if PMP is not specifically mentioned, one gets preference in the hiring criteria.
The organizations also get the edge on their PMP certified professionals as they make the profile richer.
The PMP certification holders earn recognition and value within their current organization. The challenging tasks are generally given to more qualified project managers, so it makes PMP project managers better options. The success in the projects earns them rewards and recognition.
Companies love to promote and fill in the vacancies with their existing resources if they are certified.
According to an independent survey, people with PMP certification are earning 20 percent more salary as compared to their non-certified peers. This is a great return on investment of what you spend on the PMP certification.
PMP does not bound you to a specific industry. Even though the degrees lay the foundation within a specific industry. The PMP certification lays a foundation of the project management knowledge and skills set on top of that technical skills. It paves the path towards the management ladder with a strong foundation and strong recognition.

What Are the PMP Exam Requirements?

PMI defines quite an extensive criteria requirement to sit in the PMP exam. This criterion is very well thought; it ensures that the project management aspirants meet a certain education level, relevant work experience. In addition to this, the criteria also set a requirement for relevant training. The aspirants fulfilling these criteria are eligible to appear in the PMP exam. These three dimensions play an important role to select the right candidates.

Education	Project Management Experience	Project Management Education
Non Graduates	5 years/7500 hours	35 hours
Graduates	3 years/4500 hours	35 hours

Education and Experience

You can see that the project management experience requirement is subject to the degree of the candidate. If the candidate is a graduate then they need to showcase the 3 years of experience which means 4500 hours of project-related activities. Whereas if the candidate is a non-graduate, then the project management experience requirement goes to 5 years. Hence the non-graduate candidate has to showcase 5 years of experience that can be converted to 7500 hours.

Contact hours – Training

In addition to education and experience, the above-mentioned criteria also emphasize the training hours fulfilment. So in order to qualify for the PMP exam criteria, candidates need to acquire 35 hours of PMP training.

Considering this important factor for 35 hours of professional engagement, you must acquire professional training. And it is very clear from this fact that the training plays a crucial role in obtaining the PMP certification. So other than your education and working experience, you must obtain these 35 hours.

What is the PMP Exam Like?

The PMP exam is composed of 180 questions. There are 230 minutes to complete the exam. The PMP Exam Questions will be a combination of multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, and limited fill-in-the-blank types of questions.

These questions are distributed within different project management domains. In other words, we can say that these questions are distributed within process groups that include, Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing.

The duration of the PMP Exam is 4 hours. So a candidate has around 1 hour for 25 questions on average. Means around 2 minutes for each question. Some of the questions will be relatively easy and may take less time of yours as compared to the average time, whereas some are long or complex which may take more time of yours as compared to the average time.

Domain wise PMP Exam questions distribution

The breakup of PMP Exam with respect to questions within different project management domains is as follows;

Three Main Domains & Weight for PMP Exam:

1- People (42%)

2- Process (50%)

3- Business Environment (8%)

About half of the PMP exam will represent predictive project management approaches and the other half will represent agile or hybrid approaches.

It is important to mention here that each question of the PMP Exam is a multiple-choice question with 4 options. Out of these options, you have to select the right one from these given options. Hence you should try your best to practice the different domains and different types of questions, and you should also practice how to pick the right choice among several others.

Types of PMP Exam Questions

This means that the duration of ~4 hours and 180 questions from various domains within the project management framework, will be good enough to assess your understanding, knowledge, and experience along with your ability to interpret, focus and sustain. For this sake, there will be different types of questions. Many others have also categorized these questions to make the aspirants understand the overall structure of the PMP Exam. But there is no breakup of question types like the one you see for project management domains of process groups. Following are the most common and general categorization of these questions;

ITTO-based questions
Definition-based questions
Situation-based questions
Formula-based questions
Interpretational questions
Professional and social responsibility Questions

ITTO-based questions

Within the project management framework, all the processes are equipped with Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs which is abbreviated as ITTO. The good part of such questions is that these are well defined within the PMBoK so one can practice and remember. But it also brings the tough dimension as one has to remember the ITTOs for each of the processes.

There are certain logical ways to remember and answer such type of PMP exam questions. You need to practice in the real scenarios by putting yourself in the situation where you learn each process in terms of what is the output and what tools and techniques you must apply to obtain this specific output. Also, to apply the tools and techniques you must have certain inputs.

You can make this learning easier if you do your homework with respect to certain domains and process group areas. That includes Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Control, and Closing. This makes it easier to recall for the same stage of each knowledge area with some knowledge area-specific alterations.

For example “What is the output of Project Charter Process?”

Definition-based questions

There are also some questions that can check your understanding of specific terms and definitions. These questions are based on the definition given in the PMBOK guide. Such types of questions are easier to recall and hence easier to answer.

The tip of fool proofing this type of question preparation is to go through the close terms, make a list of these terms and make a comparison of these close terms. Different training provers also prepare flashcards to remember and reinforce such types of questions.

The good part of these questions is that once you prepare the question, you are likely to recall easily. These are also straightforward questions as their definitions do not change. The main point you should remember is to cover the broader aspect of terms and their definitions. For example, you should know the difference between types of Risks or the difference between Leads and Lags.

Such as:

Q: “What is meant by Finish to Start relationship?”

A: “A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished.”

Situation-based questions

PMP exam comprises of situation-based types of questions as well. In such types of questions, you are given a situation and based on the situation you are asked to find the correct answer. These questions test your ability to apply theoretical know-how to real-life project management situations. These situation based questions are tricky ones. So you have to be very mindful when you evaluate the situations to get to the most relevant answer.

Comes with long phrasing – a distinguishing factor

These scenarios based questions usually come with long phrasing. So you can develop your baseline of the situation layout in front of you. However, it is important to note that sometimes you may get additional information so you have to extract the right information and build the scenario applicability. The idea behind this is that in real life you will be given both relevant and irrelevant information. This is your test to identify what’s relevant and what is to ignore to build up your practical scenario understanding.

In addition to this, the wording of the questions plays a vital distinguishing factor where you will be asked what will be the BEST, NEXT, LAST, NOT, or EXCEPT option. So you have to give extra care to such tricky words. Especially the keywords like LAST, NOT or EXCEPT actually turn the situation into the reversals. These are the complex questions as there seems to be more than one option within the multiple choices you are given.

Most of the PMP exam questions fall in this type. So you should have a very systematic approach to handle such questions. First of all, you need to filter relevant and irrelevant information, to capture the real and relevant problem set. Once you are done with the extraction of the right information. you must try to read the answers and check whether the provided answer could be a possible option or not. This act will help you to eliminate the obvious wrong options. As a matter of fact, by ruling out the irrelevant you are shortlisting the possible correct answers. Then again you need to try to apply each possible correct answer and check whether it fulfils all the conditions given in the question or not.

Example

For example, you are working as a project manager to implement a project ABC. Your project requirements are in the execution stage. During your progress meeting on the overall status of the project, one of your project stakeholders asks you to implement a requirement. You also recognize that this requirement will add value to the project. What will be your best response to the stakeholder?

Such questions not only check your understanding of the concepts but also the applicability of these concepts as well as your experience in the domain of project management. So you need to focus on answering the question with the given information and your project management knowledge.

Formula-based questions

One very interesting type of question in the PMP exam is formula-based questions. There are almost fifty PMP formulas that you will need to know and understand prior to taking the PMP exam. The number of formulae is associated with different knowledge areas and domain areas. There are formulae associated with activity scheduling and costing, communications, indicators to assess project progress and value of the project.

An important thing to remember is that you will also need to know and understand all of the associated acronyms. You need to understand the applicability of these formulae. Also, you need to understand the acronyms used within each formula. On first look, you may find this variety of formula a bit harder or overwhelming, But as a matter of fact, once you understand the concepts these are like a breeze and you can easily learn them. After all your graduation degree has already taken you to a certain level where you may already have learned tot many during your education.

Just keep in mind that practicing the formula is the only way to remember. You must practice these formulae both sides i.e. forwards and backward so you can apply these formulae based on the given values in the question statement. In addition to this, a good grasp of the formulas may help you to more easily eliminate PMP exam question choices.

Example

For example, the Cost performance index can be calculated by using the formula CPI= EV/AC, provided we can find Earned value (EV) and Actual Cost(AC) from the given statement. Likewise, we can find EV = CPI * AC, or we can find situations where AC = EV/ CPI is required using the same formula.

Be mindful that even if you know the formula, there is a room of silly mistakes if you are not doing step by step calculations or you take some preconceived notions. Sometimes it looks like you can do the calculations easily but rather than multiplying you just did a division. Try to avoid any such small mistakes. Even the answer options may be based on such mistakes so one can easily fall into the trap if not mindful.

The best advantage that is associated with the formula based questions is that once you identify the formula and apply it correctly within a given situation then there is only one correct answer. Also, it is important to bring your attention that sometimes you will have to solve the problem by not only using a single straight forward formula. You may need to apply multiple formulas to solve the problem. so you need to practice complex scenarios within your study plan.

Interpretational PMP Exam Questions

Another interesting dimension comes with the interpretational questions. These questions aim to test your ability to deduce a condition from the problem statement.

These require you to identify the meaning of the situation based on your understanding of the facts provided and will require you to apply the correct awareness for the correct answer. In other words, these questions require you to go a step further than knowledge-based questions. For instance, you are given some data in the form of a graph, performance indicator. So you can interpret the past, present, and future of the project. These questions will require your good understanding of the concepts as well as formula.

To answer these questions you must be able to decode a situation or condition from the given information in the form of status or problem. Therefore in order to prepare for such a question, you can run different scenarios while preparing for your PMP exam. For example, what is meant by a positive CPI and a negative SPI at the same time for a specific project? Does this situation mean a call for any corrective action or it is the best situation of the project?

You should also be able to understand the graphs like standard deviation. There are also other graphs in the form of quality management tools associated with the Quality Management knowledge area. What is the graph representation of negative correlation or what is the graph representation of positive correlation?

Technique-based PMP Exam Questions

In these types of questions, you will likely be tested for your understanding of specific techniques during a PMP exam question. A technique is “a defined systematic procedure employed by a human resource to perform an activity to produce a product or result or deliver a service, and that may employ one or more tools”.

These types of questions may require you to demonstrate your knowledge of a certain technique and its application. For example, you may be given a certain network diagram and asked to calculate the critical path. Or you may be asked to calculate the floats on each node within the network diagram. In addition, you may be asked to do a forward pass or backward pass and calculate the critical path, even you may be given a sample data and asked to identify the critical path. In this case, you may have to draw the network diagram first to calculate the desired values and find the best result.

Example

In addition to this, you may be given a decision tree to find out the best option for return on investment. Or you are given a situation where you need to estimate based on PERT. So it may be knowledge-based where you can demonstrate your understanding of what a technique is used for. However, the PMP exam question can also test your understanding of how a technique is applied.

So this is a crucial part of your preparation where you not only know the techniques but you should have the knowledge to apply these techniques. You should go through the Tools and Techniques section of PMBoK, understand the purpose of each technique and the application. There are a variety of techniques mentioned in the PMBoK. Some are relatively easier to grasp whereas some require more practice. During your preparation for the PMP exam, you need to identify the gaps and keep on practicing unless you master these techniques to the extent of their applicability.

However, there are certain scenarios where you do not have to go into the fullest depth. As per my understanding, one must not necessarily apply the steps within Monte-Carlo analysis, but one should be able to interpret the result generated through this simulation.

Professional and social responsibility questions

There are a few questions that can come under this question type. Each professional body brings professional and social responsibility aspects to ensure the positive role of an individual. So these types of questions will test your understanding of the Project Management Institute Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. This may be tested through different techniques where it is reinforced and assessed that you have a good understanding of your professional and social responsibility.

PMI has identified four core values across the global project management community that are most important to project managers. These are:

Responsibility
Respect
Fairness
Honesty

In order to test these values, you may encounter several questions within your PMP Exam. There may be questions like one of your client offers you a free lunch what will be your best approach? Or one of your clients offers you a gift what will be your approach? Likewise, your integrity for sharing the actual status can be tested.

What is the PMP Exam Passing Score?

PMI has played around with the passing score several times. It is a common belief that 61% is the passing score for the PMP Exam. However, this is not an official pass rate so no hard carded passing score is available. Also, the passing score is subject to PMI discretion. The 61% passing rate was the reason for setting a benchmark based on the complexity of the PMP examination and success ratio with respect to the total exams.

The most important point to consider is what should be the percentage of practice tests. That can give you the idea of whether you are ready for the actual PMP Exam. I can safely recommend that PMP aspirants must score at least 70% in their practice PMP exams to guarantee their PMP success. The better the practice score, the better the chance to succeed.

What is the PMP Exam Pass Rate?

The PMP Exam rate means how many of the PMP exam candidates sit and pass the PMP exam. Like the PMP passing score, there is not an official score or percentage declared by the PMI for this either. So if any websites mention the rates or percentage, they are not the official ratings or scores of PMI.

As I mentioned earlier that the PMP Exam is not a simple exam, therefore there is more likely that the candidates have a higher tendency to fail the PMP Exam in their first try. That is the reason many training providers mention their money-back guarantees. In addition to this, some of the training provers also mention their full backing to the applicants. On top of this, they mention their success rates based on their trainees who sit in the exam and qualify.

If you properly plan your PMP Exam preparation through formal training and practicing, there is more chance of success. If you have practiced well the pass rate will not have much impact. The reason being a mere fact that you do not know how many candidates appear after proper preparation.

How Can I Apply for the PMP Exam?

There are two ways to apply for the PMP Exam based on the delivery type. The examination delivery type is either Computer-Based Testing (CBT) or Paper-Based Testing (PBT). These tests are based on demographic locations. As in some countries, computer-based testing is available whereas in others only paper-based testing is available. The preferred approach is Computer-Based Testing (CBT). In some areas, the Paper-Based Test (PBT) is the only way to take the exam unless you travel far from your location. It is recommended to apply online since the process is easier and faster.

The PMP Exam application comprises of the following steps;

Create a PMI Account at PMI.org

You can create your account at PMI.org through the registration link. Once you initiate the registration you will follow the instructions for creating the account. On completion, you will get confirmation from PMI.

Submit the online application

Once your PMI account is active, you can proceed to fill your PMP application on the PMI website. When you choose Project Management Professional (PMP) certification option in the certification navigation, you are required to follow the application wizard. Once you cover all the steps of application filling, you are able to submit the application.

Review of Application by PMI

Once you have submitted your application for PMP certification, it is reviewed by PMI. There is a chance that your application is selected for the audit. And there is also a chance that your application is confirmed without any audit requirement.

In case your application is not selected for audit, you are ready to go for payment submission. In case, your application is selected for audit, you are required to comply with the audit process so that your application is approved by PMI to further proceed.

Submit Payment

Once you have submitted your application for PMP certification, it is reviewed and approved by PMI. It completes your compliance for PMP certification eligibility criteria in terms of your education, training and relevant experience. You can now register for the PMP exam by paying the PMI examination fees.

Take the Exam

Once you submit the payment and it is acknowledged by PMI you can schedule and reserve your slot for the PMP exam within your nearest authorized center.

How can I pass the PMP Exam Application Audit?

Once you submit your PMP exam application to PMI, your PMP application will be approved by PMI. But another probability is that your application might be selected for the Audit process.

The PMP Audit process has a process of a random selection of PMP applications. In other words, The PMP may select an application at any point in time and ask the applicant to comply with the Audit process. There is a small percentage of applicants have the chance of being randomly selected for an audit.

On first look, being selected for Audit may seem stressful, however, the audit is generally a simple process. All you have to do is provide evidence of what you declared within the application. So if you fill your application carefully, there should be no problem in providing the evidence.

In order to ensure your application compliance with the Audit process, you must send the following to PMI;

Proof of education

You will need to provide a photocopy of your degree certificate for the highest level of education completed. This is the criteria in which you specified your degree. As you already have the degree with you so not a big deal to get a copy and add it to your Audit response bundle.

Proof of 35 hours of project management education

Another criterion to sit in the PMP Exam is the 35 hours of project management education. Once you get training from a training provider, they must award you with a certificate of completion with 35 contact hours. All you have to do is get a copy of this certificate and add it to your Audit response bundle which you will send to PMI in response to the Audit selection.

Details of your project management experience

The third criteria to sit in the PMP Exam is your experience based on your degree of Education. This may take a bit of additional work but still pretty much straightforward. All you have to do is to get the Print out of the PDF documents from your audit package organized by PMI and mail your documents to your supervisors. They will have to verify and sign off on each form you have sent to them. After the signing off they have to send the forms back to you. After you receive all the forms form your supervisors you will also include them in your Audit response bundle.

Please note that you may have worked on multiple projects which may require sign off from relevant supervisors. So each of the specified supervisors needs to verify their relevant project. Also, the supervisors do not have to send the verified forms directly to PMI.

Once you acquire all these above items and include them in your response bundle, you will send the entire package to the PMI on the address provided by PMI. It generally takes PMI a week’s time to receive the package, and process the audit. Once the audit of your application gets clearance, you can schedule your PMP exam.

How Much Does the PMP Exam Cost?

There are three main costs of PMP exam:

Training fee
The fee of the PMP Exam
PMP exam preparation time

PMP Exam Training Cost

The training is a mandatory requirement of the PMP Exam. Therefore you will first have to complete the PMP training of 35 hours. There are many training providers from which you can acquire the PMP training. Also, several training providers give training in various formats. Some choose a classroom or instructor-led setting, while others take online courses. These formats and training options bring a variety of prices as well. In-person PMP training options start from $500 and go up to $3,500 while PMP exam online training options start at relatively low cost.

You can read our Top 10 PMP Training post to see all PMP training options and ratings.

I think the provider with the ideal cost-performance ratio is Master of Project Academy. Master of Project Academy PMP Training is reasonably priced, additionally, they have several enrolment options which start from $87/month. Finally, Master of Project Academy PMP Training has a 99.6% first-attempt pass rate with a very good refund policy.

Exam Fee

Once you have completed the requirements pertaining to education, experience and 35 contact hours of training, you have to take the PMP exam in a Pearson VUE test center. Based on the acceptance of your application by PMI, you can schedule your exam date at your nearest Pearson VUE test center.

The PMP Exam has an associated cost. This cost varies depending on whether the applicant is a PMI member or not. The following table shows the PMP Exam fees distribution for PMI and non-PMI members. The table also displays the cost of re-attempt examination fees. These fees also vary whether the candidate is a PMI member or not.

The following table shows the PMP exam fees distribution for PMI members, non-PMI members and for re-attempt.

PMP Examination	PMI Member Examination Fees(USD)	Non-PMI Member Examination Fees(USD)
PMP Exam – First Time	$405	$555
PMP Re-attempt Examination	$275	$375

The PMP exam fee is 555 USD for the people who are not a member of PMI whereas the fee is 404 USD for the PMI members. One important point I would like to mention; If you choose to become a PMI member at the time of your application, you will just have to pay 555 USD for the PMP exam fee and the PMI membership fee combined. If you do not opt to become a PMI-member, you will pay the same PMP exam fee as well. Therefore, I recommend you to opt for the PMI membership prior to initiating your PMP Exam application.

