PMP / CAPM Guide - Bay3000 · PDF fileBay3000 Consulting Inc. 3 Frequently asked Questions Who can take the PMP® exam? Project managers who have a minimum of 3 years/36 months unique

Bay3000 Consulting Inc. – 200 Town Centre Boulevard, Suite 402, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 8G5 Tel: (905) 947-8562 x226 | [email protected] | www.bay3000.com

PMP® / CAPM® Guide

Bay3000 Consulting Inc. 2

Contents

Who can take the PMP® exam? ............................................................................................................................. 3

Who can take the CAPM® exam? .......................................................................................................................... 3

What is the PMP® exam like? ................................................................................................................................ 3

What is the CAPM® exam like? .............................................................................................................................. 3

The Path to the PMP® Credential........................................................................................................................... 4

Unique Advantages of the BAY3000 PMP® Certification Course .......................................................................... 5

The Bay3000 PMP® Course Guarantee ................................................................................................................ 6

Can I take the exam without doing your course? .................................................................................................... 6

What does the Bay3000 Certification Training include? ......................................................................................... 6

Does this course fulfill PMI’s education requirements (23 hrs. for CAPM® / 35 hrs. for PMP®)? ......................... 7

Are Bay3000 facilitators certified? .......................................................................................................................... 7

When are the exam dates and where does it take place? ...................................................................................... 7

Does Bay3000 also organize company on-site PMI preparation courses? ............................................................ 7

How much preparation time do I need to schedule before taking the exam?......................................................... 7

Is there a discount if I come with a colleague? ....................................................................................................... 8

What if I have questions after the course? ............................................................................................................. 8

Do you have e-learning courses? ........................................................................................................................... 8

When I register for a Bay3000 course, am I also also directly booked for the PMI exam? .................................... 8

How long is the PMP® credential valid? How can I renew it? ................................................................................ 8

How long is the CAPM® credential valid? How can I renew it? ............................................................................. 8

How does PMI check my information?.................................................................................................................... 8

Should I become a member of PMI? ...................................................................................................................... 9

To whom and when will I pay the PMP® / CAPM® certification exam fee? ........................................................... 9

How do you document your experience for the PMP® Application? ...................................................................... 9

ANSWER GRID to PMP Sample Questions ......................................................................................................... 14


Frequently asked Questions

Who can take the PMP® exam?

Project managers who have a minimum of 3 years/36 months unique non-overlapping professional project management experience* during which at least 4,500 hours were spent leading and directing the project within the past 8 years and a 4 year university degree (bachelor’s degree or equivalent)

or

Project managers who have a minimum of 5 years/60 months unique non-overlapping professional project management experience* during which at least 7,500 hours were spent leading and directing the project within the past 8 years and a secondary diploma (high school diploma or equivalent)

* You should have experience in all five process groups across all your project management experience submitted on the application. However, on a single project, you do not need to have experience in all five process groups.

Who can take the CAPM® exam?

Practitioners or project team members or anybody interested in project management who have a Secondary Diploma (high school diploma or equivalent) and 1,500 hours of professional experience on a project team

or

Practitioners or project team members or anybody interested in project management who have a Secondary Diploma (high school diploma or equivalent) and 23 hours of formal Project Management Education

What is the PMP® exam like?

The PMP® exam is a 4-hour, computer-based, multiple-choice exam with 200 questions. The PMP® Exam is very tricky and difficult due to the need to apply knowledge to tough scenarios under time pressure. Not only must you know and understand the knowledge but you must also know how to approach the exam questions and learn proper exam technique. Our course covers both. The PMP® exam tests more knowledge than is found in the PMBoK® and our course covers all knowledge you need.

What is the CAPM® exam like?

The CAPM® exam is a 3-hour, computer-based, multiple-choice exam with 170 questions. This exam does not contain scenarios that are as tricky as the PMP® however it still requires solid knowledge of all the inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs found in the PMBoK®. Our course will help you understand the processes so that you do not need to spend time memorizing.


