Preparing to take the PMP exam is an important step in your journey toward becoming a Project Management Professional.  The journey can help you grow your career and develop your skills and abilities.

To pass the PMP exam, you need to truly understand project management processes, good practices, and the project manager’s roles and responsibilities.  You also need to be able to tailor your tactics and strategies to situations that different projects present and to different situations presented to you on exam questions.  The PMP exam will test how well you can apply concepts, principles and ideas based on the situation presented. It consists of 180 PMP exam questions (multiple-choice, matching, multiple responses, fill-in-the-blank, hotspot), and you have 230 minutes to complete it.

If you plan, give yourself enough time to prepare, and receive the right guidance and support, you’ll be ready to pass the PMP on your first try.

2023 PMP Exam Questions

  1. Preparation Is Key to Passing the PMP Exam
  2. What Kinds of Questions Are on the PMP Exam?
  3. Evolution of the PMP Exam in 2023
  4. Free PMP Questions

Preparation Is Key to Passing the Exam

Whether you choose to prepare on your own or study with an instructor, it is not enough to simply memorize the PMP exam concepts. As discussed, many of the questions describe a situation and contain information intended to distract you.  Preparing with professional prep materials with build your knowledge and teach you how to identify the best answer.  You will need to invest time in your studies. Successful candidates spend 35+ hours, on average, prepping for the PMP certification exam, according to PMI.

Taking an exam prep course like the one offered at RMC is the smartest and most strategic way to prepare for this challenge. Our instructors will teach you the material you need to know, and they’ll make learning fun and engaging. Plus, they’ll share tips and tricks that you can apply when taking the exam so you can rest assured, you’ll be able to answer all the questions efficiently and correctly.  During the course, you will take practice exams that allow you to review the material and test your knowledge. Using exam simulation helps you become familiar with the test environment, familiarizes you with the types of exam questions.  It also helps you identify your gaps in your knowledge.

Pro tip: RMC’s PMP exam prep course will help you earn the 35 training hours you need to qualify for the exam in the first place!

What Kinds of Questions Are on the Exam?

The PMP exam questions are divided into three domains:

  • People (42% of the questions) – This category includes various topics related to skills like building and leading teams, interacting with stakeholders, supporting teams, managing conflict, and more. In other words, this portion of the exam focuses on soft skills.
  • Process (50% of the questions) – This category covers a variety of skills, such as communication, risk management, budget and resource planning and management, scope, scheduling, and more. In other words, this part of the exam is all about technical skills.
  • Business Environment (8% of the questions) – This category focuses on topics like project compliance and benefits, organizational change, and more. In other words, this area of the exam hones in on organizational strategy needed for successful projects.

Throughout the exam you are expected to know about a variety of project management methodologies.  About 50% of the exam questions are based on predictive project management methodologies and 50% come from agile and hybrid methodologies.

Evolution of the PMP Exam in 2023

PMI changed the Project Management Professional Exam in 2021.  At this time, PMI shifted away from changing the PMP exam every 4 to 5 years in favor of a continuous improvement model with more frequent exam content updates.

Since then, PMI has introduced the PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition and the Process Groups: A Practice Guide.  We explain how these resources influence the PMP exam in more detail.  RMC’s PMP training and materials brings together the terminology and concepts used in the PMP Exam Content Outline (ECO), the PMBOK Guide 7th Edition and the Process Guide.  We expect students may see concepts that are derived from these sources.  Read how these resources influence the PMP exam in more detail.

Free PMP Exam Questions

To illustrate the question types you’ll encounter on the PMP exam, we’ve compiled the following sample questions, answers, and explanations.  You can also try free demo of our PMP exam simulator to experience a realistic PMP exam test environment.  This is a quick way to get familiar with the types of questions you might encounter.

Sample Questions

1. PMP Multiple-Choice Sample Question:

Answer and Explanation:

2. PMP Multiple-Right-Answer Sample Question:

Answer and Explanation:

3. PMP Fill-in-the-Blank Sample Question:

Answer and Explanation:

4. PMP Matching Sample Question:

Answer and Explanation:

5. Hot Spot Sample Question:

Answer and Explanation:

Use RMC’s PMP Exam Prep and Get Started

As you can see, preparing for the PMP exam takes a lot of time and requires hard work, regardless of how much previous education and experience you have.

There’s no need to go about this all on your own, especially with RMC is here to help.  Sign up for our PMP exam prep course to dive into everything you need to know to pass this challenging exam on your first try, guaranteed!  We also offer several ways to self-study which includes our best-selling PMP Exam Prep book and our PMP Exam Prep System.  We also offer an on-demand PMP eLearning course and meets the 35 contact hours required for you’re the PMP application.

Sources:

https://www.pmi.org/certifications/project-management-pmp/earn-the-pmp/pmp-exam-preparation/pmp-exam-updates

Cate Curry
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