The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Passing Your PMP

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If you are thinking about getting your PMP but are not sure where to start, this guide covers everything from eligibility through to renewal.

Why Get the PMP?

Research shows PMP holders earn 23.7% more on average than project managers without the certification. The average salary without a PMP is around $109,000. With one, it rises to around $135,000. The difference is real and the certification opens doors across industries and countries.

Are You Eligible?

PMI requires a combination of project management experience and education. All experience must be within the last 10 years and projects cannot overlap. You can only count one project at a time.

  • High school diploma = 5 years of project management experience
  • Associate degree or trade certificate = 4 years of project management experience
  • Bachelor’s degree = 3 years of project management experience
  • Postgraduate degree = 2 years of project management experience

Your experience needs to show that you led and coordinated people to deliver a project. You do not need the title of project manager but you do need the responsibilities. When writing up your experience, describe the project, your role and the tangible benefits delivered.

You will also need 35 contact hours of project management education. These can be completed through a Udemy course, official PMI training or a PMP boot camp. If you already hold a CAPM, your education requirement is already covered.

The Application Process

Once you start your application you have 90 days to complete it. PMI typically reviews submissions within 5 days. Around 10% of applications are audited. If selected, you have 90 days to submit supporting documents.

Managers from your listed projects will receive a DocuSign request by email to verify your experience. Have your education certificates and 35-hour course certificate ready just in case.

If your application fails the audit you must wait one year to reapply, so make sure everything is accurate before submitting.

The Exam

The exam has 180 questions, of which 170 are scored and 10 are unscored pre-test questions used to trial future questions. You have 240 minutes to complete it with two 10-minute breaks.

Exam costs at the time of writing: PMI members pay $45 and non-members pay $655. If you need to retake, the cost is $275 for members and $375 for non-members. You can sit the exam up to three times within a one-year period.

Question Types

Most questions are scenario-based multiple choice: something is going wrong on a project and you need to apply your project management knowledge to solve it. You will also encounter enhanced matching (matching items to a visual like a burndown chart), case study questions (a longer scenario followed by several related questions), point and click, drag and drop and pull-down list questions.

What to Study

Start with the Exam Content Outline (ECO), available as a free download from PMI. It shows exactly what the exam tests. From there, work through the PMBOK Guide 8th edition (for exams after July 2026), the PMBOK Guide 7th edition as a high-level review and the Agile Practice Guide. Agile makes up around 50% of the exam so do not skip it.

The single most effective study method is practice questions. They force your brain to retrieve and recall information, which embeds it far more deeply than reading alone. Work through as many as you can, review every wrong answer against the source material and repeat.

Maintaining Your PMP

Once you pass, your certification is renewed every three years. You need 60 professional development units (PDUs) in that period, where one hour generally equals one PDU. PDUs can come from courses, presentations, volunteering, informal learning and even organized meetings. It is more straightforward than it sounds.

That is everything you need to get started. The PMP is a significant commitment but the process is clear and the return is worth it.

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

PMI PMP 35 PDUs CourseThe Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP 28 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
PgMP Program Management CourseLearn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course
Full PMP Exams to Pass on the First TryFour Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!
Scrum Master Course PSMScrum Master Course (PSM)
Product Owner Course PSPOProduct Owner Course (PSPO)
Business Analyst CourseBusiness Analyst Course

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
Project Management Plan TemplatesPre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

 

The 14-Day Study Plan to Pass Your PMP

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Feeling overwhelmed by everything you need to study for the PMP is common. This 14-day plan cuts through the noise and focuses on four key activities. Most of the resources you need are available for free.

Free Study Plan Download

One thing to sort before you start: you will need 35 contact hours of project management education completed before beginning this plan. If you have not done that yet, take the two or three weeks needed to complete it first and then come back here.

The Four Activities

1. Review the Exam Content Outline and Key Guides

Spend the first few days getting oriented. The exam content outline is available as a free download from PMI and shows exactly what the exam covers. Follow that with a review of three core guides:

  • the PMBOK Guide 8th edition (the step-by-step process guide),
  • the PMBOK Guide 7th edition (a useful high-level overview of project management) and the
  • Agile Practice Guide (agile makes up a significant portion of the exam).

PMI members can download the Agile Practice Guide for free. Video summaries of all three are linked in the free study guide if you want to move through them quickly.

