With the PMI-PMP®, the Proof of Knowledge and Competence in Project Management is Demonstrated by Means of a Written Online Exam
The Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification is awarded based on an examination. The exam is a written online exam consisting of 180 questions* covering the three areas of People (42%), Processes (50%) and Business Environment (8%), which must be answered in a total of 230 minutes, i.e., in just under four hours (PMI 2020); this means that on average 1 minute and 17 seconds is available to answer a question. The question style is currently a combination of multiple-choice questions (with one valid answer), multiple-response questions (with several correct answers), questions that match terms to categories (using drag and drop), hot-area questions,** and questions that ask candidates to fill in gaps in text passages or tables (PMI n.d. a; n.d. b). Exhibits 1 and 2 show some randomly selected exam questions with the correct answers.
* Of these, 175 were marked and—for testing purposes—5 were unmarked pre-test questions; “approximately half of the exam covers plan-driven approaches to project management, while the other half reflects agile or hybrid approaches” (PMI n.d. a).
** The idea is to click on the area of a digital graph that corresponds to certain data points in or statements about the graph (e.g., largest increase).
References
Certification-Questions (n.d.) Free PMI PMP PDF Dumps. Accessed December 02, 2022, https://www.certification-questions.com/pmi-pdf/pmp-pdf.html.
ExamFragen (n.d.) Project Management Professional (PMP Deutsch Version) [Free Demo]. Accessed December 05, 2022, https://www.examfragen.de/PMP-Deutsch-pruefung-fragen.html#.
ExamTopics (2022) Exam PMP topic 1 question 127 discussion. Accessed March 07, 2025, https://www.examtopics.com/discussions/pmi/view/85326-exam-pmp-topic-1-question-127-discussion/.
ExamTopics (2023) Exam PMP topic 1 question 725 discussion. Accessed March 07, 2025, https://www.examtopics.com/discussions/pmi/view/114407-exam-pmp-topic-1-question-725-discussion/.
Project Management Institute (PMI) (n.d. a) PMP® exam updates. Accessed January 12, 2022, https://www.pmi.org/certifications/project-management-pmp/earn-the-pmp/pmp-exam-preparation/pmp-exam-updates.
Project Management Institute (PMI) (n.d. b) New item types. Accessed January 12, 2022, https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/prototype-exam-questions.pdf?v=8c4bb529-fcc5-4de8-bd2c-5c8be730db79&rev=8c4bb529fcc54de8bd2c5c8be730db79.
Project Management Institute (PMI) (2020) Project Management Professional (PMP)®: Inhalt und Gliederung der Prüfung – Januar 2021. Exam content outline, Project Management Institute, Newton Square, PA.
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