Nine Myths and Facts on PMI-PMP Examination

Nine Myths and Facts on PMI-PMP Examination
By Satya Narayan Dash

There are a number of Myths on PMP Examination like – 35 hour contact program can only be provided by Registered Education Providers, it is very theoretical, etc. However, they are not true.

Some of the most known Myths are listed here.

Myth -1: Only a R.E.P (Registered Education Provider) can provide 35 hour mandatory contact program

Fact: No, there are a lot of alternatives on getting the 35 contact hours.

The 35 hour mandatory contact program can be from one or more of the following types:

• Courses or programs offered by PMI Registered Education Providers (REP)
• University / College academic and continuing education programs
• Courses or programs offered by training companies or consultants
• Courses or programs offered by PMI Component organizations
• Courses or programs offered by employer / company-sponsored programs
• Courses or programs offered by distance-learning companies, including an end of course assessment

Hence, one doesn’t need to be an R.E.P to provide PMP training.

For PMP Examination seekers, it assumes more importance. They must check the quality of faculty along with the material.

Myth – 2: PMP is completely theoretical

Fact: No, it is designed scientifically.

It is very scientific and the course is designed with a lot of thoughts in mind. Cramming will never work.

Myth – 3: Exhaustive preparation will help.

Fact: No, rather concept is important.

It is more important to understand the fundamental concepts, various interactions among management process areas. You may read 4-5 books, and it is very possible that you will fail the exam. Conceptual understanding is of paramount importance as many questions are situational and almost all the questions test the understanding. It does not test your memorization ability.

Myth – 4: Only the materials from the R.E.P are authorized for PMP Exam Prep

Fact: No, the materials from R.E.P are reviewed by PMI.

PMI reviews the study material for the potential R.E.P for certain standardization and quality. There can be others who may provide a beautiful understanding on how to go for PMP examination and examination seekers should not loose out.

As a matter of Fact, PMBOK is like a Bible on project management which has to be dissected properly by the teaching faculty, instructors and supporting materials to have the maximum benefit. Examination candidates should do their own research to find the best material.

Myth – 5: The PMP exam score is measured in percentage

Fact: Percentage of score is not available.

They rate you on various process groups, like “proficient”, “moderately proficient”, “below proficient” etc. There is no percentage of score involved.

Myth – 6: PMP is my ticket to management

Fact: No, it is not needed to be PMP to be good manager, but having a PMP certification definitely helps.

PMP is very much valued in the industry. But finally, it is truly up-to you to be a good or best manager. PMP shows a number of ways to manage scientifically.

Myth – 7: PMP is not needed by product companies

Fact: A number of world class product companies look for PMP certified professionals.

A number of product companies including Google and Microsoft seek PMP professionals. You can check their advertisements.

Myth – 8: Value of PMP has been diluted in recent years

Fact: No, it is still an exclusive club.

It is one of the best project management courses available with world class practices and methodologies such as EVM, Monte Carlo, Decision Tree, CPM, CCPM etc. It is also ISO certified. PMBOK continuously improves itself by adopting new practices and methodologies. Also it is one of the toughest exams to crack.

Myth – 9: PMP can not be applied in real world.

Fact: No, it can be truly applied step by step in real world.

As a matter of Fact if you are using MS Project 2007 or Primavera, it becomes very easy to apply the various principles defined in PMP like WBS, Activity Definition, Activity Sequencing, RBS, Resource Levelling, EVM etc.

Satya Narayan Dash is the Principal Consultant and Founder of Teleox® Consulting, Bangalore, India. Prior to that, he was Project Leader with Wipro® Technologies and a Project Leader with AdventNet®, Inc. He has rich experience of 8+ years in product development, and architecture in Java® and J2EE® based Telecom solutions. As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) from Project Management Institute (PMI®) and MS Project 2007®, he has trained hundreds of project managers and consultants. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, India. He can be contacted at email: ndsatya@gmail.com