FAQs on Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Exam What is the PMP exam?

Answer: PMP stands for Project Management Professional certification. This is an exam offered by PMI (Project Management Institute) for practicing Project Managers. PMP is a globally recognized certification exam and is well respected in the industry. The exam is extremely popular. What is the current format of the exam? Answer: With effect from July 1st 2009, the PMP exam is based on PMBOK IVth edition. The PMBOK IVth edition was launched on Dec 31st, 2008. Exam results are divided in six areas. There are no minimum marks in separate areas. What are the timelines that I need to be aware of about the PMP Certification process?

Taken from: http://www.pmi.org/en/Certification/~/media/PDF/Certifications/pdc_pmphandbook.ashx

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What are the Eligibility Criteria for the PMP Exam? Answer: The eligibility requirements depend upon your Education Background, Project Management experience and Project Management education. For complete details, refer to the PMP Handbook How much does it cost to take the exam? Answer: PMP is an expensive exam. This ensures that only serious candidates pursue it. It also ensures that the certificate remains prestigious. The online exam costs $405 for PMI members and $555 for nonmembers. Updated information on this can be found in the PMP Handbook. What all is allowed inside the exam? Answer: You are not allowed to take anything except your IDs in the exam. Inside the examination center you will be provided with rough sheets, pencils, a calculator and an ear plug. What do I need to do to take the PMP credential exam? Answer: Take a 35-hour project management course, carefully document your project management experience with PMI, and apply to take the PMP exam at the most convenient testing center. After you apply online, you will receive notification to submit payment. Once payment, you will be notified either to schedule the test or submit documents for audit if your application is picked for audit purpose. PMI cannot guarantee seating at the testing centers and recommends that you schedule the exam at least 6 weeks in advance of your preferred test date and at least three months before the expiration of your eligibility period. Can I view my exam results at the PMI site? Answer: You can view certification status of individuals at http://www.pmi.org/Certification/CredentialRegistry.aspx. What is the format of PMP Exam Questions? Answer: All the questions on the PMP Exam are 200 multiple-choice questions. Each question has exactly 4 answer choices. Is there any negative marking in the PMP Exam? Answer: No. There's no negative marking on the PMP exam. If you don't answer a question correctly, you don't get any marks for it. You score only for the right answers. How much time is allotted for the PMP Exam? Answer: The allotted time to complete the computer-based examination is four hours (no breaks are scheduled in between the exam). The examination is preceded by a tutorial and followed by a survey, both of which are optional and both of which can take up to 15 minutes to complete. The time used to complete the tutorial and survey is not included in the examination time of four hours. Tip: Exam takers usually take the 15-minute survey, which precedes the exam, to do brain dump of formulas, important terms, or anything else they want to get off their head. Some even take this time to relax or meditate.

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What is a PDU? Answer: The PDU is the measuring unit used to quantify approved learning and professional service activities. Typically, one PDU is earned for every one hour spent in a planned, structured learning experience or activity. Fractions of PDUs may be reported in 0.25 increments following one full hour. PDU categories fall under 2 divisions:

Taken from: http://www.pmi.org/en/Certification/~/media/PDF/Certifications/pdc_pmphandbook.ashx How many PDUs must I get to maintain my certification? Answer: PMP s must accrue a minimum of 60 Professional development units (PDUs) during each CCR cycle, return the Application for Certification Renewal, (or renew online using the Certification System) and comply with the PMI Code of Professional Conduct to maintain their certification status. A CCR for a PMP s first cycle begins on the date he or she successfully complete the certification examination and ends on December 31st of the third full calendar year following the year of their examination. For example: an examination date of 31 July 2007 results in an expiration date of 31 December 2010. How do I record my PDUs in the system? Answer: You can record the PDUs by using the online system on the PMI site. In addition to this, you may also have to download the form, fill it and send it via email, postal or fax to PMI. You can also report PDUs through Skillsoft. Both procedures are explained in the site below: https://knowmax.ultimatix.net/sites/learning-corpfn/ldp/PMP %20Certifications/Procedure_Claiming_PDUs.pdf How do I know under which category I should report my PDU? Please refer the PMP Handbook page 3740 (PDU Categories)