PMI Membership

PMI is a yearly membership. You will have to renew the membership after one year. The year start is effective from the date when your registration for membership is approved. PMI membership comes with its own cost. There’s a membership fee of $129 and a joining fee of $10. This cost is less then what you can save at the time of the PMP exam application as becoming a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) can drop your exam fee from $555 to $405. Re-examination attempt fees are also drops from $375 to $275.

To avail the benefit of PMI membership in the PMP exam you must be an active member at the time of registration for the examination. If you have applied for the PMI membership, you would require ensuring that your PMI membership is approved and activate. You will not avail of the benefit if your PMI membership is either not approved or expired.

What I have just mentioned above, is one benefit of becoming a PMI member. There are also some other benefits of being a PMI member. The PMI membership offers the following benefits to the members:

You gain free access for downloading standards, guides and other valuable material relevant to Project management. This also includes the Project Management Body of Knowledge(PMBok). All the material is available on the PMI site pmi.org
Variety of templates that help project managers
Access to webinars and events
Discounted price in the examination fees and re-examination fees
Discounts price in the CCR renewal fees

PMP Exam Preparation Time

Once you complete the PMP Exam training and earn 35 contact hours to fulfil the PMP Exam criteria you are in the phase of self-study. You can opt to study the material prior to the PMP Exam training to get the basic concepts in line with your experience. This PMP exam preparation time is the intangible cost that you need to invest in terms of time and effort.

The training providers may also suggest the PMP Exam Preparation roadmap one can follow after their training. However, this duration is dependent on how much time you can spend on the PMP Exam training. This time may vary from 4 to 6 months based on your daily and weekly effort in terms of hours. You must be considerate especially when you are buying the online course as you can fully boost your roadmap once you purchase the online PMP course because the pace of the course study will depend on you.

How Can I Study for the PMP Exam?

There are a variety of training programs being offered for the project management aspirants. If you are also looking to achieve this milestone, you can look for training options in this regard. Many training providers offer a variety of mechanisms to provide the training. You can look for the following training formats as per your priorities. These formats include:

In-person PMP Classroom Training
Virtual PMP Training
Online Training

These trainings are great events that prepare you for the certifications.

In-Person PMP Classroom Training

There are instructor-led classroom training offered by PMP training providers. These trainings generally have a duration of 4 days. Since these trainings are offered in specific locations depending on the premises arranged by the training providers if you want to avail of the trainings in this format, you need to check the availability of the courses at your nearest premises. Also, you need to adjust your schedule according to the training provider program offerings. This format of PMP training has certain advantages and disadvantages:

Pros

You can directly interact with the experts
You can interact with other enrolled students
The training environment is well set for the learning
You get a chance to work in groups, these group interactions enhance learning. Candidates learn not only from the trainer but also from the others.
These classes will make you follow the schedule for learning.
The classroom environment provides human touch rather than only technology

Cons

It gets difficult to leave for the training out of your busy schedule
You have to travel to the premises where the classroom training is offered which may cost you extra time
These are one time trainings so once you miss the topic it may not be possible to grasp the topic in the same classroom fashion
You can not repeat the lectures
You may compromise on other critical activities to attend the classes

2- Instructor-Led Virtual PMP Training

Another option of getting the PMP exam training is through instructor-led virtual PMP training. These trainings generally are offered for a duration of 4 days. Such formats are offered on weekdays, and over the weekends. These trainings also award you 35 contact hours. Generally, weekday sessions start every Monday and end on Thursday. Weekend sessions start biweekly on Saturdays and end in two weekends (Saturday & Sunday). However such trainings are also scheduled by the training providers. So if you are interested in the Virtual PMP exam training you can see the schedule of the training provider.

Pros

Long-distance learning
Enhances collaboration and communication
Real-time teaching and learning
Effective and efficient time management
Gives students and teacher a worldwide exposure
Accessed to everyone equally from anywhere and at anytime
Introduces students and educators to education technology
Encourages digital and smart classrooms

Cons

No control over the students or classroom
No control over the learning atmosphere or environment
You would need a computer and internet access, which might not be at hand every time
Students lack real-time teaching experience

3-Self Paced PMP Training

Another alternative is self-paced learning which is 100% online. This training will also get you to earn 35 contact hours that are required to sit for the PMP exam.

These are the online lectures and learning material which are 24/7 available to the enrolled students. Generally, you get online access to the training material for a specific time of period depending on the package you avail from the training providers. You do not have to follow the schedule as is for in-person classroom trainings or virtual classroom trainings. So you do not need to wait or look for the scheduled offerings by the training providers to avail of this type of training.

Pros

This is a very effective way of delivering courses.
It is convenient and flexible, so the resources are reachable from everywhere, every time.
If you are a part-time student or are working full time, you can benefit from this kind of web-based learning.
Web-based learning promotes active and independent learning.
No need to travel to attend any sessions
You will have access to the course content 24/7, so you will be able to study anytime and anywhere.
If you like, you can study on a day to day basis, but also on weekends or whenever you have available time. There is no fixed schedule.
You have the option to listen to particular topics as many times as you want if you need it. This means your preparation will be quite effective. For instance, when you do a practice exam, then based on the results you might need to cover some specific gaps. This approach is highly effective to mark success in your PMP training.
The courses are accompanied by learning activities and tasks.

Cons

The online assessments are mostly limited to questions.
The online learning programs might have a problem in terms of the extent of security.
This type of learning also requires computers and internet access, which might not be at hand to everyone
There is a lack of group-based learning
It contains less human interactions and more technologic interactions

You can read our Top 10 PMP Training post to see all PMP training options and ratings.

Many training providers provider PMP exam trainings in different formats, also several provide all these options and you choose the most suitable for your needs. You can choose any of these formats depending on which format suits you or you are interested in. There are many service providers who offer the PMP Exam trainings in all these formats. But to cut it short here, I would recommend you go for a self-paced learning format. It provides you the flexibility and saves you from the hassle of time and location binding which is a great advantage in itself.

Choose a Comprehensive PMP Exam Training

PMP exam training programs play a vital role in the aspirant’s success in the PMP Exam. Therefore you must be careful when you choose from the available options. These training programs help you prepare a clear road map to follow. So you get a direction that you can follow to prepare for the PMP exam.

In addition to this PMP training helps you cover all the required topics to prepare for the PMP exam. You cover the project management framework, basic concepts of knowledge areas and processes with respect to the PMBOK published by PMI. When you cover all these concepts, you can be ready to improve your foundation.

It means that the right choice of PMP Exam Training is mandatory to achieve the PMP certification. Below are some questions that one can consider to choose the training provider:

Does it provide me 35 contact hours?
Which training formats are offered?
Does it offer the flexibility of location and time?
Does the curriculum cover the topics of the PMP Exam?
Do they offer me training material to prepare more for the PMP Exam?
What will be the duration of online access if I choose the e-learning format,?
Will I get a certificate of completion to apply for the PMP exam?
Will the PMP exam training help me assess my readiness with the help of exercises, quizzes, practice tests, mock sessions, etc.?
What is the course fee? Is it cost-effective?
If I fail in the PMP exam in my first attempt how will the institute support me?

You may refer to the article PMP Training – Top 10 PMP Training Program Review to get extensive details on the PMP Exam training options.

Should I Use PMBOK During My PMP Exam Preparation?

PMI has developed a standard PM Body of Knowledge (PMBok). That includes the foundation framework of all the processes required to manage the project. These processes are clumped together in the form of Process Groups and Knowledge Areas. In addition to this, the PMBok encompasses all the Tools and Techniques for each process within the overall framework. In other words, we can say that PMBok is the bible of project management as well as the PMP exam.

Hence, it is important to go through PMBok. It is not easy to read the PMBok, as there is high-level coverage of concepts, which makes it much theoretical. Most of the PMP exam materials are prepared inspired form the PMBok and more emphasis is given to the elaboration of these concepts. But how you would know that the PMP exam topics are well covered in the course material?

Even though it is not mandatory to follow the PMBok you need to consult PMBok to get the foundation of project management concepts. This way you can also be sure that the material is sufficient enough to cover the PMP exam as well as help you understand the concepts.

The PMP exam books and material helps you understand the theoretical concepts and practice these concepts in given real situations. If you wish to follow a PMP Book, you can follow a PMP exam prep book that focuses more on how to get ready for the PMP exam and pass in the first attempt. For reference, you can find a PMP exam preparation book published by Master of Project Academy.

Best Way to Get Ready for the PMP Exam

There are several ways you can opt to get ready for the PMP exam. Considering the variety of requirements, different training institutes provide trainings in more than one way. As we mentioned before they offer training in these formats:

Classroom instructor-led training
Virtual online training
E-learning

Each of these formats has its own pros and cons. One can way out these pros and cons and identify which suits them.

In my opinion, the online training format is the best training. My point is backed by different factors:

The PMP aspirants generally have busy routines
No one likes to pay too much for a course
Why select an expensive option when you have the option of lesser cost.
You can repeat the lecture any time so it is in your control on how many times you want to listen to a specific topic
You can access the contents anywhere and at any time. No constraints or bounds of time and location.
You do not have to travel to the course location and this saves you time and travel cost.
You can run the course as per your time schedule so planning gets easier.

When is the Next PMP Exam Date?

The beauty of the PMP Exam is that its timing is not bound to a specific month or date. As mentioned earlier, the applicants once submit their application. It is either selected for the audit by PMI otherwise the application is approved. In case of an audit, the applicant has to submit the audit response package to PMI which may take a week’s time.

Any aspirant can submit their online application at any point in time. All the activities of the PMP Exam audit and eligibility of the PMP application are subject to the application submission. Therefore the aspirants can easily plan for the timing of their PMP Exam on the basis of their availability and preparation.

PMP Exam Schedule

Once your application is approved you will have a year’s time period in which you can schedule your PMP Exam. For this sake, you need to choose a Pearson VUE Test center and select your date & time slot if it is available within the test center. It is important to note that these test centers are not dedicated to the PMP Exam. These test centers also offer several other certification and language tests. Therefore, I recommend scheduling your PMP exam at least one month before your planned date to avoid the busy dates of the testing centers. After your successful allocation of the time slot in the VUE test center, the schedule of your PMP Exam is fixed. In short, your PMP exam date is based on your choice of schedule.

What Are the Knowledge Areas of the PMP Exam?

There are 10 PMP Exam Knowledge Areas:

Integration Management – the processes that are required to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly coordinated.
Scope Management – the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully.
Time Management – the processes required to ensure the timely completion of the project.
Cost Management – the processes required to ensure the project is completed within the approved budget.
Quality Management – the processes required to ensure the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken.
Human Resource Management – the processes required to make the most effective use of people involved with the project.
Communications Management – the processes required to ensure the timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and ultimate disposition of project knowledge.
Risk Management – the processes concerned with identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risk.
Procurement Management – the processes required to acquire the goods and services from outside the performing organization.
Stakeholder Management – the processes that identify and develops relationships with those people and organization which are impacted by the project and which influence or determine how the team works.

Sample PMP Exam Questions

To give you an idea of the PMP Exam questions, I have mentioned some questions below. These questions do not give you the idea of all the PMP Exam Question types but they can help you grasp the idea of questions how they look like so you can make your mind to read, extract relevant information, and apply the best suitable option in the PMP Exam.

Below are a couple of examples of PMP questions:

Question – 1:

A dashboard viewable by all project stakeholders displays various statuses using the industry standard of red, yellow, and green colors. Throughout project execution, to meet the needs of the project and some of the project stakeholders, the project manager has been adding more colors to reflect additional statuses. This situation has created confusion among some of the stakeholders over the status naming conventions and meanings. What should the project manager do?

a) Add a simpler status for the stakeholders who are confused
b) Remove statuses from the dashboard to avoid confusion
c) Explain the meaning of the new statuses to the stakeholders
d) Revert the status to an industry standard of red, yellow, green

Explanation: Project managers manage multiple stakeholders. Therefore it is important for the project managers to reflect the accurate information, with the required details, in the status reports. So the stakeholders get the latest on the project. If the project manager has added more colors and statuses based on the detailed reflection of progress, it requires the project manager to elaborate and clarify the purpose of these statuses to the stakeholders. Project managers do not need to delete any information for the sake of complexity. Also, project managers are not bound to follow the industry standards only, the purpose is that all the stakeholders should be on the same page when they read the status report.

Question – 2:

Bob is the project manager for a large construction project. He has just completed a Monte Carlo analysis simulation when he learns from a team member that some of the cost estimates used in the simulation were incorrect. Bob is highly risk-averse and concerned about this issue, so he meets with his team to discuss options for how to move forward. Based on this information, which choice below best describes what the team would likely do with the results from the Monte Carlo analysis?

a) Reject the results and use the triangular distribution technique instead

b) Use the results; the simulation data can still be of value because incorrect estimates are accounted for in the algorithm

c) Correct; Reject the results; the Monte Carlo results would be inaccurate and should not be used

d) Use the results but set aside additional contingency reserves to address the project risks

Explanation: Accurate cost estimates are the most important part of a Monte Carlo analysis. If the project estimates are too broad, or too narrow, the analysis may misstate the overall risk. In turn, this could create serious problems for project planning. Since inaccuracies in the cost estimates can significantly change the results, it is best for the project team to reject the Monte Carlo analysis results and re-run the simulation once they have a better estimate

Question -3:

Your Program Manager asks you to provide an Estimate at Completion for a small project you are working on. The budget at the start of the project was $30,000, and to date, you have spent $20,000. However, in this consumed amount, the worth of work done is only $10,000. On assessment, you ensure that the project team will be able to complete the project work at the planned rate. What is the value you will share as an Estimate at Completion?

a) $30,000

b) $60,000

c) $10,000

d) $40,000

Explanation; You have spent $20,000 out of which you have earned the value of $10,000 only. In other words, the project cost is overrun by $10,000 which actually did not contribute to the project worth. However, you are sure that the project team will complete the remaining work within the initially planned rate and the rest of the work will complete within, i.e the rest of the work will complete in $20,000 amount. Therefore, the overall budget at completion at the current stage will be $20,000 (for consumed)+ $20,000 (for remaining) = $40,000

Question – 4:

During a bidder conference, a supplier asks why a section is missing from the request for quotation (RFQ). The project manager, realizing that an aspect of the project is indeed missing, becomes confused about the mistake. When you receive the seller responses, all but three fail to address the missing section. What is the best course of action?

a) Send a revised RFQ to all prospective suppliers and allow them the opportunity to resubmit their proposals

b) Hold the bidder conference again, and explain the importance of the point that was initially missed

c) Extend the deadline and allow all of the vendors to resubmit their proposals

d) Select from the three vendors that submitted complete proposals

Explanation: In this scenario, it will be fair to send the new RFQ to all suppliers, then clarify the critical point that was previously missing, and subsequently receive the updated responses to the RFQ. It may not be practical or cost-effective to conduct another bidder conference, especially as other aspects of the project have already been covered in the prior bidding conference. Apart from fairness, re-issuing the RFQ ensures that requirements are understood. Another benefit of sending out a revised RFQ would be receiving more viable bids from other vendors. Therefore, of the available options, the best course of action for the project manager is to send a revised RFQ containing the new information to all prospective suppliers and allow them the opportunity to resubmit their proposals.

Question -5:

A construction company has just hired you. The construction company is about to start a large construction management program in an under-developed country. The project will be on a build-operate-transfer basis and have a duration of 2 years. At the close of the project, the local authorities will run the program. World Bank has sponsored the project. The project is awarded to an international consortium. Your company is one of the subcontractor companies. Other than you there are 2 more contractor companies. After the project scope finalization, you developed a cost estimate of USD $11 million. The sponsor reviews your detailed costing sheets and shows his concerns about the total cost figure. He tells you that the maximum allowable budget he can allocate for this project is USD $10 million. What should you do?

a) Begin the project with the intention of requesting a budget increase at a later point in time.

b) Advise the sponsor that the project can only complete within the available budget.

c) Ask for a reduction in scope.

d) Evaluate ways that can result in cost savings and re-estimate the project.

Explanation: There is no question about beginning the project with the intention to request a change at a later stage. Any change will have a rationale for induction and approval so nothing can be added without a justifiable reason. The scope of work is already agreed on based on the project objectives. Multiple companies are going to address these objectives as currently, you are at the negotiations stage. Therefore at this stage you need to first evaluate the ways that can save the cost.

How Can I Earn Free PMP Exam PDUs?

PDUs and contact hours are different terms but they might seem interchangeable on first look. So you must know the difference between these two. The contact hours refer to the PMP training of 35 hours which is a must for the PMP Exam. Whereas the PDUs stands for Professional Development Units. These PDUs refer to post-PMP professional development activities.

Even though you may find free PMP Exam training materials, these will not fulfil the 35 contact hours requirements. Obtaining the PMP contact hours is a pre-requisite of the PMP Exam, therefore it is mandatory for the applicants to obtain comprehensive PMP training.

Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR)

Once you have obtained PMP credentials, it is not the last milestone. PMP certification requires renewal every three years. The purpose of this is PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program aiming to support the ongoing educational and professional development of the certification holders. So the professionals keep themselves prepared to meet the demands of a dynamic and complex business environment. Hence, you should look for PDUs if you already have PMP and trying to renew your PMP certification.

What Changes in the PMP Exam?

PMI conducts research to assess the progression of the project management field, the impact of emerging trends and changes in the responsibilities of project managers. Based on this research they publish new versions of either PMBok or PMP Exam Contents or both. But PMP exam changes do not mean that PMBOK will change as well.

This is a continuous activity that PMI performs. PMI conducted the last research in 2015. As an outcome of this research PMI defined the currently active PMP Exam Content Outline. In the same regard, PMI publishes a document on an updated outline of PMP Exam Content. Likewise, PMI announces the new PMP exam changes. However, these changes will not come into effect as of now. The new PMP Exam Content Outline provides the framework of what you can expect on the PMP Exam after 30 June 2020. The last day for candidates to take the current version of the PMP exam is now 30 June 2020.

The breakup of PMP Exam Questions

The following table depicts the changes in the domains and the proportion of questions from each domain that will appear on the examination. The table depicts the domains and their percentages within the PMP Exam Contents of 2015 and 2019.

PMP Exam Content 2015		PMP Exam Content 2019
Domain	Percentage of Items on Test	Domain	Percentage of Items on Test
Initiating	13%	People	42%
Planning	24%	Process	50%
Executing	31%	Business Environment	8%
Monitoring and Controlling	25%
Closing	7%
Total	100%	Total	100%

New PMP Exam Focus

The new PMP exam focus on three new domains:

PEOPLE – emphasizing the skills and activities associated with effectively leading a project team
PROCESS – reinforcing the technical aspects of managing a project
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT – highlighting the connection between projects and organization strategy

It is highly important to note that the content spans over different approaches within these three domains; including predictive, agile and hybrid approaches.

These percentages determine the number of questions related to each domain and task that should appear on the multiple-choice format examination. Each domain contains tasks and PMP certification measures these tasks. In addition, the domain contains knowledge and skills. One requires this knowledge and skills to competently perform these tasks.

PMP Examination
Total Number of Scored Questions	180
Duration	230 Mins
Question Types	multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, and limited fill-in-the-blank types of questions

Updated Structure of the PMP Exam

The latest document published by the PMI specifies the updated structure for the PMP Exam Content Outline. Which is relatively easier to understand and interpret. In this outline, you will find the domains, tasks, and enablers.

