PMI PgMP – Exam Preparations

1. Exam Preparation Introduction

After studying the five domains of the Program Management and the Program Management Supporting processes, now this is the time to give you some thoughts to what you will face in the exam. This section will get you the Program Management Professional Exam Insight to make you ready to pass this exam from your first attempt. In this section will cover the following 2016 Program Management Professional Exam outlines as bear PMI Exam Question Types which are three types Tips to get the right answer where we will get 20 tips Answer by Logic Sense tip number nine that will provide you with detailed answers on tab number nine mentioned in the previous topic. PMI Registry To know the sequence of the Program Management Professional Certification between New York colleagues within the same country or certain region.

2. 2016 Exam Outlines

In this lecture, we will review the 2016 exam outlines as per the latest PMI Program Management Professional Handbook, which was updated in 2016, and as per the latest Program Management Professional Examination Contained outline, which was published in April 2011. The examination blueprint specifies the percentage of the questions contained in each performance domain as shown on this screen. From this chart, you can see the Program Lifecycle domain is still referring to the old terminology which is Initiating, Planning, Executing, Controlling and Closing Process groups.

This was the terminology used earlier in the Standards for Program Management Second Edition guide from the PMI that was published in 2008. The new terminology of the Program Lifecycle domain, which is used in the Standards for Program Management Third Edition guide that was published in 2013, is referring to three phases which are program definition Fees, program benefits, Delivery Fees, and program closure fees.

We have to map the old terminology to the new terminology to the best extent that we can do to define the percentage of the questions expected in the current Bgmb exam for the Program Lifecycle phase. When mapping the program lifecycle in the Standards for Program Management Second Edition to the Program Life Cycle in the Standards for Program Management Third Edition, we will have this result pasted into two additional columns as shown in this table, the Initiating process group is mapped to the definition phase, actually to the Program Formation sub phase.

The Planning Process group is mapped to the definition phase, actually to the Program Preparation sub phase. The Executing and Controlling Process groups are mapped to the Pinfolds delivery phase as it includes all the program component activities which are covered in three sub phases planning and Authorization, Oversight and Integration, Transition and Closure. Finally, the closing process group is mapped to the closure phase, so the result of the mapping will be definition phase as 17%, benefits delivery phase as 24%, and closure phase as 3%. The five domains percentage will continue as they appeared in the PMI Program Management Professional Handbook, which are Program Lifecycle is 44%, Strategic Program Management is 15%, benefits Management is 11%, stakeholder Management is 16%, Governance is 14%.

Remember that it is expected that PMI corrects this picture and creates accurate percentage for each phase of the Program Lifecycle domain in the new release of the Program Management Professional Examination content Outline, which is usually embedded in the PMI Program Management Professional Handbook. Please note that the MOOC exam in this course will comply with this map percentages for the Program life Cycle phase.

3. Exam Preparation Conclusion

The following steps help you in selecting the correct answer in your program management professional exam. First, make yourself familiar with the environment around you in the exam by using the first 15 minutes before starting the exam to review the optional demo. Ensure that you are sitting comfortable on the chair, its level and comfortable with your clothes. Second, read all the options A-B-C and D. Even if you decided that option A or option B is the right choice, as you may find a pitary choice, remember that some questions are tricky and reading all the choices will help you to resolve the trick. Also, remember that you are requested to select the best answer, not the right answer. So you may have more than one answer that can be considered right, but only one is the best answer.

The third tip is to disqualify some options in order to select the right answer. Some techniques that are directly related to the program Management Professional questions are as following question about a specific domain, but one of the options is coming from another domain, therefore this option will be disqualified easily.

Look at this example after identifying the stakeholder and develop a stakeholder’s map, which measure activity should be performant? Option A accept and block stakeholder issues. Option B create the stakeholder register. Option C. Develop the stakeholder engagement plan. Option D develops a program governance plan. Option D in this example is coming from the governance domain, although the question is about the stakeholder engagement domain, so option D will be disqualified. Another example is question about activity or artifact in a specific program lifecycle management phase, but one of the options is coming from another program lifecycle management phase. Therefore, this option will be disqualified easily.