2. Practice Questions Every Day

Once you have reviewed the guides, practice questions become your main focus. Aim for 20 to 30 questions a day and alternate between predictive (waterfall) and agile question sets. The most important habit here is reviewing every question you get wrong and going back to the source material to understand why.

3. Review the PMP Fast Track

Alongside your daily questions, work through the PMP Fast Track. This gives you the overall strategy for answering PMP questions, which is just as important as knowing the content.

4. Take Two Full Practice Exams

Before sitting the real exam, complete at least two full 180-question practice exams at the four-hour duration. The PMP is a marathon and building that stamina beforehand makes a real difference on the day.

One Bonus Tip: Use NET Time

NET time means no extra time. Fit study into time you already have: listen to a guide summary on a commute, take practice questions during a lunch break or swap an hour of Netflix for a quick review session. Small, consistent efforts across 14 days add up faster than you might expect.

The 14-day study plan is available as a free download and is linked at the top of this page. Fourteen days of consistent effort, four focused activities and the right resources. Then you can adjust it to be longer or shorter to suit your own personal style. You can do it!

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

PMI PMP 35 PDUs CourseThe Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP 28 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
PgMP Program Management CourseLearn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course
Full PMP Exams to Pass on the First TryFour Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!
Scrum Master Course PSMScrum Master Course (PSM)
Product Owner Course PSPOProduct Owner Course (PSPO)
Business Analyst CourseBusiness Analyst Course

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
Project Management Plan TemplatesPre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

 

Studying This Way Actually Changes Part of Your Brain

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Studying for the PMP while working full time, managing a family and keeping up with everything else life throws at you is genuinely hard. It turns out that is exactly the point.

The Anterior Cingulate Cortex

When you do hard things consistently, a part of your brain called the anterior cingulate cortex actually grows. This region is responsible for reward, anticipation, decision-making and emotional regulation. The more you push through difficult tasks, the more you strengthen it, like doing bench presses for your brain. The practical result is that you get better at regulating your emotions, delaying gratification and tackling hard things in the future. They become easier because your brain has physically changed.

Resilience Beats IQ

In her book Mindset, Carol Dweck found that students with average IQ consistently outperformed students with higher IQ when they had the resilience and grit to keep going through difficulty. Angela Duckworth later built on this research in her book Grit and a widely watched TED Talk. They came to the same conclusion: persistence through hard things matters more than raw ability or intelligence. That is good news for anyone grinding through PMP study on top of an already full life with family and work commitments. It’s hard, and that is ultimately what makes it so powerful.

You Will Become a Better Project Manager

Studying the hard way isn’t just about getting the credential. Studying the hard way embeds the knowledge deeply enough for you to use it and really make a difference in your career. Managing scope, schedule and cost. Keeping stakeholders aligned. Making good decisions under pressure. This is when exam topics transform into skills that directly make your work easier, and learning them thoroughly is what makes the difference between holding a certificate and actually being good at the job.

Doing hard things consistently changes your brain, builds resilience and makes future hard things easier. Studying for your PMP is one of those hard things, so study hard, lean into it and WIN!

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

PMI PMP 35 PDUs CourseThe Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP 28 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
PgMP Program Management CourseLearn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course
Full PMP Exams to Pass on the First TryFour Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!
Scrum Master Course PSMScrum Master Course (PSM)
Product Owner Course PSPOProduct Owner Course (PSPO)
Business Analyst CourseBusiness Analyst Course

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
Project Management Plan TemplatesPre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

 

PMI’s New Project Management Mindset (and How It Helps You Pass the PMP)

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The PMBOK Guide 8th edition introduces a set of project management principles that PMI calls the project manager’s mindset. Understanding these is useful for the exam because they give you a reliable framework for answering questions when you are unsure. When something is going wrong on a project, these principles point toward the right answer almost every time.

1. Adopt a Holistic View

Good project managers consider the bigger picture: organizational strategy, interconnected risks and diverse perspectives. If things are going wrong, do not rely on one person’s view. Brainstorm with the team and make sure everyone feels psychologically safe to speak up. Clear communication is essential and a communications style assessment can help identify how each stakeholder prefers to receive information.

2. Embed Quality into Processes and Deliverables

Quality means meeting customer requirements consistently, not just once. Reliable, uniform quality across the product and the process is the goal. Use retrospectives to continuously improve the team’s ways of working and earned value management to track project performance against the plan.

