PMP Exam Prep For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Passing the PMP Exam requires a deep understanding of the principles and best practices of project management. The following sections provide key exam takeaways — basically what you need to know in a nutshell — for all of the key components of project management. This cheat sheet is basically an outline of the knowledge you need to gain in order to prepare for the PMP Exam.  

Building project teams

Building capable teams and keeping the team members motivated are key factors in successful project management. On the PMP Exam, you need to know the following:

• The resource management plan is a component of the larger project management plan. There are two elements to the resource management plan: human resources and physical resources.
• Co-location is a technique to bring team members together in a physical location as a way to enhance team performance. Virtual teams are brought together using technology such as video conferencing and instant messaging.
• Expect questions on how to best address the unique benefits and challenges of working with virtual teams.
• Know the elements of a RAM and RACI chart.
• Be prepared for questions testing your understanding of the purpose of the team charter and how it differs from ground rules.
• Know the distinction between training, mentoring and coaching.
• Recognize the Tuckman Stages of team development and the correct order of the stages.
• Understand the difference between recognition and rewards as it relates to acknowledging team performance.
• Be familiar with the four prominent motivation theories–scenarios may describe a theory and ask you to determine which theory it is describing.
• Know the conflict resolution strategies and be prepared for some questions to incorporate conflict within the scenario–they are looking for you to answer a technical question AND address the conflict at the same time.
• The first instance of conflict should be handled by individuals involved.

Initiating a project

Initiating your project involves establishing its initial scope and objectives, securing authorization, and setting a solid foundation to achieve project success. Here are the basics of what you need to know for the PMP Exam:

• The business case and benefits management plan are two key business documents necessary to create the project charter
• The project charter authorizes the start of the project.
• Key outputs of project initiation include developing a project charter and assumption log, creating a stakeholder register, and developing a stakeholder engagement plan.
• Effective stakeholder engagement is robust and iterative.
• Agile chartering and stakeholder engagement differ from traditional projects.

Planning a project roadmap

A well-designed project plan serves as a cornerstone for setting clear expectations with both the team and stakeholders while also establishing a framework for accountability and performance measurement. Here's what the PMP Exam expects you to know:

• Given the wide range of processes within this group, you can expect several exam questions testing your understanding of planning processes and their outputs, such as plans and project documents.
• Plans explain the “how,” while project documents detail the “what.”
• A reference to a project management plan typically indicates a predictive or hybrid project, where a project plan is used alongside Agile methodologies.
• Agile projects rely on just-in-time planning, such as iteration or sprint planning.
• Have a strong understanding of estimating techniques for activity durations and costs.
• Master the rules of the Critical Path Method, including calculating critical path duration, determining float, and assessing the impact of delays.
• Be familiar with the terms Definition of Done and Definition of Ready, as you may need to identify these based on their descriptions.
• Know all planning steps for quality, resources, communications, risks, procurement, and stakeholders come together in the project management plan. Integration ensures all elements align with project milestones and objectives.
• Understand the distinctions between plan quality management, manage quality, and control quality.
• Recognize the importance of cost of quality (COQ) and its components: prevention, appraisal, and failure costs.
• Understand the differences between push, pull, and interactive communication methods, and when each is most appropriate.
• For threats, know the strategies: avoid, transfer, mitigate, and accept.
• For opportunities, understand these concepts: exploit, share, enhance, and accept.
• Be familiar with cost-reimbursable, fixed-price, and time and materials contracts, including examples and scenarios where each is appropriate.
• Know the distinction: Stakeholder engagement focuses on understanding and influencing stakeholder expectations, while communication management ensures the right information is delivered to the right people at the right time.

Integrating plans and processes

When planning a project, you need to consider scope, schedule, costs, engaging stakeholders, managing communications, appropriately allocating resources, and more. Integrating these plans into a cohesive whole is vitally important. Prep for the PMP Exam by knowing the following:

• Recognize how subsidiary plans and baselines align to provide a cohesive framework for monitoring and controlling the project.
• Be aware that changes to any component of the project management plan require a formal change request and must follow the change control process.
• Understand the role and purpose of the change control plan, configuration management plan, and change log in managing and tracking project changes.
• Be clear on the distinction between managing changes to the project (change control) and maintaining version control of project artifacts (configuration management).
• Planning in Agile projects is conducted at a high level and adjusted iteratively.
• Scenarios that involve Agile tools and techniques while integrating a project management plan typically indicate a hybrid approach.

Executing a project

Several activities and concepts are required to execute a project successfully. Here's what the PMP Exam expects you to know:

• Know how to track issues and resolve issues when they arise.
• Be able to differentiate explicit (documented) and tacit (experiential) knowledge.
• Understand the purpose of a quality audit.
• Be on the lookout for questions that ask you to maintain project artifacts for accuracy, accessibility, and compliance, following best practices like version control and centralized storage.
• Be familiar with Agile decision-making techniques like Roman voting, dot voting, and Fist of Five. Exam questions may describe one of these techniques and ask you to identify them.
• Know and recognize Agile tools like kanban boards, burn charts, velocity charts, and cumulative flow diagrams.
• Know how to ensure project artifacts are accurate, accessible, and secure.
• Understand how to leverage organizational process assets (OPAs) for insights and lessons learned.
• Understand the purpose of burndown and burnup charts for tracking remaining work and completed progress, respectively, and how they drive transparency.

Keeping a project on track

For the PMP Exam, you're expected to understand the processes for monitoring and controlling project.

• Be familiar with the different types of change requests.
• Be able to distinguish between validating scope (customer acceptance) versus controlling scope (staying within the boundaries of the scope baseline).
• Recognize how scope creep can occur as well as gold plating.
• Understand how to interpret key earned value management metrics.
• Be familiar with key quality control tools.

Closing a project  

For the PMP Exam, you need to know the best practices for project and phase closure. Be mindful of the following:

• Regardless of how a project ends, you still go through the steps to close a project, including developing a project final report.
• Administrative closure focuses on closing out the project or phase in accordance with the Project Management Plan.
• Contract closure refers to closing out procurement contracts and incorporates different steps than administrative closure.
• Know the difference between a lessons learned register, which is project specific, and the lessons learned repository, which is organization specific.
• Releasing project resources, especially your team members, should be the final step before officially closing the project or phase.
• Be familiar with the key descriptors of several change management frameworks.

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