Tag Archives: pmp

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!

 

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

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!

 

PMP vs PgMP: What Is the Difference and Is It Worth the Upgrade?

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If you already have your PMP, program management is a natural next step. Here is everything you need to know to decide whether the PgMP is the right move.

The Salary Difference

According to PMI’s Earning Power Report, the average US salary for a PMP holder is $135,000. PgMP holders earn around 10% more at $146,000. That gap alone makes it worth considering if you have the experience to qualify.

What Each Certification Represents

The PMP demonstrates project management expertise. It shows you can lead individual projects through initiation to closing with at least three years of experience behind you.
The PgMP positions you as a leader capable of managing multiple related projects as a unified program, delivering sustained business value across an organization. It is a step up in both scope and seniority.

Application Requirements

For the PMP you need either a high school diploma with five years of project management experience or a bachelor’s degree with three years, plus 35 contact hours of project management education.

The PgMP requirements are more involved. You need four years of project management experience or a current PMP. On top of that you need program management experience: seven years with a high school diploma, four years with a bachelor’s degree or three years with a master’s degree.

The Exam

The PMP has 180 questions to be completed in 230 minutes, roughly one answer every 75 seconds. It covers people, process and the business environment.

The PgMP has 170 questions with 240 minutes to complete them, giving you slightly more time per question at around 84 seconds each. Only 150 questions are scored and 20 are unscored test questions for future exams. The content covers strategic program management, the program life cycle (initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing), benefits management, stakeholder management and governance.

Cost

The PMP costs $405 for PMI members or $655 without membership. The 35 contact hours of education are also required and can be completed through PMI, Udemy or other providers.

The PgMP costs $800 for PMI members or $1,000 without. There is no contact hours requirement for the PgMP. The focus is entirely on demonstrating program management experience.

What to Study

For the PMP the core resources are the Exam Content Outline, the PMBOK Guide, the Process Groups Practice Guide and the Agile Practice Guide.

For the PgMP the approach is similar. Download the PgMP Exam Content Outline free from PMI’s website as your study guide. Then work through the Standard for Program Management Fifth Edition and the PMBOK Guide. The PMBOK Guide is currently in its eighth edition.

If you have been managing programs for several years and want credentials that reflect that, the PgMP is a well-recognized way to demonstrate it. The experience requirements are substantial but so is the return.

– 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!

 

The Lazy Man’s Guide to Passing the PMP Exam

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Someone recently passed their PMP in four weeks and shared exactly how they did it, including what they studied each week and what helped most during the exam itself. Here is the full breakdown.

The Four-Week Study Plan

The Lazy Man_s Guide to Passing Your PMP (4 Week Guide)Week one was mostly procrastination dressed up as preparation. They made a study schedule, compiled resources and watched two videos: my complete PMBOK summary video on YouTube and Ricardo Vargas’ popular breakdown of the PMBOK Sixth Edition processes. Not a bad start, but mostly avoidance of the real work.

Week two was where the heavy lifting happened. The entire week was spent on one resource: my 150 PMBOK 7 scenario-based PMP exam questions and answers video on YouTube. The format mirrors the real exam closely, with two seemingly correct answers per question and a clear explanation of how to arrive at the right one. They skipped the 200 agile questions and 100 waterfall questions, feeling the PMBOK 7 set was comprehensive enough on its own.

Week three was a rest week. They acknowledged it was probably a mistake but took it anyway.

Week four was focused and practical. One day was spent speed-reading Third Rock’s study guide, which comes up frequently in PMP success stories. The rest of the week was dedicated to PMI Study Hall practice questions, reading the guide each morning and working through questions for the remainder of the day.

Four Study Tips

Start practice questions as soon as possible. This was the clearest theme across the entire four weeks. There is a scientific reason it works: retrieving information from memory strengthens the neural connections that hold it. Reading embeds information passively. Practice questions force active recall and that is what makes it stick.

Do not read the PMBOK Guide cover to cover if that is not how you learn. Watch a good summary video instead and move to practice questions quickly. The goal is not to memorize the book. It is to develop the right exam mindset.

Do not over-invest in the 35-hour education course. You need it to apply but do not treat it as your primary study tool. Use it to fulfill the requirement and then shift your focus to practice questions.