3. Be an Accountable Leader

The best single piece of advice for PMP exam questions is this: be direct and collaborative. Go straight to the source of the issue and work with people to solve it. Do not skirt around problems or pass them to someone else.
Leadership does not require authority or a title. Adapt your style to the situation. Directive leadership works in a crisis. Servant leadership supports the team’s growth and autonomy in most other situations. Psychological safety, emotional intelligence, integrity and humility all matter here.

4. Build an Empowered Culture

Help the team take ownership of their work rather than doing it for them. Clear roles and responsibilities (documented in a RACI chart), diverse perspectives, team agreements through a team charter and genuine organizational awareness all contribute to a team that can deliver without constant direction.

5. Focus on Value

Project completion is not the measure of success. Delivering organizational benefits is. Keep the focus on the value being created, not just the tasks being ticked off.

6. Integrate Sustainability

This is a new addition in the 8th edition. As you deliver project outcomes, consider the impacts on people, society and the environment. Where negative outcomes cannot be avoided, work to minimize them. Where possible, restore or compensate for any damage caused. This principle will appear on the exam so it is worth understanding.

These six principles form the new Project Manager’s mindset from PMI. When a PMP question has you stumped, ask yourself which of these principles points to the best answer. More often than not, it will.

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

PMI PMP 35 PDUs CourseThe Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP 28 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
PgMP Program Management CourseLearn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course
Full PMP Exams to Pass on the First TryFour Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!
Scrum Master Course PSMScrum Master Course (PSM)
Product Owner Course PSPOProduct Owner Course (PSPO)
Business Analyst CourseBusiness Analyst Course

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
Project Management Plan TemplatesPre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

 

PMBOK 8th Edition Questions & Answers 11 to 20 – Pass your PMP and Learn the PMBOK Guide

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We use the PMP Fast Track to answer PMP questions quickly and easily. Check it out!

Question 11 – Managing Quality on a Chip Fabrication Project A functional manager raises concerns about the quality of deliverables being passed to their department. How should quality be managed on the project?

Question 12 – Conflict Between Vendor Teams A conflict arises between vendor teams over shift allocations, creating tension and affecting productivity on a government mega project. How should the project manager address this?

Question 13 – Cost and Risk at the Start of a Project An executive raises concerns about increasing staffing costs and identified risks early in a refinery expansion project. What should you tell them about how cost and risk behave over the project life cycle?

Question 14 – Which Development Approach Is This? A drug development project operates in a highly regulated environment with phase-gate approvals, strict change control and extensive upfront planning. Which development approach is being used?

Question 15 – Short Iterations and One Person Responsible for Scope A mobile application team works in short iterations, delivers features regularly and refines their approach based on feedback. One person is responsible for the approved scope and its value. Which development approach is being used?

Question 16 – Combining Two Approaches A new enterprise platform has a software component with constantly evolving requirements and a data center infrastructure built using upfront planning and formal change control. Which development approach should be used?

Question 17 – Stakeholders Unavailable and Success Criteria Unclear On a CRM upgrade project, many stakeholders are unavailable, others are disengaged and the success criteria is unclear. What are these examples of?

Question 18 – Business Case Approved, What Comes Next? The business case for a new patient record system has been approved and key stakeholders have been identified. Senior leadership wants to start immediately. What should you do next?

Question 19 – Rising Costs and Stakeholder Concerns About Value During planning for a retail expansion, material costs rise significantly and stakeholders question whether the project is still worthwhile. What should you review?

Question 20 – What Will Elijah Not Do? Elijah is documenting initial cost and duration estimates for a data center expansion based on uncertain factors such as utility availability and vendor timeline accuracy. What will he not do with these uncertain factors?

Pep Talk

Twenty questions down and you have already worked through the Standard for Project Management and into the PMBOK Guide itself. The questions will keep getting trickier from here but so will your understanding. Keep going.

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

PMI PMP 35 PDUs CourseThe Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP 28 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
PgMP Program Management CourseLearn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course
Full PMP Exams to Pass on the First TryFour Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!
Scrum Master Course PSMScrum Master Course (PSM)
Product Owner Course PSPOProduct Owner Course (PSPO)
Business Analyst CourseBusiness Analyst Course

Also available are my Project Management Templates – they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
Project Management Plan TemplatesPre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

 

PMBOK 8th Edition Practice Questions 1 – 10 – Pass your PMP and Learn the PMBOK Guide

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We use the PMP Fast Track to answer PMP questions quickly and easily. Check it out!

