PMP Syllabus & Exam Pattern (Updated 2024)

Project Management Professional Certification, more popularly called PMP^® Certification, is one of the most renowned certifications in the field of Project Management. All professionals, irrespective of their industries, are trying to be PMP certified. There are various facts, myths, and general doubts surrounding this certification. In this article, I will try to cover the detailed PMP syllabus and exam pattern that you need to know before you apply for this exam.

PMP Syllabus

The PMP certification syllabus is extensively based on the PMBOK (Project Management Body Of Knowledge)^® Guide. It covers 49 process groups and 10 knowledge areas mapped within 5 process groups: initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring, and Closing. I have discussed the PMBOK^® guide in my PMBOK^® Guide 6th Edition blog.

Now, all these project management phases are further categorized into various tasks/processes and mapped into various knowledge areas. The following table represents the exact mapping of processes: 

The only mantra to clear your PMP^® exam is to learn the entire PMBOK^® Guide by heart.  The PMBOK^® Guide is the best source of learning and identifying the fundamental aspects of project management, such as ITTO (Inputs, Tools, Techniques & Outputs), which are essential to clear this exam. People generally fail because of false assumptions, such as their experience in project management, which will serve the same purpose as studying the PMBOK^® Guide. So folks, please stay away from such wrong notions and make the PMBOK^® Guide your oxygen.  Remember, if you have a limited amount of time, it is of utmost importance that you optimize and utilize your time well.

In the next section, I will talk about the PMP exam pattern.

PMP Exam Pattern

The PMP^® Exam is comprised of 180 MCQs, out of which 175 are scored questions and the rest 5 are unscored questions. You have to solve all these questions within 3 hours 20 minutes. And since there is no negative marking, I would suggest you attempt every question, even if you are not sure about the correct answer. If you leave a question blank, it won’t give you any marks, but if you attempt it, you have at least a 25% chance for securing the score.

Now, let me show you the distribution of questions across specific process groups in project management.

I guess its clear from the diagram where you have to dedicate more time. As the Planning, Executing and Monitoring phases together cover more than 80% of the PMP syllabus carefully plan and decide on your schedule.

But the biggest question that still stands is the passing score of the PMP^® exam.

Well, sorry to break it to you guys but there is no fixed score to clear the PMP exam. The marks you obtain will be based on the difficulty level of the questions you get. PMI follows such a format because the PMP^® exam is a psychometric test. In this, no two candidates get the same set of questions nor all the questions carry equal weightage. If you get a questionnaire with easy questions, then the passing score is likely to be higher for you. Similarly, if you get difficult questions, then the passing score will be much lower.

I guess I was able to clear all queries related to PMP Exam pattern like:

• How many questions are on the PMP^® exam?
• How much do you need to score to pass the PMP^® exam?
• What is the pass mark for the PMP^® exam?

Now that we know what to prepare and how to do it, I will address the resources you must refer to in the next section to prepare for the PMP® Exam.

Free/ Paid PMP^® Resources

Below I have listed down the most popular resources preferred by the PMP^® aspirants. They can act as a perfect foil for the PMBOK® Guide and supplement some of the concepts that you might otherwise miss. The fact that the PMP^® exams consider PMP^® Exam Outline as a source of questions, the following resources would prove immensely useful.

Best Books for PMP^® Exam Prep:

• PMP Head First
• Rita Mulcahy’s PMP^® Exam Prep
• Kim Synder’s ITTO Mind Map
• PMP® Study Notes of Edward Chung
• Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide

Best PMP^® Forums:

• PMP Hub
• Bright Hub PM
• PMZilla Forum
• PM Hangout
• I want to be a PMP® (LinkedIn)
• PMP Study Circle

Best PMP^® Mock Exam Sites:

• Oliver Lehmann 200 questions
• PM Study Mock Exam
• PM Exam Simulator
• Edwel Mock Exam

There are more resources available online, which you can refer to as per your requirements.

Project Management Certifications

Project Management is the discipline that helps you implement various processes, methods, knowledge, skills, and experience to achieve the objectives of a unique project. You will find a highly skilled project manager behind every successful project irrespective of the industry. But how do you judge the efficiency and credibility of a Project Manager to entrust your project?

There are quite a few certifications for project managers that help you gauge their knowledge and expertise in handling challenging projects.

Below are the major project management certifications that major companies across the globe prefer:

1. Project Management Profesional (PMP)^® Certification
2. PRINCE2 Certification for Foundation & Practitioner Exam
3. Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)^®
4. Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)^®
5. Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification
6. Master Project Manager (MPM)^®

Now, you might be wondering, out of all these certifications, why I chose PMP^® in particular. Well, folks, there are various reasons, and I will share them with you in the next section of this article. To know some of the major differences between the top two project management certifications, you can refer my blog on PMP^® vs Prince2.

