PMP Exam Changed on 2 Jan 2021
The Project Management Institute (PMI) provides a specialized certification for project managers also known as the Project Management Professional (PMP). The certification process differs from other project management accreditation examination. PMI line up its procedure with certification industry practices that comply with Educational and Psychological Testing standards. The PMP® certification is further credited against the internationally acknowledged ISO 17024 standard.
One important component of the process is that many organizations prefer dependable and reliable expert credentialing examinations directed under the Role Delineation Study (RDS) or Job Task Analysis (JTA). The procedure uses advanced knowledge and a task-driven framework to evaluate the practitioner’s competence and figure out the level of salience.
The renowned profession of project management is evolving with every passing day. For example, agile practices were not very common in the past as they are in modern times. To comply with fluctuating industry dynamics, PMP examination changes almost every 5 years depending on the PMI leadership around the globe.
One thing to notify that PMP examination doesn’t make changes in PMBOK. Latest PMBOK (6th edition) is launched by the end of 2017 while the exam has come up with modifications in 2018 based on the recent PMBOK. In this article, we will cover the PMP exam changes based on three domains.
Why this Change?
Project management is complicated in nature meeting new challenges of the century – quick technical modifications, expectations and ambitions of a new generation. PMI comprehensively understands this shift taking place in project management. PMI conducts Job Task Analysis (JTA) and Role Delineation Study (RDS) to evaluate the knowledge, skills, and tasks required to efficiently perform the duty of the project manager. The ultimate blueprint for the examination is recorded in the ECO. PMP exam is mapped against the ECO that mentions the domains and the tasks that are required to perform.
Domain
Well-defined as the advanced knowledge area important for practising project management. There are five domains in the present PMP examination including initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. However, the new PMP exam comes with three domains – people, process and business environment.
Tasks
It determines the fundamental responsibilities of the project manager in every domain. PMP exam evaluates the knowledge and experience of every candidate primarily depending on the tasks under every domain.
Enablers
Descriptive examples of the work related to the task. Enablers are not intended to be a thorough list rather it comes with certain examples to help validate what the task incorporates.
| Domain | What you should know regarding three domains – people, process and business environment. | 3 Domains |
| Tasks | What you should do as the project Manager in the domain | 35 Tasks |
| Enablers | How to do the tasks for validation | 133 Enablers |
Domains, Tasks and Enablers
Following are three domains defined in new ECO, 2019.
| Domain | Description | ECO 2019, Tasks | PMBOK 6 coverage | Exam Coverage |
| People | This domain talks about skills and activities required to be an effective project team leader. These are your soft skills. | 14 | current PMP course may have limited content to address this new domain | 42% |
| Process | The domain covers the technical aspects of project management | 17 | Current PMP training materials may have a fair amount of content to address this new domain | 50% |
| Business Environment | to establish a link between project strategy and organizational goals | 4 | Current PMP training programs may have very limited content to address this new domain | 8% |
Exam Changed Jan 2021
So in addition to the change of domains, the line of questions in the exams will no longer focus on predictive project management methodologies alone. Half the exam questions will revolve around agile or hybrid approaches. Predictive, agile, and hybrid methods in all the three-domain areas listed above will be part of the exam.
The PMI Talent Triangle and ECO, 2019
Technical
- Knowledge, skills and behaviors related to specific domains of project, program and portfolio management. The technical aspects of performing your job/role.
Leadership
- Knowledge, skills and behaviors involved in the ability to guide, motivate and/or direct others to achieve a goal.
Strategic & Business Management
- Knowledge of and expertise in the industry/organization, helping you align your team in a way that enhances performance and better delivers business outcomes.
Planning to Take PMP Exam after July 2020?
- Study from PMBOK® Guide 6th edition.
- If you have bought the PMP® Exam Simulator, you may ask the publisher for free update and avail subscriptions based service.
- Go through the PMP exam content outline published in June 2019.
Final Thoughts
PMI industry research is frequently being modified adapting the PMO certification exam as per the changing industry dynamics. Where many organizations were following the waterfall project management strategy 10 years ago, now most businesses are shifting towards agile methodologies. Based on these dynamics, PMI is modifying the PMP examination in 2020. If you have read this far, you are now familiar with the important changes. Awareness is Better!
References
- https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/project-management-pmp/exam-prep/changes
- Download the new PMP Exam Content Outline
- PMI’s announcement
- PMP Exam Content Outline 2019, crossover
3 thoughts to “PMP Exam Changed in Jan 2021”
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Is this still relevant for today? Or have things changed? What I’m curious about is how this will carry out, like what will the trend be for this type of stuff about online project management courses with certificates?