Domain: Defined as the high-level knowledge area that is essential to the practice of project management.
Tasks: The underlying responsibilities of the project manager within each domain area.
Enablers: Illustrative examples of the work associated with the task. Please note that enablers offer a few examples to help demonstrate what the task encompasses.

Example of People Domain

The following table is an example of the People domain which has 42% of contribution towards the total questions of PMP examination. The table depicts the Tasks and Enablers of People domain.

Domain	People 42%
Task 1	Manage conflict Interpret the source and stage of the conflict Analyze the context for the conflict Evaluate/recommend/reconcile the appropriate conflict resolution solution
Task 2	Lead a team Set a clear vision and mission Support diversity and inclusion (e.g., behavior types, thought process) Value servant leadership (e.g., relate the tenets of servant leadership to the team) Determine an appropriate leadership style (e.g., directive, collaborative) · Inspire, motivate, and influence team members/stakeholders (e.g., team contract, social contract, reward system) Analyze team members and stakeholders’ influence Distinguish various options to lead various team members and stakeholders
Task 3	Support team performance Appraise team member performance against key performance indicators Support and recognize team member growth and development Determine appropriate feedback approach Verify performance improvements
Task 4	Empower team members and stakeholders Organize around team strengths Support team task accountability Evaluate demonstration of task accountability Determine and bestow level(s) of decision-making authority
Task 5	Ensure team members/Adequate training stakeholders Determine the required competencies and elements of training Determine training options based on training needs Allocate resources for training Measure training outcomes
Task 6	Build a team Appraise stakeholder skills Deduce project resource requirements Continuously assess and refresh team skills to meet project needs Maintain team and knowledge transfer
Task 7	Address and remove impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team Determine critical impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team Prioritize critical impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team Use the network to implement solutions to remove impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team Continuous Re-assessment to address impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team


Task 9	Collaborate with stakeholders Evaluate engagement needs for stakeholders Optimize alignment between stakeholder needs, expectations, and project objectives Build trust and influence stakeholders to accomplish project objectives
Task 10	Build a shared understanding Break down situation to identify the root cause of a misunderstanding Survey all necessary parties to reach consensus Support outcome of parties’ agreement Investigate potential misunderstandings
Task 11	Engage and support virtual teams Examine virtual team member needs (e.g., environment, geography, culture, global, etc.) Investigate alternatives (e.g., communication tools, colocation) for virtual team member engagement Implement options for virtual team member engagement Continually evaluate the effectiveness of virtual team member engagement
Task 12	Define team ground rules Communicate organizational principles with team and external stakeholders Establish an environment that fosters adherence to the ground rules Manage and rectify ground-rule violations
Task 13	Mentor relevant stakeholders Allocate the time to mentoring Recognize and act on mentoring opportunities
Task 14	Promote team performance through the application of emotional intelligence Assess behavior through the use of personality indicators Analyze personality indicators and adjust to the emotional needs of key project stakeholders

The effective date of new PMP Exam content

Even though the new PMP exam content outline is available, it is important to note the date of validity of the current version of the PMP exam and the effective date of the new version of the PMP exam.

Summary

In this article, I have provided information on various aspects that a PMP aspirant requires to understand in the process of PMP certification. We walked you through many interesting questions that any PMP aspirant is looking for. These questions are helpful for project management aspirants to initiate their journey towards project management certifications.

The high recognition and value of PMP certification make many people want to know more about the PMP credentials. In this article, we started with the advantages PMP brings to the certification holders, then we’ve talked about the PMP Exam requirements so one can assess their positioning on when they can get ready to apply for the PMP Exam.

We also discussed what is the PMP Exam looks like. On top of it, we have shared the idea about the PMP Exam passing score and Pass rate. Furthermore, we talked about the PMP Exam application. In addition to this, the article gives information on PMP Exam cost for PMI members and non-PMI members.

Afterwards, I also discussed how can you study for PMP Exam and also briefed on the PMP Exam registration and dates. Furthermore, the article also gives you a brief overview of PMP Exam Knowledge Areas and the PMP Exam questions.

As the new version of the PMP Exam is also due by the mid of the coming year the article also highlights the PMP Exam changes. So it is a good window of opportunity to go for PMP certification if you have initiated for the PMP Exam and you have pre-requisites including Education, PMP training and Experience.

I hope you found the relevant information in this article. I wish you the best of luck with your PMP Exam!

The post PMP Exam – Top 10+ Questions & Answers About PMP® Exam appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMP Exam Fee – How Much Is The PMP® Exam Fee?

Chris — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 19:43:00 +0000

Are you a working professional who wants to climb the ladder in his career? Or are you a project manager who wants to boost his experience and skills? If yes then you must be planning for getting the PMP certification. Further, you must be wondering how much budget you need to spare to appear for the PMP exam, ie. the PMP exam fee.

You must be coming across different information at various sources on the internet about how much is the PMP exam fee? Furthermore, maybe you are thinking about what will be the cost if you plan to reattempt the exam or cancel it? What will be the PMP exam fee if, due to the workload, you want to reschedule your exam? How much refund for the PMP exam fee you will get on the cancellation?

Here, in this article, we will provide you complete details about the PMP exam fee. Besides, you will get information on the PMP exam fee for re-examination and PMP exam fee for rescheduling. We will also talk about the PMP exam fee for cancellation if you cancel the exam and refund policy. This will help you to determine the budget you need to have to appear for the PMP exam. But first, let us understand what is PMP Certification.

PMP Certification

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification is a globally recognized and demanded certification in project management. This certification demonstrates to employers, clients, and peers that a project manager possesses the required skills, knowledge and experience to make the project a real success. You can read the PMP study guide to learn how to get ready for the PMP exam.

This certification is global i.e. once you become PMP certified, you can work in any industry, any location, using any methodology regardless of geography or domain.

Furthermore, PMP certification recognizes the individual competency to perform the role of the project manager in leading and directing projects.

Moreover, with passing years, PMP certification has garnered global recognition. Besides, this certification helps a certified individual to earn up to 25% higher salary than non-certified individuals.

PMP Certification ensures that PMP certified individuals speak and understand the global language of project management. Additionally, PMP Certification helps you to expand your network by connecting you to a community of professionals, organizations, and experts worldwide.

PMP Exam

PMP Exam comprises 180 questions. There are 230 minutes to complete the exam. The PMP Exam Questions will be a combination of multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, and limited fill-in-the-blank types of questions.

Total Exam Questions	Question Types	Duration
180	multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, limited fill-in-the-blank	230 minutes

The allottedPMP Exam time is ~4 hours. There are no scheduled breaks during the examination. Though you are allowed to take the break if needed but your exam clock continues to count down.

Before the start of the exam, you get 15 minutes to go through the tutorial followed by a survey. But it is optional and this time is not included in the exam time of 4 hours.

Prerequisites to appear for PMP examination are:

You need to meet the eligibility criteria for PMP certification. For that, you need to meet both educational and professional experience requirements.

The first and foremost step to apply for PMP certification is to check your education and experience level against the eligibility criteria or PMP certification requirements that are mentioned below.

S.No	Education Requirement	Experience of leading and directing projects	35 Contact Hours
1	4 year Degree Course	3 years leading the project with 4500 Hours	35 Hours of project management education/training
2	Secondary degree i.e. High School Diploma or global equivalent	5 years leading the project with 7500 hours	35 Hours of project management education/training

Point to note here is that all the project management experience must have been gained within the last 8 consecutive years prior to your submission of application.

Secondly, you need to attend project management training from a recognized training institute and earn 35 PDUs or contact hours. You can attend a PMP training for this.

Once you fulfill both requirements of the PMP exam, then you need to plan to appear in the exam.

PMP exam is sponsored by the non-profit organization in project management i.e. Project Management Institute (PMI).

PMP Exam Content Outline

PMP Exam is based on the blueprint contained in the PMP Exam Content Outline. This exam blueprint lists the percentage of questions contained in each project management process groups.

Domain/Project Management Process Group	Percentage of Questions
Initiating	13%
Planning	24%
Executing	31%
Monitoring and Controlling	25%
Closing	7%

Now the question about the PMP exam fee comes, i.e. how much you should spare to become PMP certified.

What is the PMP Exam Fee?

PMP exam fee varies on the factor i.e. PMI Membership Status. Also, there are 2 modes of examination or delivery types that are paper-based or online via center-based.

For center-based examination which is in online mode and paper-based examination, PMP exam fee is shown below:

Mode of Examination	PMI Membership Status	Price in USD (US Dollars)	Price in Euros
Center-based and Paper Based	Member	405	340
Center-based and Paper Based	Non-Member	555	465

Here you can see the difference in the PMP exam fee whether you are a PMI member or not. You can save 150 USD if you are a member of the PMI.

To become a PMI Member, you need to register yourself at www.PMI.org and pay the membership fee of USD 129 and USD 10 for one time application fee. This membership is only valid for one year. Then you need to renew it by making the payment of membership fees and so on.

Benefits of PMI membership are:

1. You can access numerous resources, books, webinars, free articles, question bank at PMI.org site.

2. Besides you get access to PMBOK Guide for free.

3. You can build your network through chapter meetings, events, and seminars.

Point to note is that when you are submitting the payment for the exam:

You need to be the PMI member in good standing or
If you have recently applied for PMI membership before applying for certification, then you need to ensure that you receive the confirmation of membership before you make payment.
In case you haven’t become a member at that point and membership is not completely processed then you will be charged the non-member rate.
This means that if PMI membership is obtained after you submit payment for the certification then PMI will not refund the difference.

PMP Exam Fee for Re-Examination

Once your PMP application is approved, you have 1 year eligibility period to pass the PMP exam. During this 1 year duration, you can take the exam up to 3 times.

Hence, PMP exam fee for re-examination when you appear for 2^nd or 3^rd time is:

Mode of Examination	PMI Membership Status	Price in USD (US Dollars)	Price in Euros
Center-based or Paper-Based	Member	275	230
Center-based or Paper-Based	Non Member	375	315

What happens if your eligibility period expires and you haven’t passed the PMP exam yet?

If you haven’t cleared the PMP exam and your eligibility period of 1 year expires then you must reapply for the certification.

What happens if you don’t pass the PMP exam after appearing 3 times during the eligibility period?

In 1 year eligibility period, if you fail the PMP exam 3 times then you need to wait for 1 year from the date of the last exam you took to reapply for the PMP certification.

But there is a catch here! Even if you cannot apply for PMP certification for a year, you can opt for any other PMI certification like CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management), PMI-SP (PMI Scheduling Professional), PMI-PBA (PMI Professional in Business Analysis), PMI-RMP (PMI Risk Management Professional), PMI-ACP (PMI Agile Certified Professional), PgMP (Program Management Professional) or PfMP (Portfolio Management Professional). You just need to submit respective certification fees and then you can appear for the certification exam.

Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) Certification Renewal

The purpose of the CCR Program is to enhance continuous learning and development among certification holders.

If you passed the PMP exam and have become PMP certified, then you must actively maintain the certification through participation in the CCR Program and certification renewal takes place every 3 years.

Mode of Examination	PMI Membership Status	Price in USD (US Dollars)
CCR Certification Renewal	Member	60
CCR Certification Renewal	Non Member	150

PMP Exam Fee for Rescheduling

You can cancel or reschedule the PMP exam at any point in the time. Due to limited seat capacity at test centers, if you reschedule at a later stage or cancel the exam then the PMP Exam fee will still be charged.

Hence, to avoid the rescheduling fee, you need to cancel or reschedule more than 48 hours or 2 full calendar days before your scheduled exam date.

What happens if you cancel or reschedule the PMP exam within 2 days of your exam date?

If you cancel or reschedule your exam within 48 hours or 2 calendar days of the scheduled exam date, all the PMP exam fee and the ability to reschedule are forfeited.

This means if you plan to wait until you are within 2 days of your PMP exam date, you will be able to cancel the exam but PMI will forfeit the PMP exam fee. Hence, you will not be able to reschedule your exam date at this point. Furthermore, you will need to pay re-examination fees to schedule a new exam.

For Example:

Date of Exam Scheduled	The date you reschedule the exam or cancel the exam	PMP Exam Fee Amount
2 Days Policy
6 April	3 April	USD 70
6 April	4 April ( you are unable to reschedule but can cancel the exam)	Forfeit the entire PMP exam fee

Hence, you need to make sure that rescheduling or cancellation of the PMP exam must happen before you are within 2 calendar days of your exam date.

What happens if you cancel or reschedule the PMP exam within 30 days of your exam date?

If you cancel or reschedule the PMP exam within 30 days of your scheduled exam date then you will be charged a fee of USD 70. It will appear on the credit card as a charge from the test vendor.

Make a note that the 30 day period doesn’t include the day of the exam appointment. So, to avoid the fee, you have to reschedule or cancel the exam before the 30 day period begins. For instance, if your scheduled exam date is 6^th May then you must cancel or reschedule the PMP exam on or before 5^th April to avoid the fee.

For example:

Date of Exam Scheduled	The date you reschedule the exam or cancel the exam	PMP Exam Fee Amount
30 days Policy
6^th May	5^th April (or before)	No Fee
6^th May	6^th April up to 3^rd May	USD 70

Exceptional Cases for PMP Exam Fee Refunds: Extenuating Circumstances

Due to some personal emergency, you may miss a scheduled exam date resulting in no show status. Or you might be unable to change your exam date before 30 days within your exam scheduled date then extenuating circumstance policy may apply.

Extenuating circumstances include medical emergencies, illness or death in the immediate family, natural disasters, pandemics like coronavirus or military deployment.

In such scenarios, it will be under the discretion of PMI to evaluate these situations on case to case basis and determine if a refund of the rescheduling PMP Exam fee is appropriate or not. If your extenuating circumstance claim is not approved then you will be required to pay the full re-examination PMP exam fee to sit for the exam.

Here ‘No show’ status refers to a situation when you fail to notify PMI within specified periods to cancel or reschedule your exam or if you fail to meet a scheduled exam date. If you reach this status then the PMP exam fee will be forfeited. Hence you have to pay the full re-examination PMP exam fee to schedule another date.

You can contact PMI customer care within 72 hours following the missed exam date. Depending upon the circumstances, you will be asked to explain along with supporting documents such as medical documents, accident reports, etc. If PMI approves them then you can reschedule or cancel your exam without penalty.

How to reschedule or cancel your examination?

Make a note that PMI doesn’t accept email as an acceptable form of communication to cancel or reschedule your exam date.

If you are facing any issue in canceling or rescheduling your exam date due to some internet connectivity issue then you can call the test vendor directly.

PMP Exam Cancellation & Refund

If the PMP exam is canceled and rescheduled outside 30 days from the date of purchase and up to 48 hours before the scheduled exam date, then the rescheduling PMP exam fee will be applied.

If you have not scheduled or have taken the PMP certification exam within the time frame, then you can request a refund within 30 days from the date of purchase.

Once the refund is processed, then the application will get closed. Hence, the eligibility period will no longer be valid. For a request to refund the PMP exam fee, you may send the email to customercare@pmi.org.

Under the following instances, PMI will not give you any refund:

1. If your eligibility period of 1 year expires and you haven’t scheduled the exam yet, then you will not receive the refund for the PMP exam fee. Hence, the entire amount of PMP exam fee will be forfeited. If you still wish to obtain the certification then you have to reapply and submit the PMP exam fee again.

2. If you have scheduled the exam but couldn’t appear for it or you have neither canceled the exam nor provided rescheduling notification to PMI’s testing partner, then you will not receive the refund. Hence, the entire amount of PMP exam fee will be forfeited.

What is the PMBOK Guide?

PMBOK Guide is considered as the outline of the PMP exam and PMP materials are prepared with the help of the PMBOK Guide. This guide is used as a reference guide for Project Management Professional certification. The latest version used is PMBOK 6^th Edition.

PMBOK framework consists of 5 Process Groups and 10 Knowledge Areas comprising of 49 Processes.

There are 2 ways to group processes. One is “Process Groups” and the other way is to categorize them by “Knowledge Areas”. In PMBOK Guide, it is organized by knowledge areas to make you understand the specific area in depth. Hence, to prepare for PMP certification, one needs to understand knowledge areas in detail.

10 Knowledge Areas of PMBOK Guide

A knowledge area represents an area of project management defined by its knowledge requirement. Further, it encompasses processes, practices, inputs, outputs, tools, and techniques. Here, knowledge areas group the project management processes by subject area such as Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Risk, Human Resource, Procurement, and Stakeholder, etc.

These knowledge areas are interrelated, however, they are defined separately from the project management perspective. Moreover, these knowledge areas are used in the project most of the time.

Project Integration Management

The purpose of the Integration Management knowledge area is to get all of the process groups together. It pulls all the pieces of a project together into a cohesive whole. Hence, the project manager plays the main role in this knowledge area. He integrates the work of everyone on the team through all of these major activities to keep the project on track.

Project Scope Management

Scope Management knowledge area defines what work is required and then making sure all of that work and only that work is completed.

Project Schedule Management

Schedule Management knowledge area defines breaking the work down into activities so you can put them in order and come up with estimates for each of them. Further, it ensures that all of the work happens in the right order, gets done by the right people and doesn’t take much of time.

Moreover, this knowledge area defines how deadlines are kept. It works in a way that it determines what work you need to do, how you will do it, what resources you will use, and how long it will take. And finally, this knowledge area talks about how to develop and control the schedule.

Project Cost Management

Cost Management knowledge area defines planning, estimating, budgeting, funding, managing and controlling costs. It ensures to complete the project within the approved budget. Managing the cost in the project is regardless of project size whether it is small or big, how many resources and activities are in it. But, the process of figuring out the budget remains the same.

Project Quality Management

Quality Management knowledge area defines creating and following organization policies, procedures and tailoring them to ensure the project meets the needs of the customer. Further, it ensures that the project is completed in compliance with the project requirements and of high quality.

Project Resource Management

Resource Management knowledge area defines planning, estimating activity resources, acquiring, developing, managing and controlling the resources needed for the successful completion of the project. Here, resources refer to not only human resources but also include the facilities, material or physical resources, equipment required to perform the work of the project. Hence, it ensures that the right resources will be available to the project manager and project team at the right time and place.

Project Communications Management

Communications Management knowledge area defines keeping everybody in the loop. That means, this knowledge area involves everyone talking about the work done so that they all stay on the same page. Thereby, everyone has information they need to resolve any issues and keep the project moving forward. Besides, it involves developing a strategy to make sure that communication is effective for all stakeholders. Further, it carries out the activities necessary to implement the communication strategy.

Project Risk Management

Risk Management knowledge area defines planning, identification, analysis, response planning, implementation, and monitoring risk on a project. The purpose of this knowledge area is to increase the probability and impact of positive risks and decrease the probability and impact of negative risks to increase the chances of project success.

Project Procurement Management

The Procurement Management knowledge area defines purchasing or acquiring products, service or results needed from outside the project team.

Project Stakeholder Management

Stakeholder Management knowledge area determines who your stakeholders are, plan how you will keep them engaged and manage your project to keep them satisfied. Point to remember here is that stakeholder’s engagement should take place throughout the life of the project.

What is the Passing Score of the PMP Exam?

Earlier, PMI published the passing score as 61% for the PMP exam. It means that a PMP candidate needs to correctly score 106 or more out of 175 questions in the exam.

However, PMI does not state any official score.