Do not stress about memorizing every framework, formula and diagram. Ishikawa diagrams, Tuckman’s ladder, earned value formulas: most of what you need to know will surface naturally once you start working through practice questions regularly.

Four Tips for the Exam Itself

1. Look before you leap.

Almost every PMP question presents multiple answers that appear equally valid at first glance. Slow down, follow the project management process (initiate, plan, execute, monitor and control, close) and talk to the relevant stakeholder before taking action. Gather information before making a move.

2. Stop making assumptions.

Even experienced project managers fall into this trap. Ten years in one organization can create blind spots. If something is not explicitly stated in the question, do not assume it is true. Ask yourself whether you are reading it in the question or bringing it from your own experience.

3. Know your role.

The project manager is not the sponsor, the product owner or the engineering team. The sponsor funds the project and handles escalations. The product owner prioritizes the backlog. The engineers do the engineering work and provide estimates. Do not answer questions by doing other people’s jobs for them.

4. Avoid the snaky answer.

If an option involves going around someone, ignoring a request or doing something that feels slightly underhanded, skip it. The right answer is almost always direct and collaborative. Go straight to the source, work with people and tackle problems head on.

Four weeks, one rest week included, and a pass. The formula was simpler than most people expect: get the mindset right, do the practice questions and trust the process.

– 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 from the Google Project Management Certificate

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More than two million people have enrolled in the Google Project Management Certificate. It covers six courses, 27 modules and takes most people over 240 hours to complete. Here is the entire program distilled into a single read.

The Foundations

A project is a unique, temporary endeavor with a start and end date, designed to deliver value. That sounds simple enough until you are six months in, the scope has doubled and nobody can agree on what done looks like. Project management exists to prevent exactly that.

Core responsibilities include gathering requirements, developing a plan, tracking progress, communicating milestones and managing the budget. Career paths run from junior project manager through to program and portfolio manager. In agile environments, the scrum master and product owner are the key roles to understand.

Two broad methodologies dominate the field. Waterfall follows a sequential order of phases and works best when scope is clearly defined. Agile delivers in short iterations of one to four weeks, gathers real customer feedback after each and adjusts course. Lean Six Sigma rounds things out with a focus on reducing defects and waste through DMAIC: define, measure, analyze, improve and control.

Initiating a Project

Every project starts with a problem or an opportunity. Before anything else, a cost-benefit analysis confirms it is actually worth solving. Goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timebound. The difference between “improve customer experience” and “reduce checkout time by 10% within six weeks” is the difference between a project that drifts and one that delivers.

The project charter formalizes the goals, scope and resources and gives the project manager authority to proceed once the sponsor signs off. Without it, you are running on goodwill.

Planning

Good planning is not bureaucracy. It is what separates projects that succeed from ones that quietly fall apart. Build a work breakdown structure, map milestones to a Gantt chart, assign resources and involve the team in estimating durations. They know their work better than anyone.

Build in buffers, identify risks early and rate each one by multiplying probability by impact. Plan a response for the ones that matter most. A communication plan that defines what gets shared, with whom and how often is not optional: some practitioners argue communication is 90% of the job.

Executing and Closing

Execution is where plans meet reality. Track everything: tasks, milestones, costs, scope changes and risks. A weekly status report with a red, amber or green indicator keeps stakeholders informed without overwhelming them. Hold retrospectives regularly to surface what is working and fix what is not before it compounds.

When closing, get formal sign-off, archive documentation and produce two things: a project closeout report (planned versus actual) and a project impact report showing the real value delivered. Executives respond to metrics and visuals. Give them both.

Agile and Scrum

Agile was formalized in 2001 and scrum is now used by 72% of agile teams. The product owner prioritizes the backlog, the scrum master removes blockers and the team decides how the work gets done. Keep user stories small, match sprint capacity to velocity and use retrospectives to keep improving. When agile works well, it really works.

Project management is one of the most transferable skills in any industry. This is the foundation.

The Scrum Guide: Everything You Need to Know

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More than 87% of people working in agile use scrum or some part of it. Yet many teams do not fully understand where it came from or how it was intended to work. The Scrum Guide, written by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland and last updated in 2020, is the authoritative source. It is free at scrumguides.org. Here is the whole thing explained plainly.

What Is Scrum?