Question 1 – How Should This Initiative Be Managed? Leadership at Stratus Innovations proposes a new customer platform involving multiple teams with a fixed release date. How should this initiative be managed?

Question 2 – Categorizing Project Benefits Daniel is preparing a business case for a mobile banking platform. Expected outcomes include increased transaction revenue and improved customer satisfaction. How should these benefits be categorized?

Question 3 – Accounting for External Influences While developing the project management plan for a new online banking platform, you identify regulations, organizational culture and IT infrastructure as factors that may influence the project. How should these be accounted for?

Question 4 – Classifying Templates and Procedures Rose’s PMO requires her to use standard project plan templates and follow established procedures from previous projects. How should she classify these templates and procedures?

Question 5 – What Type of Organizational Structure Is This? You are assigned as project manager with full authority over the project budget, resources and decision-making. What type of organisational structure are you working in?

Question 6 – No Budget or Additional Authority Liam wants to start a process improvement initiative using only his existing team members with no additional budget or authority. What type of organizational structure is he working in?

Question 7 – Which Function Is Not Associated with Projects? Sophia performs coordination, collaboration, expertise application and ongoing operational support on her project. Which of these functions is not associated with projects?

Question 8 – Who Performs This Role? An employee secures funding, provides strategic direction and removes organisational obstacles to ensure project success. What role is this person performing?

Question 9 – What Does the Project Management Team Do? Roy’s project management team collaborates with stakeholders and managers to align with organisational objectives and secure resources. Which of the following is something the project management team would do?

Question 10 – When Will the Project Deliver Value? A project sponsor asks when their cloud platform implementation will begin delivering value. What should you tell them?

Pep Talk

Ten questions down and you have already worked through the foundations of the PMBOK Guide. The questions get trickier from here but so does your understanding. Keep going.

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

PMI PMP 35 PDUs CourseThe Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP 28 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
PgMP Program Management CourseLearn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course
Full PMP Exams to Pass on the First TryFour Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!
Scrum Master Course PSMScrum Master Course (PSM)
Product Owner Course PSPOProduct Owner Course (PSPO)
Business Analyst CourseBusiness Analyst Course

Also available are my Project Management Templates – these don’t have a coupon code but they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
Project Management Plan TemplatesPre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

 

Everything You Need to Know About AI in the PMBOK Guide 8th Edition

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The PMBOK Guide 8th edition includes a new section on artificial intelligence in project management. If you are sitting the PMP after July 2026, here is what you need to know.

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

AI describes technologies that simulate human behavior, allowing machines to learn from experience, adapt to new situations and perform tasks without being directly programmed.

There are three layers that build on each other:

  1. Machine learning trains models using past data to predict outcomes. It typically requires smaller, structured and labelled data sets.
  2. Deep learning is an advanced form of machine learning that uses multi-layered neural networks to learn from large, unstructured data sets like images or text.
  3. Generative AI uses large language models to create new text, images, audio and video. This is the layer that produces tools like ChatGPT.

Free versions typically limit prompts and data use while paid versions offer greater privacy protection, which matters for organizations handling sensitive project information.

How AI Is Used in Project Management

The PMBOK Guide 8th edition organizes AI use into three categories:
Automation handles low-complexity, repetitive tasks such as generating status reports, tracking activities, sending reminders and producing meeting summaries with action items.

Assistance supports analysis and decision-making. Examples include predictive analytics for budget forecasting, early warning signals based on patterns from similar projects and multi-criteria decision analysis.

Augmentation enhances strategic thinking. This includes analyzing historical data for trends, running trade-off analysis across scope, schedule and cost, and optimizing project portfolios with AI as a brainstorming partner.

These three categories apply across governance, risk, stakeholder management and scheduling.

For risk, AI can automate mitigation responses, assess impact on scope and cost, and use pattern recognition to adjust return on investment projections. For stakeholders, sentiment analysis can assess the tone of communications and meeting transcripts. For scheduling, dynamic scheduling tools can optimize for the shortest timeline or most balanced resource allocation.

Ethical Considerations

The guide also addresses responsible AI use. Key concerns include bias in data, data privacy and security, transparency around how decisions are made, accountability when outputs are wrong, copyright, reliability and environmental sustainability given the computing resources AI requires. These are not just theoretical concerns and are worth understanding for the exam.

New Tools and Techniques

Four AI-related tools and techniques appear in the 8th edition:

Genetic algorithms use a process inspired by natural selection to find optimized solutions. Random paths are tested, the best performers advance to the next round and the process repeats until an optimal outcome is reached.