Then they adopted a more scientific approach by giving proficiency levels (Proficient, Moderately Proficient and Below Proficient) or target level (Above Target, Target, Below Target) in PMP exam results. Moreover, currently, PMI doesn’t state any information about the PMP Exam passing score. Therefore, they determine the score through sound psychometric analysis.

How Can You Renew the PMP Certification?

Once you pass the PMP exam and attain PMP certification then you get a 3-year cycle to earn 60 PDUS to renew the certification.

Steps to renew PMP certification are:

The first and foremost step is to earn 60 PDUs to meet the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) for your certification. You can read about this in the PMP PDU post.
Secondly, you have to enter PDUS in the online CCR system by entering the Provider name, Activity name, Activity Dates and number of PDUS claimed under 3 components of the Talent triangle. And click on the ‘Submit’ button. Then, you will receive an update on the number of PDUS accepted or rejected.
Thirdly, you have to fill the online renewal application by mentioning contact information along with payment details before submission
Next step is to agree to the code of ethics and professional conduct by PMI
Then pay the renewal fee. Hence, if you are a PMI member, then you need to pay a discounted fee of 60USD. If you are not a PMI member then you need to pay 150 USD for PMP certification renewal.
Finally, you will receive the confirmation from PMI. Thereby, you will receive a certificate indicating a new CCR cycle. In your profile, your status is “Active” and “PMP in good standing”. Hence, once you have completed a single cycle, then a new 3-year cycle begins.

What happens if you have earned 60 PDUS in the first year or second year of the cycle?

If you have earned 60 PDUS in the first or second year of the cycle, then there is no need to wait for 3 years to complete. You can file the PDUs earned and make the payment of the fees and renew your certification. PMI will renew the PMP certification date from the date of expiry only not from the date of payment of fees.

What happens if you couldn’t earn 60 PDUS in the 3-year cycle?

If you are not able to earn the specified number i.e. 60 PDUs by the end of the 3rd year of certification cycle hence, you are not able to complete the renewal within the completion of the CCR cycle. Then you will be put under the “Suspended” status up to 1 year after the CCR cycle. Thereafter, it will no longer be valid.

PMP Exam Fee: Summary

Undoubtedly, PMP certification is ranked as topmost globally recognized certification in the project management domain. This certification recognizes the competency level of individuals, helps in a higher salary, network expansion along with garnering global recognition. Also, it makes an individual understand the common language of project management.

If you are a PMI member then you save money in the PMP exam fee and rescheduling fee. Besides you get access to the latest edition i.e. PMBOK Guide 6^th Edition for free. Furthermore, you save USD 90 in renewals of PMP certification fees.

For cancellation and rescheduling the PMP exam, to avoid paying the PMP exam fee for rescheduling, you need to cancel or reschedule the exam before the start of 30 days of PMP exam scheduled date else USD 70 will be charged.

Besides, to save the entire PMP exam fee, you must cancel or reschedule the exam before you are within 2 calendar days or 48 hours of your scheduled exam date.

Further, if eligibility period of 1 year expires and you haven’t passed the PMP exam yet after 3 attempts, then you have to wait for 1 year from the date of the last examination you took to reapply for the PMP certification.

Moreover, if the eligibility period of 1 year expires and you haven’t scheduled the PMP exam yet then PMI will not give you a refund for the PMP exam fee.

The post PMP Exam Fee – How Much Is The PMP® Exam Fee? appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMBOK PDF – How to Get & Use PMBOK 6th Edition in PMP® Prep

Chris — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:05:00 +0000

Are you a project manager who is planning to prepare for PMP certification? Or are you an entry-level professional who wants to advance his career by attaining PMP certification? If yes then you must be looking for the best preparation books for the PMP exam. There are a lot of preparation books used for the PMP exam. But PMBOK PDF is considered as the main reference book recommended by the Project Management Institute i.e. PMI. Hence in this article, we will provide all the details related to PMBOK PDF such as content, importance, latest edition, salient features, how to download it, etc. This will help you to get an overview of PMBOK PDF.

First, let us understand what is PMP exam.

What is the PMP Exam?

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification is the most renowned, significant and industry-recognized certification for project managers. PMP certification is truly global i.e. once you become PMP certified, you can work virtually in any industry, any location, using any methodology irrespective of any geography or domain.

PMP Certification benefits employees as well as employers. In regard to employee salary, PMP certified individuals garner a higher salary (20% higher on average) than non-certified individuals. And, in regard to employers, in the organizations having more than 1/3 of PMP certified project managers; more of the projects get completed on time, on budget and meeting original goals.

PMP Certification signifies that PMP certified individuals speak and understand the global language of project management. Furthermore, PMP Certification associates you to a community of professionals, organizations, and experts around the world.

To achieve PMP certification, one needs to appear for the PMP exam. And Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s largest not for profit membership association for the project management profession. PMI introduced the PMP examination to achieve PMP certification.

Prerequisites to appear for PMP examination are:

S.No

Education Requirement

Experience of leading and directing projects

35 Contact Hours

4-year degree

3 years leading the project with 4500 Hours

35 Hours of project management education/training

Secondary degree i.e. High School Diploma or global equivalent

5 years leading the project with 7500 hours

You can read more in our PMP certification requirements post.

PMP Exam consists of 200 multiple-choice questions. The duration is 4 hours. This is a computer-based exam conducted in Prometric centers.

PMBOK PDF is the outline of the PMP exam and PMP materials are prepared with the help of PMBOK PDF Guide.

What is the PMBOK PDF?

“A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge” i.e. PMBOK Guide documents the standards and best practices for the field of project management. The main aim of the PMBOK PDF Guide is to provide a common language to discuss the project management profession.

PMBOK 6 Edition identifies 10 knowledge areas and 5 process groups that the project manager needs to focus on during the course of a project. Because such information can be of great significance to project managers to help them determine how to make use of resources in the most effective manner.

Generally, Project Managers have limited time to perform all things required by the PMBOK PDF Guide. Hence, they choose to perform those knowledge areas which are quite familiar to them or easy to perform or supported by most frequently used tools. As a result, some knowledge areas which have a high impact on project success get missed out.

It is true that each knowledge area has varying impacts on project success in different industries. However, to manage the project successfully, you need to know the importance of 10 knowledge areas in PMBOK and rank the importance level of each knowledge area.

PMBOK PDF Guide does not identify the relative importance of each knowledge area. Therefore an individual needs to extract this information from PMBOK Guide. Further, this information will help project managers in decision making in regard to the manner in which time and resources are allocated among different knowledge areas and associated processes.

In short, the PMBOK PDF Guide contains proven traditional practices that are generally exercised as well as innovative emerging practices for the profession with widespread consensus to their value and use.

Importance of PMBOK PDF

It is valuable not only for the organization but also for employees for the following reasons:

1. First of all, it allows companies to standardize the practices or processes across the departments. For instance: Employees working in the development of the project will manage the project in a similar way to the ones working in the finance department.

2. Secondly, the PMBOK PDF Guide is helpful to project managers to work with the standardized system across the organization.

3. Thirdly, PMBOK PDF discusses what is practical to implement in the real project scenario. Besides, it also guides what doesn’t work in a real project. Hence, it reduces the chances of project failure.

4. Next is for those experienced project managers who are familiar with PMBOK content can tailor processes to suit their project and meet the organization’s needs.

5. Last but not least, PMBOK PDF documents the methods that can guide an entry-level professional on how to manage procurement or risk management in a project.

PMBOK Knowledge Areas

Project Management as a practice is spreading worldwide rapidly. It is considered as a recognized and strategic career path, competency and a valuable subject for education purposes. PMBOK framework consists of 5 Process Groups and 10 Knowledge Areas encompassing 49 Processes.

Processes are grouped into either 5 Process Management Process Groups or categorized by 10 Knowledge areas.

Knowledge area is defined as an area of project management defined by its knowledge requirement. It is described in terms of its component processes, practices, inputs, outputs, tools, and techniques. Here Knowledge Areas group the Project management processes by subject area like Scope, Cost, Schedule, Quality, Risk, etc.

These knowledge areas are interrelated but they are defined separately from the project management perspective. Additionally, these knowledge areas are used in the project most of the time.

10 Knowledge Areas Defined in PMBOK PDF Guide

1. Project Integration Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK PDF brings all of the process groups together. It basically pulls all the pieces of a project together into a cohesive whole. Here, the project manager integrates the work of everyone on the team through all of these major activities to keep the project on track. Activities include:

The project being authorized by the project charter to control the budget and assign resources
Plan all of the work that’s going to happen throughout the project
Direct the work once it gets started
Monitor the way the work progresses and looking for potential problems
Look out for changes; understand their impacts and making sure they don’t derail the project.
Close the project and making sure that there are no loose ends when it’s over.

2. Project Scope Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK PDF defines what work is required and then making sure all of that work and only that work is completed. Activities include:

Develop a plan for planning, validating and controlling scope and requirements on the project
Determine all the requirements that support the project’s business case defined in the project charter
Sort and balancing the needs of stakeholders to determine the scope
Create a WBS to break the scope down to smaller, manageable pieces and define them in WBS dictionary
Get the signed acceptance that completed the scope of work is acceptable to the customer or sponsor
Measure the scope performance and adjust as needed

3. Project Schedule Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK PDF is about breaking the work down into activities so you can put them in order and come up with estimates for each of them. It makes sure that all of the work happens in the right order, gets done by the right people and doesn’t take too long. This knowledge area defines how deadlines are set and met. First, it figures out what work you need to do, how you will do it, what resources you will use, and how long it will take. Then it talks about how to develop and control the schedule. Activities include:

Define a process you will use to plan, develop, manage, execute and control the schedule
Identify the list of all of the activities to complete to produce the project deliverables.
Figure out which activities need to come before the others and put them in the right order
Estimate the number of time periods needed to complete an individual activity with estimated resources
Build a schedule from activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints.
Monitor the status of the project and control changes to the schedule baseline to make sure that it is kept up to date

4. Project Cost Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK PDF involves planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing and controlling costs. This helps in completing the project within the approved budget. It is irrespective of project size whether it is small or big, how many resources and activities are in it, the process of figuring out the budget remains the same. Activities include:

Define a process of how the project costs will be planned i.e estimated and budgeted, managed, monitored and controlled
Identify the cost estimates for all the project activities and resources needed to complete the project work
Determine the total cost of the project to figure out the number of funds the organization needs to have available for the project
Monitor the status of the project to update the project costs and manages the changes to the cost baseline.

5. Project Quality Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK involves creating and following organization policies, procedures and tailoring them to ensure the project meets the needs of the customer. It ensures that a project is completed in compliance with the project requirements. Activities include:

Identify all relevant organization or industry practices, standards and requirements for the quality of the project, product of the project and project management efforts and plan to meet those quality standards and requirements.
Ensure that the project work, processes followed and deliverables produced conform to the quality management plan
Ensure a certain level of quality in a deliverable. The deliverable can be a product, service or result.
Formulate a process to ensure customer acceptance. It involves confirming and documenting the achievement of agreed-upon requirements.

6. Project Resource Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK involves identifying, acquiring and managing the resources needed for the successful completion of the project. Here, resources refer to not only human resources but also encompass the facilities, material or physical resources, equipment required to perform the work of the project. It ensures that the right resources will be available to the project manager and project team at the right time and place. Activities include:

Define a plan to encompass the management of human resources as well as physical resources
Determine the type and quantity of all the resources (human resources, equipment or material) needed to complete the project work
Ensure to follow the resource management plan to secure the human and physical resources needed for the project
Work towards to improve competencies, create a conducive environment to build trust and cooperation and team member interaction to enhance project performance. It is ongoing throughout the project work
Track the performance of team members, providing feedback, resolving issues and managing team changes to optimize project performance. This process includes day to day management activities done by a project manager
The project manager needs to ensure that the physical resources assigned to the project are available when required in the right place and the right quantity

7. Project Communications Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK PDF is about keeping everybody in the loop. That means it involves everyone talking about the work done so that they all stay on the same page. Hence, everyone has information they need to resolve any issues and keep the project moving forward. It involves developing a strategy to make sure that communication is effective for stakeholders. Next is carrying out the activities necessary to implement the communication strategy. Activities include:

Develop a process to plan for project communication activities based on the information needs of stakeholders and needs of the project
Ensure that information is flowing back and forth on the project in accordance with the communications management plan
To make sure that the communication needs of stakeholders are met through the distribution of communication artifacts
The project manager and team assess how communication is going throughout the project. It ensures that information is flowing as planned to keep stakeholders informed and maintain the desired levels of stakeholder engagement.

8. Project Risk Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK PDF involves processes to plan risk management, identification, analysis, response planning, implementation and monitoring risk on a project. The objective of this knowledge area is to increase the probability and impact of positive risks, decrease the probability and impact of negative risks in order to increase the chances of project success. Activities include:

Define a process to plan risk management activities for a project
Identify individual project risks, sources, and characteristics of overall project risk
Analyze the risks by assessing the probability of occurrence and potential impact on the project and prioritize the individual risks.
Numerically analyze the probability and impact of risk that ranked highest in qualitative risk analysis. It will help to look at how risks could affect the objectives of the project, determine which risk event warrant a response and to determine overall project risk
Figure out the ways to reduce or eliminate threats, to make opportunities more likely or increase their impact.
Implement the agreed-upon risk plans
Monitor the implemented risk response plans, track identified risks, identify and analyze new risks, evaluate risk process effectiveness throughout the project.

9. Project Procurement Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK involves the purchase or acquires products, service or results needed from outside the project team. Activities include:

Document the project procurement decisions such as performing make or buy analysis, specify the approach and identify the potential sellers
Obtain the bid documents, to prospective sellers, answer the seller’s questions, receive and evaluate sellers responses, select the seller and award the contract
Manage the procurement relationships between buyer and seller, monitor the contract performance making sure that both parties perform according to the contract, making changes and corrections and closing out the contracts once it is completed or terminated.

10. Project Stakeholder Management

This knowledge area in PMBOK involves figuring out who your stakeholders are, plan how you will keep them engaged and manage your project to keep them satisfied. Note that engaging stakeholders should take place throughout the life of the project. Activities include:

Identify the project stakeholders on a regular basis and document stakeholder interests, involvement, interdependencies, influence and potential impact on project success
Develop approaches to involve stakeholders based on needs, expectations, interest and potential impact on the project
Communicate and work with stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations, resolve their issues, make sure that they remain interested and active in the projects and manage their expectations
Monitor the stakeholder engagement by reassessing the stakeholder register, updating stakeholder information and tailor strategies for engagement.

PMBOK 6th Edition – Latest PMBOK

Project Management Institute (PMI) releases a new version of the PMBOK guide every 4 to 5 years to be compliant with the changes in project management trends and practices. PMI conducts “Role Delineation Study” which evolves these changes.

PMBOK PDF Guide is used as a reference guide for Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. The latest version used is PMBOK 6^th Edition. PMI released this version in September 2017. This latest version was considered as a reference guide for the PMP exam which got changed in March 2018.

Hence, the current PMP certification exam uses the PMBOK Guide 6th edition as a reference book.

As per PMI, PMP certification exam is going to change after 1st July 2020. But, there is no plan of new version i.e. the 7th Edition till 2023. Hence, PMBOK 6th edition will be used as a reference guide only for the upcoming change of PMP exam i.e. 1st July 2020.

Should I use PMBOK PDF in my PMP Preparation?

PMBOK is the main reference guide for the preparation of PMP certification. However, many aspirants find it tough to read. It is not easy to follow. But it is the foundation of PMP certification training material used across the globe.

PMBOK PDF Guide is an exhaustive book. But it is written in such a way that you can use this guide with the intention of using it during implementation. However, if we focus only on PMP certification then it is not mandatory to use it. However, you can attend a comprehensive PMP training or use PMBOK PDF in combination with other PMP Prep books designed to prepare you for the PMP certification exam.

Salient Features of PMBOK PDF are:

PMBOK is the basis for the certification exam to qualify for Project Management Professional i.e. PMP Certification
It is a collection of best practices, standards, and procedure for project management
Experts consider this PMBOK PDF as a bible for project managers
PMBOK guide offers extensive coverage of project management knowledge areas, process groups, inputs, and outputs, tools, and techniques.
It can act as a reference manual for project managers who wish to learn various tools and techniques
PMI originally published PMBOK in 1996.
Currently, the latest version is the PMBOK 6th edition. PMI released this version in September 2017
Every 3 to 5 years, PMI releases a new version.
This book is prepared by many experts across the globe
An individual can learn and gain an understanding of individual topics in depth. Owing to the fact that knowledge areas can be treated in isolation from one another in PMBOK PDF.

Cons of PMBOK PDF:

This book lacks clarity and readability
PMBOK PDF Guide is descriptive which means it describes project management techniques, processes inputs, and outputs, knowledge areas. But it doesn’t describe how they should be used.
PMBOK PDF guide is just like a reference book
It doesn’t describe tools and techniques in detail.
PMBOK PDF guide doesn’t have any tips and tricks to prepare for PMP exam
This guide doesn’t have sample questions to practice at the end of each chapter

The best way to study the PMBOK to prepare for the PMP exam is to read each chapter thoroughly from PMBOK PDF and then go through the same chapter from another preparation book. Also, you should practice sample questions simultaneously. Once you thoroughly read the entire book, then practice multiple PMP simulation exams from different sources to check your readiness level.

Can I get PMBOK PDF for Free?

PMBOK PDF is a licensed file for individual use. If you have paid for PMI membership during application for the PMP exam and you are a PMI member then you do not pay any extra amount and can access and download PMBOK PDF for free.

PMI prohibits any form of distribution of PMBOK Guide. It is purely for personal education purposes. At the time of the release of the 6^th edition of PMBOK PDF, PMI has completely prohibited any form of printing of this guide.

Since the launch of PMBOK 6^th edition, the PMBOK PDF Guide includes a complimentary copy of the Agile Practice Guide. It is appended to end of same PMBOK PDF file that you will download for PMBOK 6^th Edition.

For downloading the PMBOK Guide you should follow these steps:

1. Login to PMI site using username and password

2. Search for “PMBOK 6^th Edition Download” page

3. You will see the message as “A complimentary PDF download of this standard is available to PMI members”

4. Select language and click “Download” button to get the actual download page

5. On the Download page, Enter your password and click ‘Download’. When prompted, select “Save” to save the PMBOK PDF to your desktop

6. Now you have the PDF watermarked with your name, member ID and it is password protected. PMI gives this licensed copy to you as a member benefit, not for sale, distribution or reproduction

7. Every time, you will open PMBOK PDF, it will prompt for PMI (www.pmi.org) login password.

Summary – PMBOK PDF in PMP Journey

PMBOK PDF Guide plays a vital role in the preparation for the PMP exam. It is the basis of the certification exam to qualify for PMP certification. Further, this is considered to be a bible for the PMP exam. PMI published PMBOK PDF Guide in the year 1996. Every 3-5 years, PMI releases a new version based on the Role Delineation Study (RDS). The current version in PMP exam preparation is the PMBOK 6^th edition. PMI released this version in September 2017.

As the PMP exam is changing on 1^st July 2020 so PMBOK 6^th edition will remain applicable for the upcoming PMP exam change in July 2020. Moreover, PMI members can download the PMBOK PDF guide for free. PMBOK Guide is an exhaustive book. So it is not easy to follow. Hence, the recommendation is to use it along with some preparation books to prepare for your PMP exam.