The Path to the PMP® Credential

Start

Here

Step 1

Education Qualification

Undergraduate or Higher

High School Diploma /

Associate Degree or global

equivalent

Step 2

Project Management Experience

Minimum 3 years/36 months unique 4,500

non overlapping project management Project

experience Hours

Minimum 5 years/60 months unique 7,500

non overlapping project management Project

experience Hours

Step 3

PM Contact Hours/PM

Education

35 Hours of Project

Management Education This

can be attained by attending

the Bay3000 prep course

Step 4

PMI Online Form

Submit the qualification

information to PMI online

Step 5

Prepare for the Exam

Study the PMBOK, review

the material given in the

Bay3000 course & complete

the Bay3000 take home

practice exam questions.

*Step 6

Schedule Exam

*Schedule Exam at a

Prometric testing centre.

*This step can be done at any

time once your application is

approved.


Unique Advantages of the BAY3000 PMP® Certification Course

Bay3000’s certification courses have many unique advantages including more than 15 years’ experience helping students pass certification exams, professional accreditation, highest pass rate in the industry, current material to match the current exam, experienced instructors, over 500 sample questions including a mock exam, and an arsenal of tips and tricks for passing this difficult exam. Global Recognition Bay3000 is recognized by PMI as a Global Charter and Founding Registered Education Provider (REP). A clear advantage of this recognition is with respect to course depth, course quality, professional faculty and international recognition. University Recognition All Project Management courses offered by Bay3000 are also recognized by the University Of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). This association with UOIT provides professionals with the opportunity to attain the PMP® credentials as accredited by PMI® as well as a (UOIT) university certificate upon successful completion. Top Results Bay3000 has the highest pass rate in the industry with 98% of our students passing the first time. This is considerably higher than the averages reported by PMI. Post Course Learner Support All students will have access to our exclusive learner support resources including extra questions, extra tips, extra practice sheets, and study aids. Students also have access to our instructors after the course if needed. If you have questions on any aspects of the material, you may contact me or your instructor and get prompt responses. Personalized Guarantee Bay3000’s guarantee focuses on the objective of helping you pass the exam. If for some reason you are not successful, a Bay3000 coach will be assigned to those who do not pass for one: one based coaching to ensure success the second time. Proven and Long Term Experience One of the reasons for our excellent pass rate is our experience. Bay3000 has helped thousands of students attain their certifications over the past 15 years. Our instructors and course material continue to receive excellent reviews year after year. Complete Duration Bay3000’s course offers the full 35 educational hours required by PMI, which means students do not have to take any other course to fulfill the minimum hours mandatory education required to qualify for your application Over 500 Sample Questions with Full De-brief Not only will we cover over 500 sample questions, but students will benefit from our instructors’ debrief on how to answer the various types of difficult questions – a benefit you don’t get from self-study or from shorter review courses.


Professional and Current Course Materials Course materials are professionally created and regularly updated to reflect the current exam profile. The Bay3000 course material includes the knowledge you need to pass the exam including tip sheets, extra handouts, sample templates, and memory aids. Experienced Faculty, each with over 15 Years’ Experience Bay3000’s faculty is comprised of experts, not only in their specialty, but also experts in transferring knowledge specifically for the purpose of exam preparation.

The Bay3000 PMP® Course Guarantee

As industry leaders, Bay3000 is proud of its success record in helping students obtain their PMP® Certification. Our commitment to our clients’ success and our respect for the value of their time is unique in this industry. This is why we commit to lending our time and our expertise to work closely with students in partnership to ensure that their chances of success are maximized. In the unlikely situation that a student did attended the full course, and were not successful - we will personally coach them so that, when they re-write the exam, they will attain their PMP® and become recognized as a Project Management Professional. Please note however that this Guaranteed Commitment will only be valid if the student:

Has read PMBOK® Fifth Edition in its entirety prior to first day of class

Has attended the full days of class

Has written the PMP within 10 weeks of having completed the preparation course

Has scheduled the coaching (if necessary) within 8 weeks of having written the exam

Can I take the exam without doing your course?