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Till what date would the courses aligned to PMBOK 3rd Edition be valid for Contact Hours and PDU Credits? Answer: The standard of reference for the PMP Certification exam is the PMBOK - Fourth Edition. While learning courses and efforts pertaining to PMBOK Third Edition would be valid for the 60 Professional Development Units (PDU) credits required for recertification requirements, it is no longer valid for the 35 hours Contact hours required for new PMP aspirants. At this point, while there are no dates mentioned explicitly, once the PMBOK Fifth Edition is launched and contents related to this are made available, the PMBOK Third Edition would be taken off. The current curriculum requirement for the Project Management Competency at E0 clearly lists only the PMBOK Fourth Edition aligned courses. Associates who may have made significant progress on the courses aligned to the PMBOK Third Edition can take up only the Tests pertaining to the Fourth Edition equivalent of these courses. This would ensure that the efforts/ credits would be current and valid irrespective of the policy changes by PMI. I need to get PDU certificate from SkillSoft for the PMP courses I have completed. The Excel file sent by me has been rejected saying that an authentic report from the organizations Learning Management System would be required. How do I obtain this? Answer: Associates would need to get into their respective Learning History pages on iCALMS and take direct screen-shots of the relevant Project Management related courses that have been completed as part of the requirement. These courses could be highlighted for easier identification. The requested screenshots of learning history along with the relevant PDU requisition form can be addressed and sent out to SkillSoft. SkillSoft would then issue the required certificate for the contact hours which would be required by PMI for endorsing the application for the PMP certification exam. Transfers of Learning History records to excel files would not be accepted due to security aspects. Is there a last date till when the PMBOK 3rd edition contents' progress would be valid / was valid for Contact hour credits? Answer: As per SkillSofts understanding, PMBOK 3rd Edition training was only eligible for contact hours for learners who took the PMP 3rd Edition exams. Once the PMBOK 4th Edition was released and PMP Certification Exam was based on the PMBOK 4 th Edition, only training on the 4th Edition was eligible for contact hours. Presently records based on PMBOK 3rd Edition would be rejected on audit by PMI. Is there a Last date till when the PMBOK 3rd edition contents' progress would be valid for PDU credits for Certification Maintenance? Answer: An expiration date has not yet been established. However, it is reasonable to expect that once the PMBOK 5th Edition is released in 2012, SkillSoft would be removing all 3rd Edition content from their PDU library. In one case, the records submitted with an application to PMI in May 2011 (completion in May 2011) had been accepted despite the fact that the learning contents were of the PMBOK 3rd edition. Would this be rejected on verification? Can we ask the associate to go ahead and initiate progress on the PMBOK 4th edition contents right away in view of this? Answer: We would expect that PMI would reject the submission upon verification. The associate may begin taking the tests/ learning on the courses pertaining to PMBOK 4 th Edition to be able to take up the Certification Exam as planned.

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Do the E0 WBTs (Project Management) courses help me to achieve the 35 contact hours required for appearing for the PMP certification examination? Answer: Yes. Out of the total E0 WBT hours of 58 in Project Management, 54.5 hours are eligible for use as contact hours. As per PMI requirements, 35 contact hours are required for appearing for a PMP certification examination. Hence the E0 WBT courses made available in iCALMS will help meet one of the eligibility criterias for a PMP certification exam. Do the E0 WBT (Project Management) courses help me to achieve the 60 PDUs (Professional Development Unit) required to maintain the PMP certification every 3 years? Answer: Yes. Out of the total E0 WBT hours of 58 in Project Management, 54.5 hours are eligible for use as PDUs. As per PMI requirements, 60 PDUs are to be acquired every 3 years in order to maintain the PMP certification. Hence the E0 WBT courses made available in iCALMS will help meet the PMI PDU requirement. With regards to the E0 WBT Project Management hours, can the eligible PMI contact hours be re-used for the eligible PMI PDUs? Answer: As per PMI, PDUs are to be attained after the individual achieves a certification, so the learner would not be permitted to apply training that they took before they became certified toward their 60 PDU requirement. This means that the contact hours used for certification cannot be re-used as PDU for maintaining certification. If the E0 WBT hours are not used as contact hours, they may be used as PDUs. What would be the validity period of my learning for the purpose reporting PDUs in the Education PDU category? Answer: As per Skillsoft, once the self directed learning is completed the PDUs related to this have to be reported in the system within a years time. If the Education PDUs are reported beyond a year of actual completion of learning, the learning reported will not be valid.

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FAQs on TCS Project Management Competency Development Program (PMCDP) If there are any PMBOK edition changes and associates have already completed the older editions in iCALMS and achieved either E0 / E1, will there be any impact on the competency for associates who have acquired E0 / E1? Answer: From a competency perspective, there is no impact on those associates who have already completed E0/E1. However, from a learning perspective, it is preferable to go through the newer editions and keep yourself abreast of the knowledge. If associates have acquired E0 / E1 in iCALMS using the PMBOK 3rd Edition (which is now replaced by the PMBOK 4th Edition, will they be able to use the 35 contact hours from PMBOK 3 rd Edition while appearing for the PMP exam? Answer: With regards to PMBOK 3rd Edition courses, they are still eligible for PDU credits, but they are not eligible for Contact Hour credits for someone who is preparing for the current PMP/CAPM exam. Only training on the 4th Edition PMBOK is eligible for Contact Hour credits. To elaborate this further, once the PMBOK 5th Edition is released and individuals prepare for that exam, Contact Hour credits will be applicable for training that is aligned with the 5th Edition standards. And so on What will happen if I have not completed the older curriculums on or before the cut-off date? Answer: Associates, who have not completed the requirements of the older curriculum on or before the cut-off date, would need to re-initiate efforts in completing the newer version of the curriculum, thus addressing the learning requirements for the certification. They can alternately take the assessment tests in iCALMS directly for PMBOK 4th Edition without going through the entire theory.

Please connect with Corporate L&D, or Process Excellence Group (process.excellence@tcs.com) if you have any further queries.

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