The post PMBOK PDF – How to Get & Use PMBOK 6th Edition in PMP® Prep appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMP PDU Guide – 100% PDU Aspects Covered

Dave Gardner — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 11:52:52 +0000

If you have a PMP certification or any other PMI certification, you might be looking for a way to acquire the required PDUs to renew your credentials. Are you wondering about how you are going to renew credentials? So continue to read the article and learn everything you need to know about PMP PDU.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) follows a very strict methodology for assessing its credentials holders’ eligibility to hold those credentials. It starts by putting forward a set of requirements for the certification acquisition, at the same time they bound the certifications to a limited time period. So they require the certificate holders to obtain PDUs for the PMP renewal of their credentials. Hence the certificate holder has to work towards obtaining these PDUs which varies from one certificate to another. Otherwise, the certificate holder has to re-certify and retake the certification exam.

PMP Certification Requirements

Let’s give you a more clear view. Let’s assume that you are applying to the PMP exam, then you have to have three main PMP eligibility requirements. The first requirement is education. A PMP applicant is required to have a minimum secondary degree which includes high- school diploma or associate’s degree or a global equivalent.

At the same time, the PMP applicant must have sufficient working experience in the projects. To satisfy this condition a PMP applicant with a high school degree has to have a minimum of 7,500 hours in leading and directing projects. Alternatively, a four-year degree holder only needs to satisfy a minimum of 4,500 hours in leading and directing projects.

Finally, the PMP exam seeker has to attend 35 contact hours of project management education which covers all outlines of the PMP exam. But don’t forget that, a CAPM certification holder is exempted from the last condition. When the PMP applicants pass the exam successfully and obtain their PMP certification, they would need to maintain this certificate through obtaining PMP PDU as they have to renew this credential every 3 years. This PMP PDU collection is bound to the time limit of three years where the PMP holder must collect 60 PDUs.

What is PMP PDU?

So here comes a number of questions that would normally come to your mind when you read the introduction. What exactly is a PMP PDU? What is the difference between PMP PDU and Contact Hours?

So what is PMP PDU?

To explain the PDUs we can put it this way, PDU is an abbreviation of Professional Development Units. Professional Development is a measure that PMI uses to quantify professional services and activities to maintain PMI Credentials as well as the approved learning activities.

PMI considers the worth of one-hour of instructional PMP training related to project management equates to 1 PDU. This also applies to program management, Agile project management or even project scheduling. You can report a PMP PDU or Professional Development Unit partially. This means you can report 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 increments of a PDU. We will give more details about PMP PDU and its breakdown in relation to the talent triangle later in the article.

What is PMP contact hours?

Now let’s go through the PMP contact hours. PMP PDU can be education-related as well as professional work-related. While this case applies to PMP PDU, it does not apply to contact hours. Since PMP contact hours are basically project management training hours that must satisfy certain criteria so PMP contact hours must cover the PMP exam outline. At the same time, unlike PMP PDU, PMP contact hours have to be focused on project management knowledge. Also, PMP contact hours don’t count professional context or delivering training, but only receiving PMP training.

The major differences between PMP PDU and PMP contact hours

Last but not least is the difference of purpose between PMP PDU and PMP contact hours. Mainly, contact hours are one of PMP eligibility requirements, as you need them to satisfy the PMP exam requirements. On the other hand, PMP PDU is a requirement for renewing PMP certification after passing the exam successfully. Also, there is a very significant distinctive difference between PMP PDU and PMP contact hours. This difference is that to obtain PMP contact hours you need to go through formal outlined PMP training. On the other hand, you can obtain a PMP PDU through self-study without a specific formal outline.

What are the PMP PDU Requirements?

As we explained in the above section, Professional Development Unit or PMP PDU is worth one hour of time that you spend learning or studying. Also, you can obtain PMP PDU through teaching project management related topics to others or even volunteering in project management related work. To satisfy the requirements of PMP renewal you need to track and accumulate your PMP PDU over the three-year period. Thus, you can maintain your PMP certification status with the Project Management Institute. PMI’s certification maintenance requirements for their certificates vary one to another in terms of the number of PDUs. But in all cases, PMP holder has to collect PMP PDU within a three-year maintenance and renewal cycle. So the following applies to PMP PDU as well as to any other PMI certification’s PDU.

As we mentioned above, one hour of instructional training related to project management is equal to 1 PMP PDU and this also applies to program management, agile project management or even project scheduling. PMI PDUs have two categories Education and Giving Back to the Profession.

PMP PDU Education Requirements

The first category is Education. You can earn an Education PDU by attending webinars or professional seminars as well as attending training in-classroom courses or even get self-paced PMP courses. The options within this category are wide and various. We will discuss different ways of earning PMP PDU from the education category and explore different options in the coming sections.

PMP PDU Giving Back Requirements

The second category of PMP PDU is Giving Back PDUs. A PMP holder can obtain by spending time doing voluntary work as well as performing mentoring activities in addition to working with professional groups. Also, a PMP holder can obtain PMP Giving Back PDUs through other similar activities. We will state different ways of earning PMP PDU from the Giving Back category further in the article.

PMI Continuing Certification Requirements Program

As a part of the PMI Continuing Certification Requirements program, PMP PDU collection follows a framework that PMI designed to maintain specific requirements. PMI designed Continuing Certification Requirements or as abbreviated – CCR – program to support the ongoing educational development of certification holders as well as supporting their ongoing professional development. The desired result of this program is that the certification holders are prepared for the demanding nature of the dynamic and complex environment of today’s business. The key purposes of the PMI Continuing Certification Requirements program are the following:

First, to enhance the certification holders’ continuous learning as well as their development.
Second, to provide clear direction for development areas ensuring the relevancy of certified practitioners.
The third purpose is recognizing and encouraging learning opportunities.
Another purpose is to provide a mechanism for recording activities related to professional development.
And finally, sustaining the value of PMI certifications and their relative global recognition.

PMP PDU and Talent Triangle

Another important thing to highlight about the CCR program is that PMP education PDUs are divided according to the PMI talent triangle. This distribution follows the three key skill categories of project managers:

Ways of Working,
Business Acumen
Power Skills

To explain them more, Ways of Working refers to the knowledge, behaviors, and skills relevant to Project Management domains as well as Program Management and Portfolio Management domains. Meanwhile, the Business Acumen include the knowledge and expertise related to the company or its industry which improves the performance to delivers improved business results. Power Skills refers to the skills and behaviors as well as the knowledge related to leadership activities which help the company achieve the intended business objectives.

CCR requirements are different for each PMI certification

PDU requirements for PMP, PgMP, PMI-PBA, and PfMP

PMP PDU requirement for certification holders is to collect 60 PDUs through a maximum of 25 Giving Back PDUs and a minimum of 35 Education PDUs. The 35 Education PDUs also has another limitation of reporting at least 8 Ways of Working project management PDUs as well as limitation of reporting at least 8 Business Acumen PDUs and also a limitation of reporting at least 8 Power Skills PDUs. At the same time, reporting a maximum of 8 PDUs for working as a professional / practitioner of the giving back PDU category.

The same concept applies to PgMP PDU requirements for certification holders to collect 60 PDUs through a maximum of 25 Giving Back PDUs and a minimum of 35 Education PDUs. With the same distribution of education PDUs across talent triangle minimum of 8 Power Skills PDUs, 8 Ways of Working PM PDUs, and 8 Business management PDUs. As well as the limit of reporting a maximum of 8 PDUs for working as a professional / practitioner of the giving back PDU category. This also applies to PfMP and PMI-PBA certifications holders.

PDU requirements for PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP

While the renewal cycle stays the same, these certifications have different requirements for maintenance PDUs. PMI only requires 30 PDUs to maintain PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP certifications instead of 60 PDUs. The PDUs distribution is the same for all of these certifications across both education and giving back to profession categories. Accordingly, PMI requires certification holders to report a maximum of 12 Giving Back PDUs and a minimum of 18 Education PDUs. The distribution of education PDUs between talent triangle skills is a minimum of 4 Power Skills PDUs as well as a minimum of 4 Ways of Working PM PDUs and a minimum of 4 Business Acumen PDUs. While setting a limit of a maximum of 4 PDUs for reporting working as a professional / practitioner of the giving back PDU category.

How can I earn PMP PDU to Renew PMP certification?

Since the Continuing Certification Requirements Program’s main objective is to ensure the continuous development of the certification holder. So PMI Certification renewal offers a learning opportunity for certification holders to obtain the latest skills that help them advance in their professional life. At the same time, they benefit from networking with other fellow professionals, as well as share knowledge and perform voluntary activities.

As we discussed before, there are two categories of professional development units that a certification holder can obtain for renewal requirements. These two types are Education and Giving Back to the Profession. Each one of those two categories includes a vast number of options while the certification holder is bound to satisfy some requirements that we detailed earlier. The certification holder can report the remaining PMP PDU through any of the other available options.

Ways to Collect Education PMP PDU

As we mentioned earlier there are numerous ways to obtain and report PMP PDU. Across all categories, one hour of learning equals 1 PMP PDU.

Course or Training

The first way you can earn PMP PDU is through training courses. Yes, normal training courses will be counted, as long as these courses are related to the earlier mentioned topics. These courses include formal Instructor-led training courses whether it is held in class or held in person or online.

Do you attend PMI’s face-to-face and instructor-led courses or seminars? If the answer is yes, then congratulations! You can report every hour you spent as one PMP PDU. On the other hand, if you don’t, then don’t worry, now you know an easy way of earning PMP PDUs.

Another option you can take is attending On-Demand e-learning courses. Self-paced learning is growing so fast due to its convenience. You can use such an option to earn your PMP PDU without the need to bound yourself with a trip to a training class. There are also Academic Education Programs accredited by PMI Global Accreditation Center as well as PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) training courses. Finally, PMI accepts any other third party training provider that offers relevant training courses. Does it get more simple than this? Any training you attend from any provider counts, as long it covers related topics.

But that is not all, the following options are even easier and more simple.

Organization Meetings

If you attend a meeting, event or even an activity related to the project management profession, you can earn PMP PDU. Even though it is limited to 1 to 2 PDUs, you can still use it as one of your ways to collect PMP PDU. Also, this option is not limited to PMI specific events or activities, but they are easier to report. To earn PMP PDU from this option, you can easily view the PMI events calendar or check with the nearest PMI chapter.

Reading

So if you thought the previous option was the easiest way to earn PMP PDU, let me tell you that you are wrong. PMI also accepts self-directed learning including reading books, material or even relevant articles. Also, PMI accepts Podcasts and other material that offers similar content as PMP PDU.

Informal Learning

Finally, if you were mentored, guided, instructed, or even went into the discussion over a project management related topic you can also report this as PMP PDU. This includes your typical professional discussions with your work colleagues over-improving your PMO practices.

Ways to earn Giving Back to the Profession PMP PDU

Moving forward to the next category, Giving Back to the Profession. A unique opportunity to expand the knowledge as well as the skills and at the same time growing personally as well as professionally. Giving Back to the Profession offers a roadmap for certification holders to grow steadily in line with the dynamics of today’s business environment. Despite the fact that PMI does not require it for renewal, still, it is an excellent way for expanding your skill horizons.

Usually, you would think it is all about working as a professional or a practitioner and this is where you are wrong. Although working as a professional is one of the major ways of earning Giving Back to the Profession PMP PDU it is not the only one. The following list illustrates the possible options to earn your PMP PDU through the Giving Back category.

Work as a professional / practitioner

The obvious one of them all, working as a professional / practitioner. By applying the knowledge and set of skills in a project management role within a practical setting, you can earn up to 8 PMP PDU per cycle. Also, these PMP PDU has to be reported once per the three years cycle, and you can not transfer extras to the next cycle.

Create Content

Do you develop content knowledge resources for the use of other practitioners to share your knowledge and expertise? If the answer is yes, then you can earn one PMP PDU per the number of hours you spent creating this content. This includes writing articles or books or even blogs, creating webinars or presentations. This also applies to develop content for PMI associated websites.

Give a Presentation

Now that’s a clear one. If you give a formal presentation to share knowledge related to PMP certification to others you can also claim one PMP PDU for each hour you spent.

Share Knowledge

It is similar to the education category’s informal learning. If you were at the other end of the mentoring table, i.e. you are the mentor you also get to claim PMP PDU. This means that you can report 1 PMP PDU per each mentoring hour. This does not only include mentoring, but it also includes teaching or instructing others as well as applying subject matter knowledge to an activity that others will benefit from through your perspective of experience.

Volunteer

Now we come to the final option for you to earn PMP PDU. This can be achieved by providing your volunteer services to an organization that is not your employer or a client. You can do this as a part of the PMI community of volunteers who support the Institute and the profession in a variant ranges of roles. For volunteering to count it has to be within the related domains and services of nonprofit organizations. Accordingly, a one-hour volunteering service is equal to 1 PMP PDU.

Important PMP PDU notes

Since we described all available options to earn different types of PMP PDU, we are going to highlight some important policies and notes related to PDUs. These policies will act as a guideline to you while reporting your PDUs in order to avoid ending up reporting wrong PDUs.

PDUs are subjected to audits

Similar to PMP exam eligibility requirements, PMI subjects PMP PDU to PMI audits. This means that you might be selected for an audit upon renewal. If PMI selects your PMP PDUs for PDU audit you need to know before reporting any PMP PDU that you might be asked for its evidence. The PDU evidence varies from one PDU to another according to the type and nature of the reported PDU. So be careful not to report fake PMP PDU or submitting a PDU that you can not prove.

Only report PDUs relevant to the period after being certified

If you had a number of activities you completed before you earn your PMI PMP certification, do not report them as PMP PDUs. PMI only considers activities as PDUs in which you are involved after you are PMP certified. All activities before that are not eligible as PDUs.

You only claim activity participation once

It may seem obvious, but we have seen worse. It is a big NO for trying to claim PDUs more than once for the same activity or course participation. Be careful PMI may take this with serious actions.

Some PDUs may carry over to the next three years cycle

If you earn more PDU than the required number for the three years cycle, you can carry over a portion of them to the next cycle. This comes with a restriction that you can only carry over PMP PDU earned in the last 12 months of the certification cycle. The number of PDUs you can carry over varies from one certificate to another. For PMP certification, you can carry over up to 20 PDUs. The same applies to PgMP, PfMP, and PMI- PBA. On the other hand, PMI -ACP, PMI -RMP, and PMI -SP can only carry over 10 PDUs.

Working as a practitioner does not carry over

The carryover rule does not apply to “working as a professional or practitioner” category anymore. This means that regardless of the timing of earning working as a professional or practitioner PMP PDUs, you can not report them in the future cycle even if they occur in the last 12 months of the current cycle. This restriction only applies to this type of activity. Meanwhile, the other giving back to profession activities treated with the same way education activities. They can carry over if they occur in the last 12 months of the current cycle to the next cycle. This means that you can report them in the future cycle normally. Be aware of this exception so you don’t fall a victim of such a rare rule if PMI selects your PDUs for audit!

Same PDUs can Maintain Multiple PMI Certifications

This is one of the great bonuses PMI offers its certification holders. If you hold more than one certification you can use the same PDU to maintain all your held certifications. This applies in different ways between different PDU categories. As a result, Education PDUs which fall under the Power Skills type can be applied to all certifications at the same time. For example, if you attend a 2 hours webinar about Power Skills, and you use it for PMP and PMI -ACP certifications. In that case, you can report 2 PMP PDU and at the same time apply the same 2 hours to PMI -ACP PDUs. The same concept applies to Business Acumen PDUs. The logic behind this merit is that Business Acumen as well as Power Skills concepts are wide educational topics and not bound to one specific certification.

On the other hand, the same concept can not be applied to Ways of Working. The reason behind this is that Ways of Working knowledge is specific to the certification knowledge domain. Thus only PMP and may be PgMP can fully benefit from all Ways of Working PDUs. While other certificates will only benefit from the relevant Ways of Working PDUs.

Alternatively, Giving Back to the Profession PDUs can apply to all certifications since practical experience and its associated activities are more broadly applicable to all certifications.

Certification Status

If you don’t track your certification status regularly, you might hit unexpected status unknown to you. Thus, we listed here the different certification statuses to give you a proper overview. Your certification status defined through the CCR program and the fulfillment of its requirements. Certification statuses include

Active Status, which refers to your fulfillment of all CCR certification requirements.
Suspended Status refers to your state of not satisfying CCR certification requirements within the running cycle. This status lasts 12 months after the cycle ends. This status can become active, in case you fulfill the CCR requirements.
At the end of the suspension period if you still didn’t satisfy the CCR requirements your certification status changes to Expired Status and you will have to apply for a new exam in order to regain your certification.
As for Retired Status, it only applies to a certification holder with good CCR standing but voluntarily asked to retire your certification due to your retirement. Only those who have been certification holders with good standing at least for 10 consecutive years.

Free PMP PDU Options

Now that we paved the way with a descriptive and detailed way and provided you with a clear understanding of how the whole PMP PDU thing work. Now we will help identify opportunities for earning free PMP PDU without needing to pay for it. The internet is full of project management related content which you can benefit from easily and use it as a way to earn PMP PDUs. Still, there are some concerns over some of these contents due to their lack of credibility. Because even if they might provide you with a way to earn real PMP PDU, they might harm your knowledge and understanding of project management critical concepts. So you need to select carefully and watch out for amateur content developers and bloggers. Now let’s go through the available sources for an easy PMP PDU.

PMI webinars, events, activities

The first option we are going to discuss is to participate in webinars, events, activities sponsored by PMI. PMI has an updated calendar that contains tons of upcoming webinars, events, and activities. You can join these activities for free without paying anything. Also, these webinars, events, and activities are credible and trustworthy. In addition to the mentioned, PMI reports most of these webinars, events, and activities automatically without your intervention. This means they are not subjected to any audit from any kind. Accordingly, you do not need to keep track of the webinars, events, and activities you attended. Despite the benefits offered by this option, you need to consider the PMP PDU categories’ limitations and requirements.

Volunteering with PMI

Another PMI option is to participate in the PMI volunteering community. PMI has a rigid volunteering system where you can subscribe and select your preferred volunteering activities. Then PMI matches your preferences with volunteering opportunities directly and notifies you. PMI may not report this type of activity automatically, so you need to keep track of your work. In other words, you have to keep evidence of your work through letters or certificates. This option has similar benefits to the prior one but you must be aware of the limitations over PMP PDU categories.

Reading and Self-studying PMI material

Although PMI offers content restricted only to its paid membership, it still offers another variety of free content. This free content includes articles, recorded webinars and other material in different media formats. Accordingly, you can read the articles and watch other media and earn your free PMP PDUs. Still, you need to be mindful of the PMP PDU categories’ limitation requirements.

Contributing to Project management.com Content

This is a good option but by far it is NO easy gig. PMI supervises the content of the projectmanagement.com website and they have strict requirements for any added content. Although they accept a contribution from any professional, they still review it carefully and reject many of the contents. So you can use this option if you can.

Project management.com reading and self-study material

Like PMI offered content but with much wider varieties and richness, projectmanagement.com offers a huge amount of free content includes articles, recorded webinars and other material in different media formats. Thus, you can read the articles and watch other media and earn your free PMP PDUs. Still, you need to be mindful of the PMP PDU categories’ limitation requirements.