Of course you can. But Bay3000 has achieved an impressive exam pass rate in excess of 98% with students who have taken our course! The international pass rate is lower than 70%. By taking an exam preparation course you not only have higher chances of passing the first time, but you also will reduce the amount of time you need to study and reduce the number of separate books to read. In addition to having better results on your exam, you also will learn valuable lessons from our experienced trainers that you can apply to your real life projects.

What does the Bay3000 Certification Training include?

5-day intensive classroom training

Comprehensive PMP® / CAPM® Exam preparation binder with course notes

In-class sample exam review of approximately than 400 questions

Access to our trainers who are able to provide on-going support during the application and exam process.

Special post-PMP Achievement options for PDUs to maintain your credential


Does this course fulfill PMI’s education requirements (23 hrs. for CAPM® / 35 hrs.

for PMP®)?

Yes, after completion of the course you will receive a certificate for the required contact hours.

Are Bay3000 facilitators certified?

Yes, our facilitators have successfully trained thousands of project managers globally over the past 14 years. Bay3000 is uniquely accredited by PMI for high quality training that includes quality audits of not only our courseware but also our trainers.

When are the exam dates and where does it take place?

Computer Based Testing (CBT) Once you have received your approval by PMI, you can register for the exam at www.prometric.com. CBT exams are available in most major cities for the PMP® and for the CAPM®. Please contact us if you have any questions. Usually, there is an exam session in the morning and one in the afternoon. We suggest book the exam approximately 3- 4 weeks after the last training day to give you sufficient time to study.

Paper Based Testing (PBT)

In cities and areas where CBT is not available, PMI schedules several paper based exams per year. Please contact us in order to find out whether your city uses CBT or PBT exams. For paper based exams, once you have received your approval by PMI and paid, you can indicate which Paper Based Exam you would like to attend by entering a group code on the PMI scheduling system. Please contact us for the code if you are in a city that only offers paper based exams.

Does Bay3000 also organize company on-site PMI preparation courses?

If you have more than 6 participants, we will be pleased to prepare a proposal for a company-internal preparation course. Not only is onsite training more convenient for participants but it can also help you stretch valuable training budget dollars. Please contact us for a personalized quote.

How much preparation time do I need to schedule before taking the exam?

We suggest you should schedule 70 to 100 hours personal study to ensure a positive result.

How much does the training cost?

Please contact us for details.

http://www.prometric.com/


Is there a discount if I come with a colleague?

Please contact us for the details on how to register and about the possibility of receiving a group discount.

What if I have questions after the course?

We are pleased to confirm that your trainer will be available to support you by email for 30 days after the course. This is incredible value and demonstrates our passion for helping students pass the first time.

Do you have e-learning courses?

Yes, please contact us for the details. Bay3000 has a large library of e-learning programs. Call us to discuss.

When I register for a Bay3000 course, am I also also directly booked for the PMI

exam?

No, you have to apply directly online at www.pmi.org for the PMI exam. They ask you to list all your Project Management experience, education and other details relevant to each exam. As a registered student on a Bay3000 course, we would be happy to assist you with your application.

How long is the PMP® credential valid? How can I renew it?

Once you have attained the PMP® credential, you must participate in the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program to maintain an active certification status. The PMP® certification cycle lasts three years from the date you pass the examination, during which you must attain no less than 60 professional development units (PDUs) toward credential maintenance. See the PMI PMP® Handbook for more details.

How long is the CAPM® credential valid? How can I renew it?

Once you have attained the CAPM® credential, you are certified for a period of five years. At this point you can either retake the CAPM® exam or, if you are eligible, apply for any other PMI credential. See the PMI CAPM® Handbook for more details.

How does PMI check my information?