Scrum is a lightweight framework for solving complex problems and delivering value through adaptive solutions. It works best when you cannot know everything upfront. Rather than planning in detail for a future you cannot predict, you deliver something real, get genuine feedback and adjust. That is the core logic.

The Scrum Team

A scrum team has three roles: developers, a product owner and a scrum master. No sub-teams, no hierarchies. Ten people or fewer.

Developers deliver a usable increment every sprint. They create the sprint plan, maintain quality and hold each other accountable. The term applies to anyone doing the work, not just software engineers.

The product owner manages the product backlog: defining the product goal, ordering backlog items by priority and keeping everything visible to the whole team. One person, not a committee. Others can suggest changes but only by convincing the product owner. When organizations trust this role and give it room to operate, decisions get made faster and the product improves faster.

The scrum master is a coach who also clears the path. They help the team stay self-managing, remove blockers, escalate issues and keep events productive. They serve the team, the product owner and the broader organization.

The Artifacts

The product backlog is the single source of work for the team: an ordered list of everything needed to meet the product goal. One product goal at a time.

The sprint backlog is the set of items selected for the sprint plus the developers’ plan for delivering them. Its commitment is the sprint goal: one clear objective that keeps the team focused.

The increment is the real, usable piece of value delivered at the end of a sprint. It must meet the definition of done before it can be released. If it does not, it goes back to the backlog.

The Events

The sprint is the container for everything else. One to four weeks, fixed length. The sprint goal must not change mid-sprint. Only the product owner can cancel a sprint, and only if the goal has become obsolete.

Sprint planning kicks off the sprint (timeboxed to eight hours for a one-month sprint). The team answers three questions: why is this sprint valuable, what can be done and how will the work get done?

The daily scrum is 15 minutes, same time and place each day, for developers only. Inspect progress toward the sprint goal and adapt the plan for the next 24 hours.

The sprint review (timeboxed to four hours) is where the team presents the real increment to stakeholders. Not a recording, not a mockup. The real thing. Together they discuss what was learned and what comes next.

The sprint retrospective (timeboxed to three hours) closes the sprint. What went well, what did not and what will improve next time. The most impactful changes are acted on immediately.

Theory and Values

Scrum runs on three pillars: transparency (make the work visible), inspection (regularly examine progress) and adaptation (adjust quickly when something is off track). The longer you wait to course-correct, the harder it gets.

The five scrum values tie it together: commitment, focus, openness, respect and courage. When a team genuinely lives these, trust builds and scrum works.

Scrum is simple by design. The challenge is not understanding it. It is applying it honestly and giving the team the trust and space to do the work.

– 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 21 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
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 Template: Save 100 HOURS!

 

Something VERY STRANGE Happened When I Passed The PMP

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Something unexpected happens when you pass the PMP exam. It is not just a credential. It changes how you see the work you have been doing all along.

After months of study, working through the Project Management Body of Knowledge and grinding through practice questions, I did pass the exam but the real shift was what happened afterwards.

The best way to describe it is a scene from the 1999 film The Matrix. The main character discovers he has been living in a simulation and, by the end, gains the ability to see through the surface of everyday reality into the underlying structure of everything around him.

Or think of the moment in The Wizard of Oz when the curtain is pulled back and the machinery behind the illusion is finally visible. That is what the PMP does. Before passing, project work often felt like fumbling forward. Sometimes things worked. Sometimes they did not. There was no reliable framework to explain why.

After passing, the reasons became clear.

Looking back at old projects that had not gone well, I could now see the reasons why. On one project in particular, the deliverables were being met and the project was technically doing what it was supposed to do, but  the right stakeholders had not been identified. Senior executives with real influence over the project outcome were not being engaged, when they should have been engaged by me. The project eventually succeeded, but the personal outcome was a failure because stakeholder identification and engagement had not been handled properly.

That was hard to accept. But it meant the next project could go differently, if I applied my mistakes and the lessons I learned.

The same applied to other fundamentals: understanding why a project stalls without proper sponsor support, why resources and authority dry up when that relationship is not managed, why scope needs to be visible and accepted by the customer before work begins, and why a clear change control process matters whether you are working as a product owner on an agile team or managing a predictive waterfall project.

The PMBOK is like a lens. Once you have it, you cannot unsee what it shows you about how projects actually work and why they succeed or fail.