Project management.com webinars, events, activities

Similar to PMI, projectmanagement.com offers a wide range of activities for you to participate in. They include webinars, events, activities sponsored by PMI and other sponsors. Also, projectmanagement.com updates its calendar with a huge amount of webinars, events, and activities. Similar to PMI, you can also join for free. Also, these webinars, events, and activities share the same level of credibility and trustworthy of PMI. Some of its activities and events reported automatically to your PMP PDU account directly without your intervention. This comes with the same benefit of not worrying about audit evidence. Just like it shares PMI privileges, it also shares its PMP PDU categories limitation requirements.

Youtube, bloggers, and V-loggers

In terms of availability, free content, and the number of contributors nothing beats this option. On the other side of the story, this option is full of harm if you are not careful. Most of the content provided through such channels is not accurate. At the same time, none of them are verified by a credible party. Accordingly, if you decide to go for this option, you must be extremely selective and cautious. There is no content auditor, there are no reviewers so you are only left to your personal judgment. At the same time, it is extremely hard to verify the content end to end considering the fact that you will deal with new information. This should be the least favored option between all the offered ones.

Credible blogs

Not all blogs belong to amateurs. There are some blogs that are associated with credible institutions or training providers. These institutions and training providers offer articles written by professionals, practitioners, instructors, and professors. This type of content gains its credibility from the credibility of the institutions or training provider itself. Thus the more credible the institutions or training provider, the more credible its associated blog. The issue with this PMP PDU earning option is that it has the limitation of not being well structure way to earn PDUs.

Free project management courses

Many of the training providers offer an introductory level of their courses online for free. Imagine a three hours online course offered by a reputable training provider for free. When you attend such a course you earn 3 PDUs with no paid fees. No, that’s not a daydream, as I mentioned above many training providers offer the introductory level of their courses online for free. They do this as a complement for their students. At the same time, as a gift for new joiners who are not sure yet if they want to follow the PMP track. A big benefit of such an option is the breakdown that is usually offered by the training providers for the PMP PDU category. Also, some of them are PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) which eases the way you report your earned PMP PDU.

Delivering project management training or developing project management material

If you are a trainer this should be an easy gig. Just do what you do, deliver project management training or develop the training material. This option, of course, only applies to those who work as trainers or training content developers. However, even if you are not a trainer but you have a group of audiences that you can deliver project management training to, then it’s possible for you to develop material and deliver the training to these audiences. This way you can use the time you spent to develop the material and the time you spent to deliver the training as earned PMP PDU. Although this way is extremely good it is not available for everyone.

What should I do after earning 60 PMP PDUs to Renew PMP Certification?

Once you complete earning your 60 PMP PDU, the first step you need to do is to report them to PMI. You do the reporting of your PMP PDU through entering your PDUs into the PMI online Continuing Certification Requirements – CCR – system.

Once you reported all of your PMP PDU, you need to pay the PMP certification renewal fees. The fees vary between PMI membership subscribers and nonmembers. Accordingly, PMI membership subscribers pay $60 to renew their PMP certification while non-PMI membership subscribers are required to pay $150 to renew their PMP certification. We highly recommend that once you renew your PMP certification, you should have a break from earning PMP PDU for the new three years cycle.

You can pay your renewal fees and complete your PMP renewal process at any point in your cycle just after you complete your PMP PDU requirements. At the same time, you have to process your renewal payment within 90 days after your cycle end date. The reason behind this advice is to give you a room to celebrate your achievement and have proper rest for a while. Later on, you can start a new journey with your new plan for the next three years cycle.

PMI Audit Process

As a holder of a PMI certification, you agreed on your compliance with PMI terms of use and conditions. These terms and conditions include your adherence to the terms of the PMI audit process. The PMI audit process terms state that all holders of PMI certification are subject to the PMI audit process. In the case of being selected for the PMI audit, PMI will only allow you to renew your PMP certification after you complete the audit. This means you must pass the PMI audit successfully and meet all of the PMI audit terms.

The PMI PMP PDU audit process involves randomly selecting a percentage of certification holders for the PMI’s audit process. The selected certification holders for an audit will have to submit supporting material to verify any reported PDUs. Accordingly, it is crucial for you to keep all of your PMP PDU documentation claims at least 18 months after the end of the CCR three year cycle.

The post PMP PDU Guide – 100% PDU Aspects Covered appeared first on Project Hipo.

Project Management Certification – Top 5 PM Certifications to Earn

Dave Gardner — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 14:04:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered why so many professionals seek out project management certification? Did you ever think about why they spend so much time studying these degrees? Have you wondered why they are seriously looking for the most reliable places to give them those certificates?

Project management is the art of planning and organizing the company’s resources to achieve a specific mission, event or duty towards completion. The resources managed include personnel, finances, technology, and intellectual property. Project management is often associated with engineering and construction fields, but recently project management also entered healthcare and information technology (IT) fields. These fields usually have a complex set of components, which project managers complete and assemble to create a functioning product. Regardless of the industry, project managers prefer to work on defining project objectives as well as determining when to complete different project components in addition to determining who will perform these activities. They also work on creating quality control tests to ensure that the completed components comply with a specific standard. Thus, this makes us wonder what the project manager’s mission is, what are his responsibilities towards his work and towards his team?

Responsibilities of the Project Manager

The project manager’s responsibilities include Planning, Executing, and Closing Projects. In addition to that, there are other responsibilities such as defining the project scope, building its comprehensive work plan, and managing the budget. Managing teams, facilitating commitment and productivity, removing obstacles, and motivating team members are also a part of the project manager’s responsibilities.

These responsibilities not only require many skills, but they also need to develop these skills continually. Therefore, to become a professional project manager, you must develop your skills. You can do this by constantly obtaining relevant courses and project management certifications that enhance your expertise. You have to bear in mind that these courses and certifications need to be accredited from internationally recognized providers. This will allow you to have a great deal of confidence in your project management certification and boost your project management skills.

So, did you fail to achieve a goal because you did not plan for it well? Have you ever wondered why your project final look did not look as expected?

We must admit that one of the most important tools of success is to set the steps to achieve this success. Therefore, project management contains a number of groups of steps to achieve the project goal. These groups’ steps are Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitor and Control, and Close.

Initiation

This stage begins by asking two important questions, what is the project extensively? What is the benefit and return from its implementation?

In order to answer these questions, the project manager creates two important documents:
Business Case: All the reasons for needing this project are explained, which includes the analysis of the return on investment.
Feasibility Study: You need to evaluate what the project’s goals are, the timeline to completion and how much will it cost. You also need to know what resources will be required to fulfill the project and whether it makes sense or not financially and commercially.

Planning

If the upper management approves the project, the project manager starts planning for the project. Starting by how to manage the project so that it can achieve its goals within budget and on time. The project plan should include the necessary resources, funding, and materials. Also, the plan gives direction to your team and the following:

Scope: A written scoping statement that reiterates the need for the project.
Definition: Here you can divide large products into smaller ones.
Tasks: Identify the tasks necessary to produce the results, and see if any tasks depend on other tasks.
Timetable: Determine the duration of tasks and set dates to complete them.
Cost: Estimate the costs involved in the project and formulate a budget.
Quality: Ensure achieving the quality objectives throughout the project.
Organization: Observe how the project will be organized, and including reporting on progress.
Staff: Define the roles and responsibilities of the project team.
Communication: Decide how to publish the information, to whom and with what frequency.
Risk: Identify potential risks and how they will affect the project, and then plan how to solve them.
Procurement: Specify the work or materials to be contracted. Also, identify the contractors.
Management: Managing the secured contracts in the project.

Implementation

After the completion of the planning, it is time to act and start the project. You must follow the plan you created, assign tasks to team members, manage and monitor their progress using project management tools, such as the project dashboard.

Monitor and control

To ensure that the project plan is in progress the project manager must monitor and adjust the plan as needed. To do this, they have to follow these operations:
Reporting: Get a benchmark to measure project progress and a tool to provide this information.
Scope: Monitor scope and control changes.
Quality: Measure the quality of the deliveries and ensure meeting the planned quality. If not, evaluate how to improve quality.
Schedule: Tracking delays or blocks that affect the project schedule and adapting to the correct course.
Cost: Monitor costs and control cost changes.
Risk: Note the changes in risk throughout the project and respond accordingly.

Close the project

Once the project achieves its goals and objectives, the last stage of the project is to close it. This stage includes the following set of activities:
Scope: Ensure that the project results are completed as planned.
Management: Closing all pending contracts and administrative matters, archiving and publishing papers to the appropriate parties.

Now let us discuss the top tier Project Management Certifications available across the globe. There are multiple reputable Project Management Certification programs. We will go through each of them in the following section.

#1 Project Management Certification Program – PMP Certification

What is PMP? Wherever you are in your career, the internationally recognized Project Management Certification (PMP) tells employers, peers and the world you know what to do with project management. Even if the Project Manager is not part of your job title, the PMP as a project management certification still applies to anyone who helps complete the project. Just as the CPA certificate validates the experience for accountants, PMP understands your ability to manage projects – and the hard work you have done so far. This makes us wonder how important is of PMP certification? What is its impact on my project manager’s career?

As a PMP certified you can work in almost any industry or location. While you need to complete a few steps to get it, it can be a powerful tool. Here are some reasons why PMP certification can help you build your career successfully.

Why PMP certification is important for your career?

Across all different project management certifications, PMP is one of the best. There are multiple reasons motivates you to acquire project management professional certification, those reasons are illustrated below:

It adds credibility to your skills

As a PMP certified, you are a professional in this field. When looking for a job, this is a clear demonstration of your abilities and skills. Your CV will not only look more credible but also become a trusted expert for potential employers and future employees. You can see PMP training options.

It can increase your employment opportunities

Like most of the project management certifications, PMP provides its holders with higher pay than their peers. According to the PMI report, by 2027, employers will need 87.7 million individuals working in project-oriented roles. However, there is a shortage of qualified talent.

The best way for you to increase your chances of finding a job is to get your PMP certification. It will help you stand out from the competition and get hired much faster.

It can help you achieve career growth

The PMP certification course can help you not only learn a lot of new skills related to your profession but also broaden the way you learn and grow. These form the perfect foundation for you to keep growing and working your way up.

It allows you to keep abreast of industry trends

Project Management Institute (PMI) is always up to date with changes in the rapidly changing industry. Course content is constantly updated and updated based on the current industry situation, which means you will be familiar with the latest project management trends.

Helps you establish effective relationships

There are 791,448 PMP holders currently. When you become a PMI Club member, you will get the chance to meet new people who can be of great help to know them in the future. Whether you need help finding a job to enjoy or need a recommendation, these colleagues can help you.

Helps you know new job opportunities

PMI often organizes meetings around the world for its members. As a PMP Certificate Holder, you will be able to attend these meetings where you can easily see all the important business opportunities from your fellow PMI members.

Helps you to improve your skills

To pass a PMP certification test, candidates need to undergo training and a large number of courses. This means that you will have to spend hours and hours reading material, research and practice to be able to handle any aspect of the exam.

Helps you rise to the occasion

The skills you learn through the course are many and can help you do your job better and justify employer confidence. No matter what type of project management task you advance, you will be able to show your new boss that you can adapt to any challenges you face, thanks to the knowledge you have gained.

It increases your marketing

PMP certification is internationally accredited and recognized by the entire global business community. One of its biggest advantages is that it can help you increase your marketing ability and legitimize your experience as a project manager. As a result, you will be able to search for work wherever there are project management jobs available.

Allows you to earn a higher salary

These are the main factors affecting salary increase after PMP certification:

When you choose a specific course to upgrade your qualifications, you are definitely looking at financial rewards. PMI conducts surveys in various countries regularly to analyze project managers’ salary increases once they obtain PMP certification. Documented reports confirm the value of obtaining a PMP certification. Besides PMP certification, the 6 most important factors affecting salary are position or role, the average project size, the average project budget, the average size of the project team, years of experience in project management, job location.

Accordingly, as soon as you get a chance to manage a large project with a large team after getting a PMP certification, your opportunities will grow significantly.

Impact of PMP certification on salary:

According to PMI’s ninth PM salary survey, a PMP certified project manager gets a 20% higher salary than an uncertified project manager. This survey covers a total of 26,000 project managers in 34 countries. The survey results show a significant variance between project managers with the PMP certification and PMs without it.

It makes you add value to any organization you work for

Certified project managers add significant benefit and value to any organization. Not only are they able to deal with problems and setbacks more easily, but they can also organize their teams better and achieve the necessary results with minimal effort and resources, making them a valuable asset for every company they work in. An individual with PMP certification can work in almost any industry or location. While you need to complete a few steps to get it, it can be a fairly powerful tool. You can read about PMP certification requirements and PMP certification cost.

#2 Project Management Certification Program – Agile Certifications

Starting from the early 2000s Agile project management certifications became more popular especially after 2010s. Especially the IT and Software industry has a high demand for agile certified professionals. There is a variety of agile project management certifications offered by a variety of institutions across the globe. These project management certifications usually are based on the same frameworks and methodologies. Accordingly, we have picked a number of top-tier agile project management certifications to review in this article.

PMI-ACP project management certification

This agile project management certification initially developed by the Project Management Institute. It aims to assist people who practice Agile’s on-the-job approach. To take the exam you must study various agile methodologies, such as Scrum, Lean, Kanban, and XP – to broaden your knowledge base. Thus, gaining a PMI ACP certificate testifies that your credentials when it comes to agile practices. You should learn most of the agile practices understanding differences, methods and ways to pass the test. This not only opens your mind but also makes you more skilled in agile practices that you already know.

Getting certified means that you have the features to implement agile methodologies, and it gives the employers confidence in you. The value of the certificate does not drop, due to the high standards set by the PMI globally. The certification requires not only hard work on your part but also requires that you have extensive project experience.

PMI-ACP project management certification requirements

This extensive experience requires a candidate to have at least 2000 hours of project experience. Therefore, you will never have to waste your time proving your credentials to anyone. PMI ACP has seen a rapid rise to the top of the best Agile Certifications on the market and hence there is a great demand for certified practitioners today. PMI ACP is used as an employer benchmark to measure your knowledge of Agile practices, especially for companies that use Agile.

Certified practitioners are always preferred compared to their unaccredited peers. Their high levels of knowledge of various Agile practices, such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, XP and Crystal also help them reach the top of the group. There are more benefits to getting a PMI ACP Certification. The PMI also provides a certification maintenance program, which enables the practitioner to keep abreast of the many developments in Agile. This means that the degree never becomes irrelevant and contributes to your career growth significantly.

PMI-ACP project management salary

Your career opportunities are also enhanced because all companies want employees who are able to apply and understand internal business aspects. Being a reliable source of enterprise, employers tend to chase you to get your high qualifications in this field. The average salary of a certified practitioner is approximately 20% higher than their non-accredited colleagues – which clearly enhances the value of this certification. According to surveys, it was found that Agile certified professionals earn about $ 120,000 on average, while employees without certificates earn only about $ 95,000 at the same level. The certification not only increases your shares with employers but also significantly increases your profits. In conclusion, PMI ACP project management certification may be new to the market, but it is one of the most effective and comprehensive testimonials available on Agile’s practices.

All of Agile’s methodologies and frameworks are covered under this single certification, giving you a better view of each Agile practice and its differences with each other. This certification opens you up to massive career growth and a large number of new job opportunities. The exam can be expensive, but the benefits are huge – you always keep in touch with new developments, your inventory is constantly rising, and the money spent on training and exams can be recovered within two months, even. So what are you waiting for? Take an Agile course accredited by the Project Management Institute!

PMI-ACP project management certification evolution

With the growth of the Agile community and institutions beginning to apply the Agile methodology excessively to implement their projects in a dynamic environment, PMI-ACP has become a popular and rapidly growing certification. The PMI ACP certificate offers its holders a huge advantage over others through its formal recognition of their knowledge and experience of Agile principles as well as using Agile tools. PMI ACP certificate is a set of qualifications combining Agile Training, Agile project experience and Evaluation of Agile Principles and Practices. Organizations usually depend on project practitioners to apply various project management approaches. Thus PMI-ACP serves this purpose as one of the global certifications which elevate professionals’ ability to support that need.

PMI-ACP project management certification benefits

The benefits of acquiring PMI-ACP project management certification are the following:

High demand

Around the world, there is a great demand for competent project managers in industries. Regardless of the academic background, the correct certification will demonstrate your expertise in project management skills. With various that heavily utilize Agile related technologies, there is a demand gap of professionals who apply Agile methodologies and practices. Thus, for practitioners who have working experience within an Agile environment even as project managers and developers, ACP project management certification offers a reason to praise their achievement.

Wide range

PMI-ACP includes more than one method of Agile methodologies including Scrum, FDD, XP, Kanban, DSDM, Crystal, etc. The purpose of this certification developed by PMI is the ability to credit professionals who practice Agile approaches, tools, and techniques in their work. It shows to employers that a professional has practical experience working in an agile environment. It has become a more popular and desirable certification by PMI.

Professional growth

PMI ACP certificate provides a vital role for your professional growth opportunities. It demonstrates to employers the level of professionalism in Agile practices required in project management. It increases your professional skills in project management tools and techniques. PMI ACP also helps you learn about the different Agile methods and improves your ability to adapt to Agile technologies which ultimately enhances customer satisfaction and team productivity. This certificate also proves you have the required level of experience in Agile as well as the knowledge of Agile tools and techniques and that you have professional resources to undertake any project based on Agile methodology.

Make you marketable

PMI-ACP project management certification enhances your CV, earns appreciation in your organization as well as with other employers and provides you with better job opportunities for career advancement. Proven to be incredibly helpful for your career in Agile Project Management, it opens doors to many methodologies for project development, collaboration, and better job opportunities. This certificate makes you a salable employee. The increased demand for Agile professionals, agile certifications like PMI-ACP tempts employers to chase you, given your competence in project management.

Benefits the organization

Today more and more companies are adopting the Agile approach instead of the traditional waterfall model. PMI-ACP certification helps discover technologies to effectively manage project scope and learn Agile principles and practices that improve team performance and collaboration that ultimately ensures better delivery.

Scrum Project Management Certifications

The Scrum methodology is an incredibly powerful group of values, principles, and practices despite being lightweight.
Scrum methodology depends on teams that are cross-functional which deliver work in short time boxes. Thus enabling fast feedback, rapid adaptation to change, continuous improvement and accelerated delivery. Generally, Scrum works by breaking large work into smaller pieces to complete in a short time. Typically, Scrum teams test each group of completed components. Then, the teams learn from their previous work, feedback to adapt upcoming work, minimize risk and reduce waste. Accordingly, repeating the cycle until the full completion of work in a manner that meets the needs of the customer. This happens due to the opportunities for adjustment at the end of each cycle.

Benefits of using Scrum

Scrum teams give the highest priority to the continuous creation of working functionality, the business benefits with the maximum possible investment returns. Thus, utilizing Scrum offers businesses benefits like faster innovation, quickly moving the idea to delivery, generating a higher level of customer satisfaction and increasing the level of employee morale.

a-) Scrum Alliance project management certifications

Scrum Alliance offers a wide range of agile project management certification types which ranges between various tracks. These tracks include Scrum Master track, product owner track, and developer track. To obtain the advanced level of any scrum project management certification tracks you will need to acquire the prior level first.