All applications could be subject to an audit, although only a percentage of applications are selected for audit. During an audit, you will be asked to submit supporting documentation such as:

http://www.pmi.org/


Copies of your diploma/global equivalent

Signatures from your supervisor(s) or manager(s) validating the experience verification section of the application

Copies of certificates and/or letters from the training institute(s) for each course documented on the application to meet the required contact hours of project management education

The selection of an application for audit is random. PMI generally does not contact your references directly, but asks you to get the audit papers signed by them and returned to PMI.

Should I become a member of PMI?

Membership with PMI is optional. It does not have any influence on the certification procedure. However, please note that members receive discounts on certification exams and renewals (approximately the annual membership fee). Among the benefits are electronic access to PMI publications (PMBOK Guide® in several languages) and global standards, networking options with our chapters and online communities of practice, and leadership and volunteer opportunities, as well as our professional development offerings. If you would like to become a member, please visit www.pmi.org before registering for the exam. Member exam fees are priced lower than non-member fees. Membership is directly payable by credit card to PMI during the registration process.

To whom and when will I pay the PMP® / CAPM® certification exam fee?

When you apply for the CAPM® / PMP® exam and your application has been accepted, you will receive an invitation to pay PMI directly by credit card.

How do you document your experience for the PMP® Application?

The experience you document is PROJECT MANAGEMENT experience. I.e. something like this (this is an example only): Project 1: from Jan 2010 to Dec 2012 Project Name: Implementation of xxxxxyyyyy Role: Project Manager (or Project Leader) Hours Initiating: 200; Planning: 800; Executing: 1000; Monitoring: 200; Closing 200 Total Project hours: 2,400 Description (you only have room for 550 CHARACTERS per project... basically a paragraph) The objective was to increase productivity by 20%. In my role I led and directed a team of 4 team members. My tasks included: Initiation: assisted in the project charter development and completed stakeholder analysis; Planning: developed the scope, created the schedule, created the communications plan, updated the overall plan; Execution: I led the team, conducted team meetings, updated the schedule and distributed

http://www.pmi.org/


project reports; Control: I measured progress and developed status reports and managed changes; Closing: I collected lessons learned and managed the transition. Tip: don't document your engineering work, design work, programming time, testing or inspections, etc. --- these are not project management tasks.

What are some sample PMP® style questions?

Question 1.

To date, the project has been performing according to plan to date and you have determined that you need to

evaluate various options for contracting out the work and plan to subcontract some of the work from your

project. Hence, you have determined the technical criteria to evaluate the sellers.

This is an example of:

A. Objective evaluation criteria

B. Source selection criteria

C. Statement of work

D. Work breakdown structure

Question 2.

Your sponsor has asked you to use payback period as a selection criterion to select amongst 5 competing

projects. You are assisting the senior executives in the project selection process and in assessing the business

case to make a determination on which of the projects the organization should charter. You have 5 years’

experience with financial methods. You want to make the most appropriate recommendation with respect to

which of the 5 competing projects to recommend. All of the following statements related to payback period are

correct EXCEPT:

A. Payback period is the number of years required to get back the initial investment in the project.

B. Payback period takes the discount rate into account to determine the best possible option.

C. Payback period is a project selection criterion widely used in conjunction with NPV and IRR to

determine the most suitable project.

D. The initial investment in the project will not impact the selection criteria when payback period is used

for project selection.

Question 3.

In your very high pressure and competitive environment, a project has been assigned to you. The project charter

had included your responsibilities for the management of the project and the NPV of the project is $6Million. The

risk calculations show that there is a risk of overrunning the project scope and schedule targets to levels that are


beyond the threshold limits determined in the project. To bring the level of risk to a level acceptable to your

organization, you should:

A. Consider using contingency reserves

B. Decrease the project scope and increase the project schedule

C. Talk with your sponsor about canceling the project

D. Do additional risk response planning

Question 4.