Pre-Requisites of PMP^® Exam

Being one of the most prominent certifications, PMI sets certain educational and professional experience requirements. You need to fulfill PMP certification requirements to be able to apply for this certification. PMI expects the PMP^® aspirants come with a high school degree along with an Associate’s degree or a global equivalent degree. Along with this, the candidate must have 60+ months or 7,500+ hours of project management experience. Below are the prerequisites in a nutshell:

One thing I would like to bring into your attention is that you can only attempt the PMP^® exam thrice in one year. The experience must have been acquired within the last eight consecutive years prior to your application submission. But the mentioned project durations must not overlap with each other. Moreover, you need to have an experience in all the five process groups across all your projects. You don’t need to be a project manager for acquiring all this experience, you can be a professional who has experience in leading and directing projects.  Thus, you can belong to any domain like marketing, programming, event management, construction etc. to be able to take up the PMP^® exam and bag it.

I hope this answers some of your queries like:

• What is the eligibility criteria for PMP^® certification?
• Can you take the PMP^® Exam without any degree or experience?
• How many years of experience is required for PMP^®?

Learn about PMP Certification Salary here in detail.

PMP Exam Preparation Time

For a distinguished exam like PMP^®, the amount of preparation put in barely reaches the satisfaction level. Because these certification exams are not at all easy and require you to put in maximum effort. Hence, it would help if you balanced your work responsibilities so that you can devote maximum time to preparation.

However, after extensive research, an ideal PMP exam preparation timeline was curated. According to this timeline, a working professional should prepare for the exam in approximately 10-12 weeks. Below is a diagrammatic representation of the estimated timeline.

Let me elaborate on this timeline for you.

Before you apply for the PMP^® exam, you are advised to take a PMP Certification course. These training courses not only help you in gaining the mandatory 35 contact hours but are excellent for gaining confidence in the subject. They help you achieve better insights into various parameters and requirements of different types of projects.

Now, if you are wondering where you can get this kind of training, then let me tell you: There is online and offline training available. You can opt for any of them. But if you ask me, I would suggest you go for an online one. That way, you won’t be time or location bounded, and on top of that, it is more affordable.

Related Learning: Detailed Breakdown of the PMP Certification Cost!

Since PMP^® is not an easy exam, the passing rate on the first try lies between 50-60%. But, if you can follow the above schedule, I can assure you that you can bag the PMP^® certificate in the first attempt. For some tips and tricks to prepare better, you can refer to my blog on PMP^® Exam Prep.

Find out our PMP Training in Top Cities/Countries

Last-Minute Preparation Tips

As said, “Last-minute preparation is the best preparation.” Thus, I will be sharing a few tips that will help you prepare better. Well, it is quite natural to feel nervous before your exam, as you have been preparing just for this day and want everything to come out fine. The tips I am going to share are based on the experience of successful PMP® credential holders and will help to keep the stress and nervousness at bay.

1. Complete the quota of a good 8 hours of sleep.
   People generally tend to cut short their sleep time to prepare better, but I would like to suggest against that. Sleep is a stress buster, and if you cut it down, your body won’t be able to relax, leaving your mind tired and less productive. So, it’s better you take a good 8-hour nap before you step into the battle for a relaxed body and a fresh mind.
2. Reach your exam center beforehand.
   Since it’s your D-Day, I am sure you don’t want to be late. If possible, try to get familiar with the exam center’s distance and infrastructure a week before. Since there will be security checks at the exam center, plan your schedule so that you reach the center at least an hour before the exam starts.
3. Prepare everything you need the night before
   Don’t be lazy and leave the important things to prepare in the morning of the exam day. Get everything ready and inside your bag a night before your D-Day like ID, papers, study notes, pen, cash etc.
4. Watch out for your diet
   Try to have moderate food a day before your exam, as we definitely don’t want an upset stomach or a headache to deal with. On the day of the exam, don’t go on an empty stomach and keep yourself hydrated.
5. Brain Dumps
   PMP^® exam centers have banned the Exam Brain Dump tactic in order to ensure fairness. But once the exam starts, you can take 5-6 minutes to write all the information you remember onto the paper given to you by Prometric staff. This can be helpful during the exam and act as a quick reference.

Related Learning: Before taking the exam, try these PMP Exam Questions once. After getting certified, you must practice these PMP Interview questions to ace the job interview.

I hope I was able to provide you with all the information that you need to familiarize yourself with the PMP syllabus and exam pattern. Edureka also offers a Project Management Masters Program to become a certified professional.

Do you have a question for us? Please mention it in the comments section, and we will respond to you.