Scrum Master track

The Scrum Master track has three levels of project management certification. The first level is Certified Scrum Master, which is the intro level for this track which fills the role of scrum master or scrum team member. The second level of this track is the Advanced Certified Scrum Master project management certification. Finally, the top tier level of this track is Certified Scrum Professional – Scrum Master, which certifies that you are able to challenge scrum teams to enhance the application of Scrum and Agile principles. At the same time, this project management certification certifies your demonstrated scrum experience, received training, and knowledge.

Scrum Product Owner track

The Scrum Product Owner track contains three levels of project management certification as well. Certified Scrum Product Owner is the first level of this track. This project management certification recognizes the role of creating product vision, ordering Product Backlog as well as ensuring the best possible job to satisfy the customer. The second level of this project management certification is the Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner. This project management certification testifies the holder’s ability to maximize business value as well as optimize Product Backlog to reach the best way possible to increase key stakeholders’ satisfaction. The top tier level project management certification of this track is the Certified Scrum Professional Product Owner. As a Certified Scrum Professional, you are able to challenge your teams to enhance the application of Scrum and Agile principles. Also, this project management certification testifies that you demonstrate scrum experience, training, and knowledge.

Scrum Developer track

This track of project management certification Certified Scrum Developer includes two levels, the Certified Scrum Developer and the Certified Scrum Professional. Those two project management certifications certify development professionals who work within scrum teams.

b-) Scrum.org project management certifications

The Scrum.org offers a wide range of project management certification tracks, which all are based on scrum. The institution offers seven main project management certification tracks. Professional Scrum Master track is the first of these seven tracks. This project management certification track has 3 levels, to proceed for a higher level you must complete the prior level. The second track is the Professional Scrum Product Owner track and it has three levels with the same rules applied. The Professional Scrum Developer is the third track, which targets Scrum Development Team Members with 1 level only. Following there is the Scaled Professional Scrum track, which validates your ability to understate the key elements of agile scaling with 1 level only.

The Professional Scrum with Kanban track offers 1 level project management certification which verifies your ability to use Scrum and Kanban methodologies. The Professional Agile Leadership certificate validates that your leadership abilities and understanding Agile added value to the business. The final track Scrum.org offers is the Professional Scrum with User Experience. This track validates your understanding of how Scrum Teams integrates Scrum with User Experience to improve the creation of value.

#3 Project Management Certification Program – Prince2 Certification

The Prince2 project management certification offered through the Axelos institution. It is more popular in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India and in some EU countries despite the fact that PMP is much more popular all around the world.

Benefits of having PRINCE2 Certification

Unlike PMP’s PMP, PRINCE2 is an effective project management methodology. The key difference between them is basically within the process as well as the body of knowledge. PMP is all about providing best practices for project management around the world in a standardized format. In fact, it turns away from recommending the processes to follow while managing projects, and here PRINCE2 project management certification comes into the picture, as it fills the void left by PMP.

The entire project is justified even before it starts

The PRINCE2 methodology requires full justification for actions at every level. The project should provide regular updates on business cases throughout the project life cycle to ensure delivery of the intended value to the project and its clients. Failure to do so will end the justification for continuing the project.

PRINCE2 tailoring according to any project in size and complexity

The best part about PRINCE2 is that you can tailor it according to project size and complexity. In PRINCE2 you can never remove an operation. Process activity must be completed, but you can customize the process to suit the right environment. Moreover, a lot of resources and time are saved because PRINCE2 is a built-in methodology, which means PRINCE2 will be applied to all aspects of the organization.

Improving salary opportunities with global opportunities

Professionals with PRINCE2 certification qualifications have more chances to land their dream job and pay well. Especially in countries like the UK, Europe, Australia, and Asia, your employer has all the rationale needed for your skills to give you an increase in salaries. According to Payscale.com, the highest average annual salary for PRINCE2 certified professionals ranges between approximately $ 60,000 and $ 123,000.

Employers all over the world have a great demand for project practitioners. Thre is more demand for PRINCE2 credential holders in the UK Australia, New Zealand, India and in some EU countries. While the demand for PMP certified professionals is more in the US and the rest of the world. At the end of the day, it all depends on the institution and the type of project you are dealing with to choose the right certification that best suits your career. The PMP certification is useful for obtaining a comprehensive view of project management, and PRINCE2 also mainly helps in understanding the processes and people in the project.

For project management practitioners to take their next level for their project management skills, they need to undergo accredited training in both PMP and PRINCE2. It will help you gain an in-depth understanding of project management approaches and apply project management techniques that are best suited for successful project completion.

Prince2 Certification levels

Axelos provided Prince2 Certification has two levels where you have to acquire the 1st level in order to acquire the second level.

Prince2 Foundation Certification

Foundation level certification of Prince2 requires you to have an in-depth understanding of how to work with Prince2 methodology effectively on projects as well as understanding the basics of Prince2 methodology and terminology.

Prince2 Practitioner Certification

It is the advanced level certification of Prince2. The requirement for this project management certification is to confirm your ability to customize Prince2 principles to fit project requirements. While as a Practitioner, you become fit to lead teams that use Prince2 Methodology.

#4 Project Management Certification Program – CAPM Project Management Certification

Are you in your early years of Project Management career? If yes, that means you do not have enough project management experience. Thus, you are not qualified for some project management certification such as PMP. CAPM project management certification is entry-level certification of PMI for project managers in their early years in their careers.

What are the different benefits of CAPM project management certification?

CAPM project management certification can be a starting point for your career as a project manager. It has many advantages.

1. It will give you global recognition

PMI is world-famous for its literature and project management certificates. CAPM is an entry-level project management certification. It is widely accepted all over the world by various organizations. By earning this accreditation, you will be recognized as a knowledgeable professional.

2. It will enhance your knowledge

By studying for the CAPM project management certification exam, you will learn about various project management tools and techniques. In addition, you will learn about project management practices that have proven to improve the project’s success rate. Some might say that knowledge can be acquired without preparing for the test. Right! But everyone knows that true knowledge comes only when seriously preparing for the exam.

3. It is a professional achievement

CAPM project management certification is a relatively difficult exam to pass. The credentials give you instant recognition and respect among your peers.

4. It will increase your confidence

The idea of passing a globally recognized certification exam level is a challenge. You will feel comfortable and feel good after passing the exam. It would give a huge boost to your confidence.

5. It has the potential to give you better job opportunities

Since CAPM project management certification is a well-recognized certification that enhances your knowledge, it may open doors for junior project management jobs. Even if you do not have commensurate professional experience or are not fully qualified for a job, companies may give you preference over more qualified candidates.

6. Organizations tend to give you greater responsibilities

After getting the CAPM certification, you will be recognized as more knowledgeable and skilled than your peers. Organizations tend to benefit from your additional knowledge in assuming project responsibilities. This can lead to more complex project management.

7. It can improve the project’s success

The credentials give you the knowledge to apply project management tools and techniques to project activities. This improves the overall efficiency of project management and will likely lead to more successful projects.

8. It can improve customer satisfaction

CAPM project management certification enhances a person’s basic knowledge about project management that appears in their commitment to action. It also increases the customer’s confidence in your abilities and skills.

9. It enhances the marketing of your organizations

CAPM project management certification comes with global recognition. Your organization can use it as a marketing tool to win more contracts from clients.

10. It can serve as a platform for PMP certification follow-up

The examination content for CAPM project management certification and PMP project management certification is almost the same. CAPM project management certification relies only on the PMBOK Guide while PMP project management certification mostly relies on it. After you get the CAPM project management certification, you are almost ready to pass the PMP project management certification exam. Once you are eligible for taking the PMP project management certification exam, you can apply for the PMP project management certification immediately.

#5 Other Project Management Certification Programs

I addition to the project management certification programs we mentioned, there are other top tier project management certification programs we will list and discuss below for your review.

Certified Project Director – CPD Project Management Certification

CPD is a project management certification at the orientation level as it is not only difficult to take the exam, but the accredited institute also has certain requirements to keep the CPD project management certification course active. As an approved project manager, this obligates you to “maintain” your degree by completing a pre-determined number of hours in the field service.
Likewise, the courses for subordinates are also an additional point. CPD contains two units; the official and unofficial CPD documents. You should not confuse them with each other because the official, certified project manager is considered a professional with structured online education, appropriate certification, and supporting documents.
Regardless, CPD is one of the most prestigious accredited project management courses. As much as CPD itself represents a daunting adventure, it rewards qualified employees with equal job opportunities and salaries.

Requirements for a certified project manager

Since CPD project management certification accredited with GAQM, they have been tasked with obtaining solid knowledge about project management principles and methodologies. Additionally, you need to demonstrate practical knowledge in project management as a manager to qualify for the exam.

Certified Project Manager – CPM-IAPM Project Management Certification

The Phytosanitary Measures Authority introduced more than a decade ago when the terrorist attacks shook the foundations of the US government on September 11, 2001. The main body at that time offered the course of the Certified Project Manager course due to the unexpected nature of the disaster at hand.

Along with buildings and other physical ruin, the attack sent tremors through IT infrastructure. Companies were not prepared to deal with such pressure and needed certified project managers to assess their skills through practical experience. Since then, this certification has been internationally recognized by project management training institutes.

Requirements for a certified project manager

CPM and CPM-IAPM tests are relatively easier. There are no prerequisites for taking the test, except for proof of attending a 3-day course.

Professional Project Management – PPM Project Management Certification

Although it is not difficult to obtain a certificate such as PPM project management certification, companies prefer to hire experienced professionals compared to those who have just completed their courses.

As a certified PPM professional, if you are looking to enter the job market, many companies will expect you to have knowledge/skill regarding resource allocation and QoS maintenance with minimal risk and effective communication and perseverance to bring about change in the company.

Just like CPM, the PRO line up in Project Management Certification with Risk and Crisis Management Training.
Professional in project management requirements:
• Unlike its peers, the PPM certification exam does not require that you obtain an official university degree
• Candidates need at least some experience in project management. If this is not a possibility, then you need to demonstrate your knowledge and familiarity with project management in one way or another

Master Project Manager (MPM)

Project management is growing at a rapid pace and is used in all industries, whether health, communications, chemicals, and energy, as well as in the social sector. The MPM project management certification is designed for professionals who want to increase productivity in the workplace.

MPM project management certification mainly focuses on professional project managers, but in addition, it also supports these professionals in technical and business management roles.

MPM project management certification is one of the certifications that help you earn additional points for IT professionals who are in the field of project management in their company. It provides a simple yet effective training environment for professionals with a technical background by identifying and linking management teachings to engineering.

Professional in Master Project Manager requirements
• Three years of training and project management experience makes applicants eligible for exemptions with a master’s degree with relevant job experience
• Graduates who have less than three project management years of experience are eligible to take this certification.

Associate in Project Management (APM) Project Management Certification

Associate in Project Management is one of the introductory project management certifications.

It is an internationally recognized important accreditation in the field of project management that demonstrates that the candidate has the required knowledge in this field that is limited to the level of project management initiation.

The exam consists of 50 questions to choose from which the candidate needs to obtain 70% (35 out of 50 correct) to pass the test and the total exam duration is one hour (60 minutes).

Professional in project management requirements
• No formal education or experience required

Certified Project Management Practitioner – Project Management Certification

Immediately after the establishment of the European Council in 2001, the government wanted to address some of the fundamental issues that resulted from the notorious terrorist attack. For this issue, the CPMP project management certification was created as a standard for those with a talent for managing disaster recovery operations.

It is expected that people with a certified project management practitioner certification will take a number of projects related to infrastructure development, administrative obstacles, and leadership obstacles. Although CPMP project management certification is not a high degree, it does serve as a solid foundation for anyone looking to enter a field that requires work experience.

As a result, value is added over time to management expertise, leadership characteristics, and technical skills.

CPMP project management certification requirements.

The CPMP project management certification requirements are rather simple. There are no prerequisites for this certificate. However, you have to submit a non-refundable fee of $ 200 for the exam. CPMP project management certification is taught in various training companies in two to three days. They charge exorbitant fees for these categories, so set aside a large portion of your budget in advance.

Six Sigma Black Belt Project Management Certification (CSSBB)

The next one on the list is CSSBB – also known as the Six Sigma Black Belt project management certification. Yes, it has a great name, and this name accompanies a good salary check with a host of challenges.

Another interesting thing about CSSBB project management certification is that it is not the only certificate in this category. If you are not up to the challenge or do not meet the prerequisite, you can sign up for the Six Sigma Green Belt certification. This is a lower-level certification and serves as a starting point for those looking to get a “Black Belt”.

CSSBB project management certification is internationally recognized and accredited through the ASQ Institute. ASQ Body of Knowledge has 18 other certificates. Three of these certifications are for project managers, while others elevate the PM level experience to a more professional level.

CSSBB project management certification is difficult to obtain. The path is strict due to the complex prerequisites and different fee structures. The good news is that once you’re done, you’ll enjoy the benefits of a decent wage schedule and many other perks offered by major corporations to professionals.

Six Sigma Black Belt Certification requirements (CSSBB)

In order to get the exam, or at least be eligible, you must prove that you have completed two different projects before. ASQ will require you to produce pre-written written project certificates plus 3 years of experience in this field.

Breaking the deal with this certificate is that it is only valid for three years. This is not a bad part. In order to retake the test, you need to retest all 18 certification exams that are part of the CSSBB structure! It looks cool, right?

Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Certificate

This certificate is part of another project management certification in the Six Sigma Black Belt certification group. There are a total of three certificates, and CSSGB project management certification is one of them. Three certificates are necessary for anyone looking to hone their skills as a project manager.

As usual, the ASQ Institute accredits CSSGB project management certification. Before the exam, candidates must have at least three years of experience in Six Sigma Projects. Additionally, the work experience must be full-time and paid for. Therefore, detainees or part-time workers are unable to pass the six accredited Green Belt exams.

The good news is that within the limits of the Green Belt Authority certification, you will be able to do one of the following with great ease and comfort.

• Dealing with related phase projects. The stages in Six Sigma can be customer voice, fundamentals of project management, project identification, planning, resource management, team dynamics, and vice versa. Each “stage” is a legacy of its own.
• You will also be able to perform operations analysis, measure the performance and capabilities of team members in a project and collect the data necessary for the current Six Sigma preparation.

Six Sigma Green Belt certification requirements (CSSGB)

CSSGB project management certification requirements are somewhat complicated. As mentioned earlier, you need to show written certificates or contracts for a minimum of 3 years of experience as a full-time worker in Six Sigma Projects.

ITIL Certification

ITIL is an IT service management certification that Axelos offers which has a lot of relevance to project management certifications. The ITIL set of certification systems offers a standard approach to the context of the ITIL framework. It consists of various levels of qualifications that concentrate on different pillars of ITIL service management best practices. This offering comes with varying levels of detail. The progressive nature of certification creates flexibility in terms of different areas and disciplines in addition to the ability to study only the areas of their main interest.

ITIL 4 Certification theme

Axelos offers four levels of certification within the ITIL 4 :

Foundation level

Designed as an introductory level to ITIL 4 to test exam taker’s understanding of IT service management within an end to end operating model. This is done through the creation, delivery and continual improvement of services and products. This level of the certificate does not require any perquisites, however, the certificate holder must pass the level exam.

ITIL 4 Managing Professional level

The ITIL 4 Managing Professional level offers practical and technical knowledge in terms of running successful IT services. It mainly targets IT service management practitioners who work within the technology context. This level requires you to certify the foundation level first before applying to any certification within this level. This level or stream contains four modules the candidate can take:

First Module: ITIL 4 Specialist Create, Deliver and Support
Second Module: ITIL 4 Specialist Drive Stakeholder Value
Third Module: ITIL 4 Specialist High-Velocity IT
Fourth Module: ITIL 4 Strategist Direct, Plan and Improve.

For Axelos to certify you with the ITIL 4 Managing Professional designation, you must complete all modules in the stream.

ITIL 4 Strategic Leader level

ITIL 4 Strategic Leader level recognizes the ITIL value, for all digitally enabled services not only for IT operations. To Become an ITIL 4 Strategic Leader, you must demonstrate a clear understanding of the influences of IT over business strategy. ITIL 4 Strategic Leader level stream consists of two modules. Those two modules are ITIL 4 Strategist Direct, Plan and Improve and ITIL 4 Leader Digital and IT Strategy. For Axelos to certify you with the ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designation, you must complete all modules in the stream.

Master level

The highest level of ITIL is the ITIL Master certification. To achieve this level, you must explain and justify your personal application of a range of principles, knowledge, techniques, and methods of ITIL in addition to, explaining management support techniques, to achieve the desired business outcomes in practical assignments.

Summary of Project Management Certification Programs

In this article, we went through different top tier project management certifications and discussed the details of each project management certification. We went through the major project management certifications like PMP, Agile project management certifications, Prince2, and others. In conclusion, selecting the best project management certification for you depends on your location, experience, and career plans. Also, selecting one project management certification is not the optimum choice as each project management certification has its own areas of strength. While all project management certification has its strengths, still project management professional certification (PMP) standout as the top of all of them. As explained earlier, PMP is the top recognized project management certification across the globe.

The post Project Management Certification – Top 5 PM Certifications to Earn appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMP Certification Cost – 5 Aspects of PMP Cost Revealed

Chris — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 14:24:00 +0000

Project Management Professional (PMP) is a globally valid certification. There is a high requirement for project management positions and PMP certification is one of the distinguishing key factors to be able to get project management jobs. Therefore most of the project management aspirants consider PMP as a must-have credential in their resume. But this prominent feature comes after a serious effort as well as the cost is associated with it. In this article, we are going to highlight significant factors that contribute to the PMP certification cost.

One of the critical aspects of PMP certification for the aspirants is PMP certification cost. While calculating PMP cost, some candidates only think of the cost of the PMP exam and the cost of PMP training. These are no doubt the basic aspects but also other aspects exist for PMP certification cost. In this article, we will highlight the different aspects of the PMP certification cost. These aspects will help you get the idea of how many financial resources should you plan for your PMP certification cost.

Project Management Certification

Project management is a globally demanded field. Hence, there is an interesting growth opportunity for individuals who like to pursue their careers in the field of project management. The organizations need to grow and this growth is mostly based on the skills of the project teams. Therefore the hiring of a team requires the human resource departments, agencies, and consultants to look more vigilantly for the best-fit candidates. Organizations look for candidates who have the skills in-line with their current as well as future requirements. So if a candidate has these abilities, they are more likely to be called upon and picked up on high priority.

Benefits of PMP Certification

You may expect a hike of at least 20% in your project manager salary after obtaining your PMP Certification. This is one of the very attractive benefits of PMP. Furthermore, another benefit of PMP is that it is not a domain-specific certification. The project managers within various industries get more salaries as compared to non-PMP individuals within these industries. You can check the median PMP salary by industry, experience, location, etc. For instance, in the USA, if you are working in the pharmacy sector you may earn around $125,000, whereas in Canada you may get up to $115,000 if you work in the mining industry. Also, for the IT sector, PMP has consistently been the highest-paid certification. Last but not least, the trend shows that salaries for PMP owners will continue to increase even more in the future.

Besides the salary advancements, PMP certification increases job security as even with the lesser jobs in the market, companies would be more keen to hire and keep the PMP certified project managers.

