Every three-year cycle, PMI will require you to document your ongoing commitment to keeping the standards you met in your certification exam. To demonstrate this, they require you to complete 60 PDUs, or Professional Development Units, over the course of that three-year period.

There are a number of ways to complete these units, from taking classes at a local college or university to writing articles on project management to working with a coach or mentor at your company in order to improve your skills as a project manager. In their PMP handbook (found here), PMI outlines six categories for PDUs. You can check out our summary at http://www.edwel.com/pmp-certification-exam-prep/pmp-certification-renewal.

http://www.pmi.org/Certification/Project-Management-Professional-PMP/~/media/PDF/Certifications/PMP%20Examination%20Content%20Outline_2010.ashx

Every several years, the PMP certification exam changes to address new demands of the project management profession and to improve the relevancy of the exam to the daily needs of project managers. Most significantly, PMI will eliminate the entire Code of Ethics section on the test and will distribute those questions into the IPECC categories as appropriate.

If you have started to prepare for the exam, Edwel recommends that you should schedule the exam prior to the transition. Most importantly, you should leave enough time for a potential re-take. During the last change, many test takers found Prometric test centers booked several weeks prior to the changeover.

Fortunately, the PMBOK Guide-4th Edition and the eligibility requirements for taking the exam will not change.

Q2: B – Explanation: The key job of the project manager is to meet the organization’s project objectives. PMBOK® Guide, p. 13.

Q3: B – Explanation: You always want to show the stakeholder the effects of their actions/inactions. C and D are wrong – the PM does not take unilateral action unless authorized to do so by the organization. Answers like A are usually wrong – this is the equivalent of “I’m telling the teacher what you did!”

Q4: D – Explanation: Did you pick BCR (B)? Without a documented breakdown of the benefits, you don’t know how much money you are making. Based on the information provided, the only project that has an identified, quantified return is project ‘A’. Answer a. is incorrect – we do not know the actual return based on the BCR. Answer b. is incorrect – a 15% IRR – fine… 15% of what? Answer c. is incorrect: payback of 2 years is nice, but what is the actual payback?

Q5: C – Explanation: The project statement of work provides the least level of detail – it is an input to develop the project charter and is an Initiating activity. It is a “narrative description of products or services to be delivered by the project” PMBOK® Guide, p. 75. It references the 1) Business need, 2) Product scope description (product characteristics) and 3) the Strategic Plan.

Q6: B – Explanation: Breaking the work down to the work package level. PMBOK® Guide, p. 116.

Q7: B – Explanation: By straight calculation: (P-O)/6 which translates to (40-10)/6 or 30/6 = 5.

Q8: C – Explanation: By definition the, critical path (CP) is the longest path through the network that contains no float or slack. PMBOK® Guide, p. 155. After the CP is created, there are schedule compression techniques that can be applied, but each of these techniques carries risk. (Fast track or crash).

Q9: A – Explanation: SV = EV-PV or in this case, +100.

Q10: C – Explanation: EAC is a forecast. PMBOK® Guide, p. 185

| Question Set |

Q1: Two junior project managers who are working on the same project are having a heated discussion (an argument) on the difference between the project management life cycle and the project life cycle. The first project manager is saying there is essentially no difference between the two while the second project manager is saying that there is a significant difference between the two. While this debate is occurring, a senior vice president from your division interrupts the two and asks them the following question: “When the project is completed what is the expected lifetime of the deliverable?” Essentially, what is the vice president asking them?

a. He is asking about the status of the project life cycle

b. He is asking about the status of the project management life cycle

c. He is asking about the status of the product

d. He is trying to determine if they understand life cycle costing

Q2: What is the BEST definition for a project manager’s role on the project?

a. Take instruction and direction from functional managers

b. Assigned by the organization to achieve project objectives

c. Balance stakeholder interests on the project

d. Effectively manage the project team while also being an expert technical resource

Q3: You are working as a PMP® for a company that typically does not implement charters for projects. As a result, an unusually high number of projects in this organization fail on a yearly basis. You’ve just been placed on a high visibility project as the senior project manager and begin to work on elements of the charter with the project sponsor. Senior management doesn’t understand why you’re wasting your time on this activity. What is the best thing you can do in this situation?

a. Tell PMI about a fundamental breach in the PMI framework

b. Review the benefits of a well-defined project charter with senior management

c. Refuse to take on the project as you know this will most likely result in a project failure

d. Continue to work on the charter with the project sponsor. Demonstrate to senior management, on completion of the charter, how this benefited the project and have the data and facts to back it up

Q4: There are multiple projects your organization is considering for the upcoming fiscal year. Project A has an NPV of $85,000. Project B is a $1 million project and has the benefit cost ratio of 1.6. Project C has an internal rate of return (IRR) of 15%. Project D has a payback period of two years. Based on this information which is the best project to select for execution?

a. Project B

b. Project C

c. Project D

d. Project A

Q5: Your project team members need to know, in very specific terms, what work needs to be completed on the project. Which of the following is the least useful in describing what that work is?

a. WBS dictionary

b. The product scope

c. The project statement of work

d. Requirements traceability matrix

Q6: What is scope decomposition?

a. Breaking down the work into increments of less than 40 hours each

b. Breaking down the work to the work package level

c. Breaking down the work to the lowest level of detail possible

d. Breaking down the work by functional area

Q7: The project optimistic estimate is 10 weeks and the pessimistic estimate is 40 weeks. What is the standard deviation of the estimate?

a. 4

b. 5

c. 6.7

d. 7.5

Q8: What is the most correct definition of the critical path in a network diagram?

a. The shortest path through the network

b. The longest path through the network

c. The longest path through the network that contains zero or negative float

d. The shortest path through the network that cannot be compressed

Q9: Earned value = 650, planned value = 550, actual cost = 700. What is the schedule variance at this point in time?

a. + 100

b. -50

c. -100

d. -150

Q10: What is estimate at completion (EAC)?

a. The amount of money that was budgeted for the project

b. The original budget plus the contingency reserves

c. A budget forecast that takes project variances into account

d. The budget at completion (BAC) times the TCPI

Quiz Answers