Branch and bound finds optimal solutions by progressively eliminating paths that do not meet the desired criteria, similar to pruning a decision tree until only the best path remains.

Augmented reality overlays digital information onto a real-world view, useful for design reviews and prototyping.

Virtual reality simulates walking through a three-dimensional model, particularly useful for reviewing building or infrastructure designs before construction begins.

AI in project management is still evolving but the fundamentals covered in the 8th edition give you a solid foundation for both the exam and the work itself.

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

PMI PMP 35 PDUs CourseThe Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP 28 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
PgMP Program Management CourseLearn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course
Full PMP Exams to Pass on the First TryFour Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!
Scrum Master Course PSMScrum Master Course (PSM)
Product Owner Course PSPOProduct Owner Course (PSPO)
Business Analyst CourseBusiness Analyst Course

Also available are my Project Management Templates – these don’t have a coupon code but they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
Project Management Plan TemplatesPre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

 

Can you pass the PgMP? (Questions 1 to 10)

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We use the PMP Fast Track to answer PMP questions quickly and easily. Check it out!

Question 1 – Managing Escalating Risks Your program team is overwhelmed with hundreds of new risks every day and other parts of the program are starting to suffer as a result. What should you do?

Question 2 – The Role of the Governance Board You have created the business case and program charter and are ready to initiate the program. What is the governance board’s primary role at this stage?

Question 3 – Sharing a Sensitive Stakeholder Register Your stakeholder register contains thousands of names along with pay, performance and living arrangements. An executive in another office requests access to it. What should you do?

Question 4 – Which Document Is This? You are presenting to the program governance board with a document that lists planned benefits, their status and key performance indicators. Which document is this?

Question 5 – How Is Program Success Measured? Your large multinational factory program is nearing completion and the last project is handing its deliverables to operations. How should you measure the success of the program?

Question 6 – Transitioning Components to Operations The first two components of your program are ready to transition to operations. What is the correct approval process?

Question 7 – Who Maintains the Change Record? During a stage gate review, two major changes are approved by the program steering committee. Who is responsible for maintaining the record of the proposed change, its rationale and its outcome?

Question 8 – Balancing Short-Term Demand Against Long-Term Benefits Several component projects are requesting schedule acceleration to meet rising public demand, but doing so would reduce funding available for later components and long-term benefits realization. What should you do?

Question 9 – Approved Change Affecting Multiple Components An approved change will affect multiple interdependent component projects in your program. What should you do next?

Question 10 – Capturing Regulatory Obligations Your program is highly regulated and you must ensure all quality requirements and external regulatory obligations are captured early in the program definition phase. Where should these be documented?

Pep Talk

Ten PgMP questions down. Program management thinks differently from project management and these questions show exactly how. If you worked through all ten, you are building the right instincts for the exam. Keep going.

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

PMI PMP 35 PDUs CourseThe Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP 28 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
PgMP Program Management CourseLearn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course
Full PMP Exams to Pass on the First TryFour Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!
Scrum Master Course PSMScrum Master Course (PSM)
Product Owner Course PSPOProduct Owner Course (PSPO)
Business Analyst CourseBusiness Analyst Course

Also available are my Project Management Templates – these don’t have a coupon code but they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
Project Management Plan TemplatesPre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

 

3 Myths About the New PMP Exam

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There has been some misinformation circulating about the updated PMP exam. Here is what is actually true.

Myth 1: There Are Now 185 Questions

There are still 180 questions on the PMP exam. This has not changed according to the latest exam content outline from PMI. You do have 240 minutes now, instead of 230 minutes to complete the exam, which is great!

Myth 2: The Breaks Are Shorter

Some people are saying the two 10-minute breaks have been reduced to five minutes each. This is also incorrect. You still get two 10-minute breaks.

Myth 3: There Is a Lot of New Content to Study

This one is causing the most unnecessary stress. The business environment domain has increased from 8% to around 26% of the exam, which sounds significant. But the content that has moved into that domain, managing risk, managing issues, change control and delivering value, was already part of the project management process domain. It has been rearranged, not replaced.

There are minor additions around artificial intelligence and sustainable project management, both of which appear in the PMBOK Guide 8th edition. But these are small additions, not a major new study load.

Bonus Myth: There are a lot of New Question Types

The question types are almost exactly the same as they have been for the past 3 years, as PMI slowly introduced new question styles and types to the PMP Exam. There will be drag and drop, pictures matching to the right words, matching descriptions to the right artifacts etc.