Look at this example. Which of the following artifacts trigger the program initiation phase? Option A, business case. Option B, program charter. Option C program transition plan and option D, program mandate. Option C in this example is coming from the closure phase, although the question is about the definition phase, so it will be disqualified. Tip number four is to be ready for questions which are mixing the project, the program and the portfolio management. Read the question carefully to address which management area, project, program or portfolio the question is targeting. Then eliminate the other areas from the answer choices.

Look at this example. Jackie was writing a program plan to measure, monitor, control and report the program performance to Zaki stakeholders. Which plan was Jackie working in? Option A portfolio Performance Management Plan option B program Communication Management Plan option C program Performance Management Plan option D program Risk Management Plan this question is referring to program plans, but option A in the answer is referring to a portfolio component, so it should be eliminated.

Tip number five, disqualify the answers with wrong portfolio program or project management fundamentals like fixed organizational strategy, eliminate the risk of the program and so on. Tip number six do not be confused with the noise established around the right answer. Just concentrate to eliminate the noise and get the right answer. Look at this example which of the following should be considered when adopting a governance plan from one business domain to the entirely different business domain? Option A the business needs political, regulatory, technical and competitive environments. Option B each business financial position C the market shares of each business option D none of the above in this example, the question has option A as the correct answer, but options B and C are just noise to confuse you, so they will be eliminated.

Tip number seven some questions will have values and you may need to execute some equations to get the right answer. These questions will mainly refer to the financial management equations like present value, return on investment payback and the expected monetary value. All the project management equations like the earnings value management and the activity duration estimation. The important equations are mentioned in the resources as a reminder only. However, you can refer to the Pmpoc to get more details about the project management part. Tip number eight you may find that some questions are not directly related to the Standards for Program Management Third Edition guide. So you should at this time refer to your program management practical experience and try to select the right answer.

Tip number nine some questions may drive you for long equations to calculate the present value or the CBI and SPI, but you shouldn’t be driving easily in this. Nevertheless, if you were obliged, make it at the end of the exam. So you should select one of the answers as per your best guess and mark this question for review. Then at the end of the exam, if you still have some time, go through this question again to reach the right answer. Tip number ten do not be confused with the details given in some questions. Try to locate only the keywords that are relevant to the question subject and not to the brief case study described in the question. Tip number Eleven some of the questions are long and describe a case study about an individual, company or an aimed program manager. Do not be distracted and concentrate on the question itself and the relevant keywords in the case study.

Read the question once with concentration and do not try to read it quickly as you may lose your concentration and this may lead you to read the question many times, which means that you will lose more time. So again read the question once with concentration. Tip number twelve some questions will be very easy that might give you doubt that there is a trick behind. See this example. What are the different categories of the stakeholders? Option A internal and external option B important and none important. Option c executives and individuals. Option D none of the above. The right answer is option A, internal and external.

As you can see this example is easy and you may think that there is a trick behind. Tip number 13 answer all the questions even if you are not sure, as it will be at least 25% probability correct. Remember that the wrong answer will not have a negative mark, but the empty answer will have for sure a zero mark. Mark is a doubtful questions while selecting the answer, as you can review these market questions at the end. Tip number 14 remember that the passing score doesn’t differentiate between the easy question and the difficult one. All the questions have the same score. Therefore, do not lose a long time in answering a difficult question where you can use this time to answer more than one easy or moderate question in your answer. Do not spend more time on the difficult question, but you should answer the difficult question with your best guess and market for review. Then, at the end of the exam, use the remaining few minutes to review the market questions and examine your selected answer. Tip number 15 remember that you may have some doubts in selecting the right answer for one question, but while going through the other questions, you may get the information required to have the firm answer for the original question. Therefore, mark for review the questions that you have doubt about and you may need to review it and then come back to them immediately after gathering the missing information from the other questions.