If you are still studying, do not rush past the material to get to the pass. Work through all of it. The process on a page from the PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (or 8th Edition now) is one of the clearest distillations of project management thinking available. It will change over time, but the underlying logic it represents is worth understanding thoroughly.

– 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 21 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
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 Template: Save 100 HOURS!

 

Five Free Videos to Pass Your PMP Exam on the First Try

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Hundreds of thousands of people have used these five free videos to pass the PMP exam on their first try. They come up repeatedly in congratulations posts and resource lists shared by people who have already made it through. Here they are in one place.

1. 150 PMBOK 7 Questions and Answers

This video works through the PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition from start to finish using scenario-based questions in the same format you will encounter on the exam. Each question typically has two answers that both appear plausible, which mirrors the real exam experience closely. With more than a million views, the comments section is filled almost entirely with people sharing that they used it to pass.

2. PMP Fast Track

This one is built from more than a thousand PMI practice questions and distils a set of shortcuts you can default to when answering exam questions. Think of it as a cheat sheet for decision-making under pressure. If you are stuck on a question during the exam, this video gives you a reliable method for working through it. It consistently appears in the resources people credit when they share their results.

3. PMP Cheat Sheet

This video covers the exam content outline across the three domains: project management process, people and business environment. It runs for under 20 minutes and is designed to show you exactly what the exam tests and whether you have any gaps in your knowledge. It is one of the most efficient ways to check your readiness before sitting the exam.

4. 200 Agile Questions and Answers

This returns to the scenario-based question format with a focus on agile content, which makes up a significant portion of the current PMP exam. The questions follow the same style as the real exam and give you targeted practice in the agile domain.

5. 100 PMBOK 6 Questions and Answers

The PMBOK Sixth Edition is now known as the Process Groups Practice Guide and it remains highly relevant to the PMP exam. The core project management process has not changed significantly across editions. You will still be tested on initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing a project or phase, and on managing scope, schedule and cost throughout. This video has been viewed more than a million times and the comments reflect how consistently it helps people pass.

If you finish all five videos and don’t want to lose study momentum, here are two bonus videos:

Bonus 1: Six Mistakes to Avoid on the PMP Exam

Bonus 2: 110 Drag and Drop Questions (Perfect Study Review)

63 project Management Tools for your PMP Exam

If you make it through all seven, you are doing more than most people ever will. Keep going, I know you will pass your PMP!

– 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 21 PDUs)The Complete PMI-ACP Course: (28 PDUs) 
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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10 PMP and CAPM Questions to Ace Your Exam (31 to 40)

PMP Exam Question Practice, ,

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Question 31 – Material Change in Construction Project

A supplier offers a cheaper, suitable material midway through the project. How should you handle this opportunity while ensuring proper approval?

Question 32 – New Logistics Partner Integration

A client adopts a new logistics partner requiring major system changes. What steps should you take to manage this impact effectively?

Question 33 – Stakeholder Unhappy with Approved Change

A key stakeholder is dissatisfied with a change that has already been approved and implemented. How do you address their concerns?

Question 34 – Resource Inefficiencies in High-Priority Project

Some team members are overloaded while others are underutilized, leading to inefficiencies. What’s the best way to optimize resources?

Question 35 – Pressure to Begin Work Without a Plan

A new initiative is suggested but lacks formal analysis, and stakeholders are pressuring you to start. What is the first step to properly initiate the project?

Question 36 – Benefits Management Plan

What does a benefits management plan include, and what is its primary purpose?

Question 37 – Organizational Structure

In which type of organizational structure does the project manager have significant authority over project resources, including budget and scheduling decisions?

Question 38 – Project Approach

What is the best project management approach for an initiative with a fixed timeline, well-defined requirements, and minimal scope changes?

Question 39 – Gathering Expert Insights

What is the most efficient way to quickly gather insights from multiple subject matter experts (SMEs) on key project features?

Question 40 – Leadership and Team Morale
What is the best leadership approach to rebuild team morale and encourage open communication after taking over a project from a manager who lacked transparency and support?

Pep Talk

You’ve done an amazing job! Studying towards your PMP or your CAPM is the most worthy thing you can do this year you’re doing  an amazing thing and just by studying every single day I know you’ll have success towards your goal. You’re doing the right thing – by studying, by improving, learning and growing. Keep going!

David McLachlan on LinkedIn

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