But the main new question type will be a “Case Study” – a longer explanation with 3 questions about it. Students have reported while this sounded scarier, it was actually easier and faster as once you’ve read the case study the questions can be answered quickly in a row.

If you are preparing for the PMP exam, the fundamentals you have been studying still apply. The exam has evolved but it has not been reinvented.

– David McLachlan

You can see what people are saying about David McLachlan here: REVIEWS

Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

PMI PMP 35 PDUs CourseThe Ultimate PMP Project Management Prep Course (35 PDUs)
Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP 28 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
PgMP Program Management CourseLearn Program Management – the PgMP Prep Course
Full PMP Exams to Pass on the First TryFour Full PMP Practice Exams (180 Qs each) to pass your PMP on the First Try!
Scrum Master Course PSMScrum Master Course (PSM)
Product Owner Course PSPOProduct Owner Course (PSPO)
Business Analyst CourseBusiness Analyst Course

Also available are my Project Management Templates – these don’t have a coupon code but they’re a great way to save 100s of hours when you’re first starting out:

50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
Project Management Plan TemplatesPre-made Project Management Plan Templates: Save 100 HOURS!

 

How One Person Passed Six PMI Certifications in Six Months

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Is it possible to pass six certifications in six months? One person did exactly that, and shared every tip and resource that got him there.

The certifications, completed in order, were the PMP, ACP, PBA (Professional in Business Analysis), RMP (Risk Management Professional), PgMP (Program Management Professional) and PfMP (Portfolio Management Professional). His motivation was a career pivot from the military into the corporate world, achieved without an MBA and without prior corporate experience. On every exam he scored above target overall.

Two Tips That Applied to Every Certification

The first was to read, reread and keep reading the Exam Content Outline (ECO) for each certification. These are available free from PMI’s website. The language in the ECO appears throughout the exams and also guides your study in the right direction. If your reference material matches the ECO, you are on the right track.

The second was documenting project management experience clearly and deliberately. He maintained a master resume with detailed notes from his ten years of leadership roles, writing results-oriented summaries tied directly to each ECO. Strong action verbs, quantifiable outcomes and a focus on strategic impact and decision making. Each application was tailored to the specific certification he was pursuing.

Month by Month

Month 1: PMP. He completed the required 35 contact hours using PMI’s authorized on-demand prep before moving to more cost-effective Udemy courses. He studied both the PMBOK Guide Sixth and Seventh Editions and used PMI Study Hall for practice exams.

Month 2: ACP. The education requirement at the time was 21 hours (now 28). He again used PMI’s authorized prep for education hours and named PMI Study Hall as the single most valuable prep tool for this exam. The Agile Practice Guide was his primary reference.

Month 3: PBA. He found a Udemy course by Muhammad Elhoot for the education requirement and used the PMI PBA Certification Study Guide (Second Edition) by Elizabeth Larsen as his primary study resource. Five days of access to an online practice question bank was enough to get through everything with focused effort. He also skimmed several PMI guides including the Guide to Business Analysis and the Benefits Realization Management Practice Guide.

Month 4: RMP. He needed 30 PDUs of risk management education and used a Udemy course to satisfy that requirement. His core prep came from the Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs and Projects Practice Guide from PMI and PMI Study Hall practice exams.

Month 5: PgMP. The Standard for Program Management Fifth Edition was his primary reference and the foundation the exam is built on. He used two Udemy practice exam courses by Allah Sultan, both closely aligned with the real exam and citing rationale directly from the fifth edition with page numbers.

Month 6: PfMP. He used the Standard for Portfolio Management Third Edition as his foundation. PMI lists the fourth edition on their site but he notes the third is still the most relevant resource for the exam as of mid-2025. He read the fourth edition for additional context but did not rely on it. Practice exams again came from Allah Sultan’s Udemy course.

Six certifications, six months, above target on every exam. The formula was consistent: know the ECO, match your experience to it, use the right primary reference for each exam and practice until you are confident. If one person can do it, the path is there for others to follow.

– David McLachlan

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Navigate to Free Project Management and Leadership Articles through the links on the right (or at the bottom if on Mobile) 

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50 Project Management Templates Gantt Chart Risk Matrix and more Excel50+ Project Management Templates in Excel and PowerPoint (Gantt Chart, Risk Matrix and more!)
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