Remember that you can use Mark for Review option to label any questions that you are not sure about your answer. Then you can come back anytime within the exam duration to this group of questions and review them one by one. Usually you will do this at the end of the exam after you finish your question. Number 170 let us see this example question X who is responsible for securing the program fund if it is coming from the external sources? Option A program Sponsor option B Organization CFO option C Program Manager option D program Governance Board if I’m not sure here about the right answer and I have doubt in option A and Option D, I will select option A for instance, and mark this question for review. Then, when going through the questions and coming to question Y, which is due to the internal funding problem, the Extol program is looking for an external funding where the Governance Board is working hard to complete all the prerequisites and get the required funding. Which of the following factors should the Governance Board consider?

Option A comply with the governance laws and regulations. Option B comply with the industry standards in similar external funding cases. Option C make sure that the program is funded to the amount necessary to support the approved program plan. Option D. All the above. As you can see, I got the answer for question X that I was not sure about, which is Option D? That the Governance Board is responsible for securing the program fund if it’s coming from the external source. So I will come back to question X in the group of market for review and change my answer from option A to option D. Tip number 16 remember that you are selecting the best answer. So based on the question and it’s Giving options, you need to select the best answer.

For example, consider this question question X anil is a project manager executing a project which is a component of the X Trail program. Anil needs to initiate his project and he is looking for the best organization role to approve the program authorization. How can you advise anil Option A I will advise him to go to the corporate PMO. Option B I will advise him to contact the program sponsor and he is the one who is responsible for authorizing the program component. Option C I will advise him to go to the steering committee. Option D I will advise him to contact the program manager as he is the one who is responsible for authorizing his project. As per the giving options, option D is the best available answer. So based on this question, question X, the best answer is Option D. However, let us review the same question after changing option A.

Now option A becomes I will advise him to review the program governance and follow the process of the component approval. Options b, C and D are still the same. Based on this new situation, when reviewing all options including the updated option A, we will find that the best option is option A. So now, the best answer is Option A as it refers to the program governance plan. You can see that although option D exists, as is the updated option, which is option A is better than option D. Tip number 17 do not lose your temper if you get a long sequence of hard questions or many long questions after each other, this is expected. Therefore, just be ready and control your emotions. Tip number 18 manage your time. Review every 30 minutes your progress. Remember that you should achieve at least the following after half an hour, you should achieve 21 questions. After 1 hour, you should achieve 42 questions. After one and a half hour, you should achieve 64 questions. After 2 hours, you should achieve 85 questions. After 2 hours and a half, you should achieve 106 questions. After 3 hours, you should achieve 127 questions. After three and a half hours, you should achieve 149 questions. Whatever you can save from this table charts will help you to review the questions that you market for revision. Do not expect that you will save more than few minutes. Tip number 19 execute mock tests as much as you can at least three mock tests will help you and position you in a good state to pass your Program Management Professional Certification exam on your first attempt.

Remember that in the exam no domain will be mentioned with each question. So you should practice this condition and be able to understand which domain or management supporting activities group the question is coming from to get the answer easily. That’s why I don’t believe in having ten questions or 100 questions in a particular domain as a good practice to put you in the mode of the exam. However, I believe that you should be trained in the environment more similar to the exam by going through the group of questions coming from any of the five domains. Thus, the mock test should help you to be in the mode of the exam.

Tip number 20 taking the exam and the Standard for Program Management Third Edition will be better than waiting for the new version of the Fourth Edition, which is coming soon. Today, you have many study guides, exam tests, and simulators with questions similar to a good extent to the exam requirements of BMI as of 2016. On the other hand, waiting for the exam based on the Fourth Edition will put you in a situation where you will not have enough study guides and mock tests adopting the changes and the new requirements in the Standards for Program Management Force Edition.

In addition, the PMI will continue accepting Program Management Professional exams on the Third Edition only for one or two quarters after the announcement of the Fourth Edition. So I think if you are planning to have your Program Management Professional exam in 2017, then use the current Third Edition. But if your plan for the exam is in 2018, then wait for the fourth.