The company wants you to develop specialized state of the art software for payments. You are ready to start

activity definition steps. You have identified the scope statement, the WBS, and talked with some subject matter

experts. In addition you’ve requested that the company purchase the necessary software, although the software

is not yet available from the vendor. What else do you need before you begin activity definition?

A. Identify the historical information on previous projects

B. Identify the activity attributes

C. Identify the constraints and assumptions of the project

D. Identify the activities lists

Question 5.

You are managing a small project with five team members working part-time. Your team members have not

worked together in the past and are currently in the forming stage. At the beginning of every week, you orally

allocate work to all the team members. This is an example of:

A. Work Authorization System

B. Improper Planning because team members do not know in advance what needs to be done at what

time

C. Project time management

D. Project flexible time management plan

Question 6.

After joining as a temporary project manager for an ongoing project in a product design team, you are informed

by the team that certain features are being added to the deliverable which were not asked for by the customer.

In order to earn customer positive feedback and to demonstrate to the customer excellent creativity in design

and to show the willingness to add value without being asked. In this situation:

A. You are happy, because the project will exceed customer expectations and you will likely retain the

client

B. You are worried that this is going to increase the project duration and you should proceed cautiously


C. You are concerned, because the project team is gold-plating

D. You are undecided about the increase in the quality metrics of the project and need to see the status

Question 7.

The new project is very complex and this is actually your very first project manager position. The project is

comprised of teams from functional areas, experienced resources and novice team members. A total of 34

communication channels are in place and the CPI is .9 at the present time. As the project progresses, three of

the more technical team members are arguing very vigorously about work packages that they feel should be

added. What is the best method that the project manager can use to resolve this conflict?

A. Smoothing

B. Avoiding

C. Confronting

D. Compromising

Question 8.

As a proactive project manager, you have decided to help the stakeholders understand the processes and

process groups that will be used in your project. Your project has had very frequent changes and you find that

you are having to update the project management plan. As part of preparing your education session, you want

to emphasize that project performance must be monitored and measured regularly to identify variances from

the plan. All the following processes belong to monitoring and controlling EXCEPT:

A. Validate Scope

B. Control Risks

C. Perform Integrated Change Control

D. Perform Quality Assurance

Question 9.

In your project, your sponsor has asked you to begin to develop some of the functionality that was discussed in

the recent requirements workshops. The customer is getting very anxious about whether they are going to get

their system in time. You would like to discuss with the sponsor the need for defining the scope. Some of the

benefits of a well-constructed scope statement are all the following EXCEPT:

A. Provides a documented basis for making future project decisions

B. Develops common understanding of project scope among stakeholders

C. Provides knowledge of project deliverables, and objectives

D. Provides a basis for the next step of defining the activities and schedules


Question 10.

The project you are managing needs to procure some services. The project’s whole actual cost of work

performed has been $100,000 to date and you have put in place a contingency reserve fund of $8,000. The

following is the data for a CPIF project you are managing:

Target cost is $ 100,000; Actual cost is $ 80,000

Target fee is $ 20,000; Maximum fee is $ 25,000

Sharing ratio is 60:40.

What should be the final price of the contract?

A. $ 100,000

B. $ 108,000

C. $ 105,000

D. $ 92,000

For additional help and information feel free to call me directly.

Helen Hoddinott

Sr. Engagement Manager

[email protected]

905-947-8562 x226

mailto:[email protected]


ANSWER GRID to PMP Sample Questions

Question 1 - Answer: B

Question 2 - Answer: B

Question 3 - Answer: D

Question 4 - Answer: A

Question 5 - Answer: A

Question 6 - Answer: C


Question 8 - Answer: D

Questions 9 - Answer: D


"PMP is a registered certification mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc." "CAPM is a registered certification mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc."

"PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.”

Documents

PMP / CAPM Guide - Bay3000 · PDF fileBay3000 Consulting Inc. 3 Frequently asked Questions Who can take the PMP® exam? Project managers who have a minimum of 3 years/36 months unique