PMP Certification Requirements

Students, fresh hires and professionals who want to pursue their career in project management, are very much interested to know the various aspects of PMP certification cost. So that they can plan their resources required to prepare for the PMP Exam, then take on the PMP certification path as the PMP credentials will help them showcase their abilities, experience. Obtaining the PMP certification also recognizes your efforts and consistency you have put in to obtain the credentials.

Are you interested to be well informed on the critical aspects of the PMP certification cost? Then, you should have the first question in mind and that should be what are the PMP requirements. Then there is a series of questions, you must be interested to know. Like how these PMP requirements can be fulfilled? How much PMP certification cost can be associated with each of these PMP requirements?

It is true that PMP certification offers a lot of benefits to its holders. But first, you must be well prepared before taking in the PMP Exam. Therefore, knowing what it takes to prepare for the exam, in other words, the PMP certification requirements, is the first step towards the PMP certification. When you know the criteria of PMP certification, you’ll be able to systematically prepare and achieve your target. The PMP certification requirements and their eligibility criteria are given in the below table.:

Education	Project Management Experience	Project Management Education
Non Graduates	5 years/7500 hours	35 hours
Graduates	3 years/4500 hours	35 hours

Education

Project Management

Experience

Project Management

Education

Non Graduates

5 years/7500 hours

35 hours

Graduates

3 years/4500 hours

35 hours

In this section we will give you more details about these PMP requirements:

Education

Education has a critical role in PMP prerequisites. To be able to take the PMP Exam, you must have a high school diploma or associate’s degree or global equivalent. As it will reduce the work experience requirement, if you hold a graduation degree it is a big advantage for you.

Experience

Based on your education level, the experience requirement varies.

In case you have a bachelor’s degree, the required experience is 3 years (36 months). In other words, you can say that work experience of 4,500 hours is required to fulfill the criteria of experience by the candidates. So if you plan to sit in the PMP Exam you must have at least 4,500 hours of experience provided you have a bachelor’s degree.
In case you have a high school diploma or associate’s degree or global equivalent the required experience is 5 years (60 months). In other words, you can say that work experience of 7,000 hours is required to fulfill the criteria of experience by the candidates. So you must have experience of at least 7,000 hours if you are planning to sit in the PMP Exam provided you have an associate’s degree or equivalent.

The experience requirement of 4,500 hours within 3 years can be interpreted as 1500 hours/year or 125 hours/month on average for the required time period.

But don’t forget that you do not really need to work in a project manager position during this time period. You can work on these projects in various roles. If you are working on the project in any capacity, you should be able to claim these hours depending on the different phases of the project that you have been working on.

Training

PMP training is a must-have PMP certification requirement. In other words, the PMP training requirement is a must to sit in the PMP Exam. You must have 35 contact hours of PMP training according to PMI criteria. That means you must get formal PMP training. Even though on first look the PMP training requirement may seem to be one of the simplest PMP certification requirements to fulfill, it really is a make or break game changer.

PMP Certification Cost

As we have already discussed the PMP certification requirements, now it is time to consider the PMP certification cost factors now. There are mainly 5 aspects of PMP certification cost. We have discussed education, experience, and training requirement in the previous section. On top of these PMP certification cost factors, one must consider factors like preparation and registration as well. The PMP certification cost includes both tangible and non-tangible factors. For instance, the time of preparation for the PMP exam is a PMP certification cost that usually remains hidden. But you have to spend your time and energy to mark your achievement.

#1 PMP Certification Cost – PMP Training Cost

It is important to note that the PMP training requirement is a must to sit in the PMP Exam. You must have 35 contact hours of PMP preparation according to PMI guidelines. So you must get formal PMP training. Even though on first look the PMP training requirement may seem to be one of the simplest PMP certification requirements, it really is a make or break game changer.

The PMP training is not only a point of consideration due to the fact that PMI has set it as a requirement. As a matter of fact, it also brings several benefits to the candidates. Like PMP training offers guidance through experienced trainers. The candidates get the opportunity to interact with other candidates as well. In addition to this, they get a more clear road map and by following this roadmap they get preparation materials.

The PMP certification cost varies with the location and the format of the training

The cost of the PMP training varies based on location as well as the training format. For instance, let’s say that you are looking for trainings in Toronto. You will have multiple options for PMP training providers in Toronto. The cost of PMP classroom training will range from $800 to $2,495 whereas virtual trainings will be within the range of $1,695 to $1,895.

Likewise, if you are looking for training in Melbourne, you will find many options. The cost of Melbourne classroom courses starts at AUD 1,800+ GST and can be up to AUD 6,500.

In case you are looking for PMP trainings in Chicago, again there are multiple PMP training providers there. The cost of classroom training ranges from $845 to $1895 and the cost of the trainings with the virtual format is within the range of $699 to $1305.

Please note that the prices are subject to change as per the training providers within your country and regions. Also, the training format choice is a key driver of the PMP certification cost factor.

We recommend you to look for Project Management Education options as this will help you reduce your PMP certification cost. This format also provides flexibility for PMP candidates. You can only get an online PMP training for as little as $67 a month, among the various online training options.

How can I secure my PMP certification cost for a better return on investment in PMP training?

As a matter of fact, the PMP Exam is not a simple one. It is more likely that if the candidates are not well prepared, they will have a greater tendency to fail the PMP Exam. You can find various training providers that provide PMP training programs. Also, naturally, there is a PMP certification cost associated with the PMP training that you will pay to the provider.

Now it is time to ask the most important question: What should you look for the PMP training and which PMP training format is better for you? You will find many established training providers who have global recognition in the PMP training field. Even though having multiple options to choose from is a good thing, when you are evaluating them you should consider their certain aspects. We will explore some of these aspects that you have to consider when choosing a PMP training provider. These aspects include:

Fulfill PMI Requirements

One of the main objectives of acquiring formal PMP training is the requirement set by PMI to sit in the PMP exam. You must have 35 PDUs to fulfill this requirement. Therefore you must ensure that the training you are opting gets you 35 PDUs. So this section of the PMP certification cost is guaranteed as a secure investment.

Recognition of Training Providers

It is not enough that the training provider fulfills the PMI criterial. The next thing you should look for is the recognition of the training provider. You should review whether the training provider has a proven record to train the aspirants in a way that they have acquired the PMP credentials. Many training providers display their success rates based on PMP achievement as compared to their total number of students in the PMP programs. This will help you to ensure the stability of the training program where you are going to invest your PMP certification cost.

Training Formats

One very interesting factor is that there are many training providers who provide trainings in several formats. These training formats are designed to help the aspirants to reach trainings from local as well as global training providers. These formats also enable the training providers to broaden their horizons.

You can look for the following training formats and make a choice according to your priorities to fulfill PMP certification requirements. These formats include:

In-person Classroom Training
In-person Virtual Classroom Training
E-learning Online

You can choose the training format that suits you as per your availability and requirement. These trainings prepare you for the PMP certification exam. Considering that the aspirants are professionals and must be busy in their jobs, finding time to attend the training could be a bit difficult for them. Whereas there are some other cases when the candidates have the flexibility to adjust their schedules or they are willing to attend the classroom trainings. These types of candidates might choose in-person classroom training as their best option.

There are also some situations when candidates look for in-person trainings but they are not willing to travel to attend the class. If you are one of these candidates, the Virtual Classroom training option can be ideal for you. Another possible situation is where the candidates look for both location and time flexibility. For such candidates, the self-paced, online e-learning format is more suitable.

These formats have different costs and duration. Usually, the classroom trainings are for 4 full days. Some training providers offer weekdays as well as weekend trainings. So the overall span varies depending on the type of schedule you choose for the training.

The e-learning online training format is the most economical and most flexible method of training.

PMP Exam topic full coverage and additional training material

The next thing you need to check is whether the PMP training is in line with the PMBok topics. You can also check whether the training provider gives additional material along with the training. The most important aspect is to check whether the training provider offers quizzes, mock-up exams, practice tests. All of these materials are helpful to assess your current position in regards to the PMP certification. The practice material helps you to identify the gaps and strengths. So you can practice more to cover the identified gaps and reinforce your strength.

Some training providers also offer full simulations that are helpful to feel the actual online paper environment and you can practice more closely with the real exam. So you can assess your time management, focus and level of accuracy through these practice programs.

These factors can help you choose the training with a better return on investment.

Recommendation of cost-effective PMP Training program

The online PMP training programs are very good options to get PMP certification training. Today you have a great number of online PMP courses on the web. This is because the majority of the PMP aspirants are willing to get an online PMP training. What benefits will you get when you opt for an online PMP certification course? Firstly as this is an online program you won’t have to be present in an actual classroom. This is really ideal for full-time working professionals. Furthermore, these online courses cost a lot less than regular classroom programs, in other words, their prices vary between 200 USD and 500 USD. That means if you choose an online training format you can significantly reduce your PMP certification cost.

#2 PMP Cost – PMP Exam Fee

This aspect of PMP certification cost is the fee that you pay to attend the PMP exam. This fee varies by your PMI membership status and also the type of examination you take. There is centre based type of exam and also paper-based type according to your geographic location. Below you can see the associated fees with the PMP exam for members and non-members of PMI.

PMP Examination	PMI Member Examination Fees(USD)	Non-PMI Member Examination Fees(USD)
PMP Exam – First Time	$405	$555
PMP Re-attempt Examination	$275	$375

You can only benefit from the PMI membership rate if your PMP membership is in good standing at the time you submit payment for the exam. If you apply to be a PMI member right before you apply for the exam, make sure you receive confirmation of your PMI membership before you pay for the exam.

It is important to note that if your membership has not been completely processed before you pay for the certification exam, you will be charged with the non-member fee. If you obtain PMI membership after you submit payment, PMI will not refund the difference. Therefore to be able to reduce your PMP certification cost you need to ensure that your membership process is completed prior to the application submission.

Is PMI Membership helpful in decreasing PMP certification cost?

PMI membership is a yearly membership. You should renew your membership after one year. The start of one year is effective from the date when your registration for membership is approved. The continuity of the membership depends on your own choice, so you can be a PMI member as long as you want if you renew it yearly.

The PMI membership factor in the PMP certification cost is subject to your membership status at the time of your registration for the examination. However, PMI membership comes with its own cost. There’s a membership fee of $129 and a joining fee of $10.

But also, this cost is less then what you can save at the time of the PMP exam application because being a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) can drop your exam fee, from $555 to $405. If you re-take the exam then fees also drop from $375 to $275. Thus, your PMP certification cost is also reduced if you are a PMI member.

To avail the benefit of PMI membership in the PMP exam fees you must be an active member at the time of registration for the examination. If you have applied for membership in the PMI, you would need to ensure your membership in the PMI is accepted and enabled.

It is your choice whether you would like to be a PMI member or you would like to spend extra on the PMP exam fee. We suggest you become a member of PMI prior to registering for the PMP Exam as it brings several other benefits for one year. Also, you do not have to spend extra PMP certification cost compared to non-members.

Payment Process

When you process and complete your application online, PMI will share with you a notification to request the payment. This requires you to go back into the online certification system to complete the required steps. You will select your examination delivery method and PMI will provide you different ways to submit the payment. You can pay through credit card online or you can send postal mail to PMI. But the online payment will enable PMI to process your payment more quickly,

You can also mail a check, money order, credit card information or wire payment information to PMI. Payment is required to be issued with your application if you submit it via postal mail.

You can request a language other than English for your examination at no extra cost. You can also request test accommodations for your examination without any extra cost.

#3 PMP Certification Cost – Preparation Time

Most of the time, when they think about the PMP certification cost, people only consider the money they will be spending on PMP study materials and PMP exam fees. However, there will be a significant amount of time you will need to study and get ready for the PMP exam. Hence, this should also be included in the PMP certification cost.

Once you complete the PMP training and earn 35 contact hours to fulfill the PMP criteria you are in the phase of self-study. You can also opt to study the material prior to the PMP training to get the basic concepts in line with your experience. This PMP exam preparation time is the intangible PMP certification cost that you need to invest in terms of time and effort.

Time: A Hidden PMP certification Cost

Average PMP preparation takes around 6 months. So you can also consider this time as a part of the PMP certification cost. Usually, individuals have to lay down a study roadmap in which they study and practice the exam to identify the areas for improvement. To complete this roadmap is the real key to achieve the PMP milestone. But you have to adjust your life priorities to prepare for the PMP Exam. This non-tangible PMP certification cost is the time you spend out of your busy schedule on weekdays and probably on weekends.

The PMP course providers may also suggest a PMP preparation roadmap that you can follow after you complete your course. The duration of this will depend on how much time you can spare for your PMP Exam training. This may vary from 4 to 6 months according to your daily and weekly efforts. You must especially consider this when you are buying the online course. Because you can fully boost your roadmap once you purchase the online PMP course and hence the pace of the course study will depend on you.

Please consider the mere fact that it is not only the time you spent, but it also includes the quality of the input which requires your consistent focus to achieve success. So this PMP certification cost may be non-tangible but the effort you spend is the savior of the remaining PMP certification cost. So be on the mark, get set and go with this phase of high demanding PMP certification cost investment.

#4 PMP Cost – PMP Study Material Costs

PMP training, hence the PMP certification cost, doesn’t only include the PMP study material you can get. You can get additional materials such as PMP Prep Books, PMP practice exams, PMP exam simulators, and PMP flashcards. You have lot of options available in the market to choose such additional training materials offered to prepare for the PMP Exam. There are certain benefits of these materials.

PMI Material

In addition to the PMI membership benefits in terms of cost reduction in the PMP Exam fee, there are also other benefits of being a PMI member. You will get these following benefits when you become a PMI member:

You will have free access to download standards, guides and other valuable material relevant to project management. This also includes the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). The entire content is available on PMI’s website pmi.org.
Variety of templates that help project managers
Access to webinars and events
Discounted prices for exam and re-exam fees
Discounted prices in renewal fees

The PMBOK is a foundation document to prepare for the PMP examination.

Flashcards

You can also seek other resources that are helpful to prepare for the PMP Exam. Many training providers provide such material that you can buy for the sake of preparation. Flashcards are one of the preparation tools. These can be one of your best tools as they are very handy to keep with you for your PMP exam preparation.

With PMP flashcards, you can study in smaller chunks to reinforce what you have prepared during your study program. The flashcards are just short notes or main points. So one can even prepare their own flashcards like processes, knowledge areas, formulae, and many more. After that, you can review them and recall the concepts in a very short time. So they are a good way to improve your memory.–

Many well-known education providers have prepared flashcards which are available in different qualities and numbers. For instance, RMC Hot Topics Flashcards for Passing the PMP and CAPM Exams (Spiral-bound) are available for prices ranging from $19.00 $ to $50.00. Likewise, you can find Flashcards (Test Prep) by Crowe, Andy (2013) ranging from $54.00 to $989.90. These prices are based on whether these are used cards or new cards. So the flashcards might be considered another aspect to add in the PMP certification cost.

PMP Exam Simulator

PMP exam simulators are very effective tools that bring benefits to students. When they practice their exam sessions through PMP Exam Simulators, the PMP aspirants get a real feeler of the PMP Exam. You can practice your time management through these PMP Exam Simulators. In addition to this, with the simulators, you get used to the PMP Exam environment. So you gain a lot more confidence. Furthermore, you learn effective test-taking strategies. You can assess your focus and attention time.

Furthermore, each simulator will help you practice for the real exam. So you can identify your areas of weakness where you can put more focus and cover the gaps. This will help you to manage the most critical aspect first, so your learning will be prioritized towards the most value-adding aspects.

Many training providers also offer the Exam Simulators as an individual product.

For example, Master of Project Academy offers a PMP Exam Simulator consisting of 7 simulation exams or a total of 1400 PMP exam questions. After completing each exam, the results will be immediately seen with a detailed explanation of all questions and rationales. The Lifetime Access Plan is priced at $145, and the Monthly Plan is at $45 per month and can be canceled at any time.

Likewise, RMC offers the PM Exam Simulator. This Exam Simulator provides you an “insider’s view” of the actual PMP Exam. You can practice 1,600+ sample PMP Exam questions that are developed based on the current exam specifications. You get 90-day access. The cost of the Exam simulator is $139.00.

Thus, you should include the price of simulated exams in the PMP certification cost as they are very helpful for your preparation for the real exam.

#5 PMP Re-Certification Cost

Once you obtained PMP certification, you must earn 60 PMP PDU hours every three years to retain your PMP certification. You will spend time attending PMP PDU activities to retain your PMP certification. After you earn PDUs, you will pay the recertification fee to PMI in every three years. Hence even after you get your certification, there is some PMP certification cost you will be paying.

	PMI Member	Non-PMI Member
PMP Certification renewal fee	$60	$150

Here the re-certification cost depends on your PMI membership status. If you are a member of PMI then you need to pay a fee of $60 to PMI. In case you are not a member then you have to pay $150 for the PMP certification renewal fee. So once again PMI membership reduces your PMP certification cost.

Summary: PMP Certification Cost

In this article, we have shared the critical factors associated with the PMP certification cost. These aspects help you get an idea about how much will you roughly spare for your PMP certification cost. Also, there are some non-tangible aspects of PMP certification cost, such as your preparation period in which you spend your time and effort by prioritizing your activities within your busy schedule. But this effort is usually not included in the PMP certification cost calculation.

The PMP certification cost can be calculated based on these cost factors:

1- Cost of PMI membership – $139 (Membership Fee of $129 and a joining fee of $10)

2- Cost of PMP exam application – $405 (Provided your PMI membership status is active at the time of application)

3- Cost of PMP training

The cost of the training is subject to your choice of PMP training format. We have elaborated on different training formats. so you can choose as per your budget. You can choose classroom training, virtual online training, and e-learning (online training).

If you want to reduce your total PMP certification cost, we recommend you choosing online PMP training options. They also provide flexibility for PMP candidates. These courses with the online format cost significantly less than regular classroom courses. Among the various online PMP programs, you can even find a good quality online PMP training only for as low as $67 per month!

4- Cost of supporting material

There are some supporting materials you should buy for the preparation of your PMP Exam.

Flashcards – Their cost varies from almost $19.00 to $989,00 but this depends on the variety of the cards you choose, so this aspect of PMP certification cost is pretty much optional.
Exam Simulator – This PMP certification cost also depends on your choice from where you acquire the exam simulator for your practice sessions. For instance, Master of Project Academy offers Lifetime Access Plan priced at $145. Whereas the Monthly Plan is at $45 per month and can be canceled at any time. Likewise, you can get the RMC Exam simulator with 90-day access. The cost of this exam simulator is $139.00.

5- Cost of PMP Certification Renewal

The cost of PMP certification renewal is $60 (Provided your PMI membership status is active at the time of application for the PMP renewal). This PMP certification cost is applicable after every three years of you being PMP certified.

6- Re-attempt Examination cost

This PMP certification cost is only applicable if the candidate does not qualify in the first attempt of the PMP Exam and they want to re-attempt to obtain the PMP certification.

The cost of re-taking the PMP exam is $275 (Provided your PMI membership status is active at the time of application)

We hope the article is helpful for you to get the overall idea of PMP certification cost as this figure will play an important role in your plan to pursue your PMP certification.

The post PMP Certification Cost – 5 Aspects of PMP Cost Revealed appeared first on Project Hipo.

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