Introduction

There is a course for you if you wish to master project management and pass the Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications exam. These courses are designed to teach you essential project management skills and help you pass the PMI exam, which now follows the most recent outline of material.

Class Central, an online course search engine, and other websites were used to do the research for this Best Courses Guide (BCG), which identifies the best PMP test preparation courses. Obtaining the PMP certification is essential for anyone hoping to advance in their project management career. These courses also provide the extra benefit of obtaining professional development units (PDUs).

PMP Certification Meaning

PMP certifications

The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is an internationally recognized credential that attests to a candidate’s project management knowledge, expertise, and experience. The world’s foremost authority on project management, the Project Management Institute (PMI), is the organization that publishes it.

Employers across a wide range of industries highly value the PMP certification, which is regarded as the project management industry standard. Over a million people globally possess a PMP certification, according to PMI.

Those who wish to become PMP-certified need to fulfill the following requirements:

Four-year university or college degree plus:

  • 36 months of project management experience over the previous eight years
  • 35 hours of instruction or training in project management, or CAPM certification

or

Diploma from a secondary or high school plus:

  • 60 months of project management experience over the previous eight years
  • 35 hours of instruction or training in project management, or CAPM certification

Additionally, candidates need to pass the four-hour, multiple-choice PMP test, which covers the following five project management domains:

  • Starting
  • Organising
  • carrying out
  • Keeping an eye on and managing
  • Finishing

Every three years, the PMP certification can be renewed by completing 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) and paying the required cost. The certification is valid for three years.

PMP Exam and PMBOK Editions

  • Although the PMBOK Guide, Seventh Edition, covers the same concepts and practices as the PMP exam, the exam itself is not directly based on any one edition of the PMBOK Guide.
  • The principles of project management are covered in both the sixth and seventh editions, while the seventh edition highlights certain changes in the sector.

Process Creation: Customising procedures for certain situations

Agile Methods: A greater emphasis on incremental and iterative techniques

Stakeholder Engagement: Increased Priority Stakeholder Engagement Throughout the Project Lifecycle

Risk Management and Performance Evaluation: Improved Guidelines and Ideal Procedures

Terminology & Language: Slight revisions for uniformity and clarity.

Given that taking the PMP exam can cost up to $595 each attempt, planning ahead is essential to preserving resources like time, money, and energy. The PMP exam is given by the Project Management Institute (PMI). Test-takers must fulfill authorized training hours mandated by PMI, but they should budget extra time for independent study.

Taking into account the following factors can help you ace the PMP exam the first time.

Obtain Minimum Contact Hours

Prior to taking the certification exam, candidates for the PMP must complete a minimum of 35 contact hours of formal project management instruction. If you are in possession of the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® certificate, you are exempt from this prerequisite.

The following are some ways that you can accrue these contact hours:

  • Partners in training authorised by PMI
  • Company-sponsored or employer-sponsored programs
  • Consultants or training organizations (such as training schools)
  • Programs for distance learning that involve a final exam
  • Academic and continuing education programs offered by universities or colleges

Establish a Reasonable Test Schedule

After your contact hours are up, schedule a time to take the test.

  • To improve your ability to recall information, consider spreading out the amount of time you spend studying. It is preferable to study for three to four hours a week for nine to eleven weeks, as opposed to twelve hours a week for three weeks, if your goal is to finish 35 hours of study time.
  • Although last-minute study sessions can be beneficial for short-term memory retention, spacing out your study sessions improves recall.
  • Decide how long you think your preparation should take, then plan out your study sessions and mock exams for the days before the exam.

Give Practice Exams

  • Test your memorization of the exam material and monitor your progress with practice examinations. It is not necessary to complete the entire 200-question exam each time. Tests that are shorter and more targeted might help you pinpoint areas for development and reinforce your understanding of particular topics.
  • Take the $99.00 paid, PMI-approved practice exam towards the end of your study period to ensure you are prepared for exam day. This practice exam has the same structure as the PMP certification exam, so it will give you a realistic impression of the format, questions, and time allotted for the real examination.

7 Resources for PMP Exam Preparation

The following materials are available for self-study and reference, with the exception of PMI’s official Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide (PMBOK Guide), and are totally free.

  • PMI PMBOK Guide

The primary source for all things project management is the PMBOK Guide. It includes information on standards, jargon, and best practices that every project manager should be aware of. Any project manager should have a copy of the PMBOK Guide. Although it costs $99, PMI members can use it for free.

  • Pmchallenge

PMI provides free resources called PMchallenge in addition to paid resources. Users can earn badges to show on their PMI profile page, answer review questions, and receive explanations for their answers.

  • PMP Practice Exam

An easy-to-use, free tool to help you get ready for the PMP test is the PMP Practice test. The website provides four sample PMP tests with fifty multiple-choice questions that span the business environment, people, and process domains. The proportions on this practice test are the same to those on the real PMP exam.

Every practice exam has an instant scoring system and offers thorough explanations for any questions that are answered poorly.

  • PM PrepCast

PM A free 120-question practice exam is available on PrepCast. Every question relates to a certain domain and area of knowledge in project management. This tool has a self-review marking feature and a test time frame. To get help answering a practice question, click the hint button.

PM For $149, PrepCast also provides a project management exam simulator. More than 2,070 sample questions with thorough answer explanations and useful references are included in this resource to help you study even more.

  • Project Management Academy

Project Management Academy provides a free 50-question training exam to all users as a PMI-authorised training partner. Additionally, the organization offers 2,000 more practice problems for students enrolled in Project Management Academy.

The PMBOK Guide subjects are the basis for the practice exam offered by Project Management Academy. There are explanations for each response in your exam results. Remember that you need to enter your name and email address in order to receive your exam results.

  • Quizlet

Over 1,500 concepts and definitions are included in the user-generated study set on Quizlet. Quizlet is free, doesn’t require an account, and provides a variety of alternatives for self-study, including the ability to create flashcards.

You can utilize Quizlet’s term-matching tool if you have an account. A test with written-answer, multiple-choice, true-or-false, and matching questions can also be created. The Study Path feature lets you construct a study plan based on your personal goals for a more sophisticated learning experience.

  • BrainSensei

Two PMP training courses and a small practice exam are available from BrainSensei. You can try this resource for free for seven days.

Each lesson teaches project management fundamentals through videos and an interactive slide presentation. An overview of project management is covered in the first module, while project initiation is the subject of the second. Self-assessment chances are provided in each lesson. Users are required to drag and drop the relevant vocabulary terms into the corresponding areas.

Conclusion

Hence, here in this blog, we have covered 7 best PMP Certification resources. Hope after applying the above methods and strategies you will be able to crack your PMP Certifications exam on the first attempt.

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