How The PMP Certification Exam is Changing in 2021?

15-Dec-2020

The Project Management Institute (PMI) has announced that it is going to make sweeping changes to the PMP certification exam. It had already announced this in 2019 but in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it postponed the changes to the exam till 2021. It is fortunate for PMP aspirants that PMI postponed changing the exam till 2021. This will leave a lot of time for them to appraise and absorb the new changes and adjust their preparation strategy accordingly. They will also need to consult different resources for their PMP certification exam preparation than what they are using now. They will also need to reconsider the PMP certification training that they were thinking to opt for.

Now that the end of 2020 is approaching, let us take a good look at what exactly are the changes are going to be. 2021 will bring a new and transformed PMP exam and a lot of work cut out for the PMP aspirants.

Also Know The Top Qualities of a Good Project Manager

New Scope of The PMP Exam -

The new PMP exam pattern will be based on 3 major domains. This is different from the old PMP exam which used to be based on 5 major domains. The 3 new major domains are – People, Process, and Business Environment. The 5 old major domains were – Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing.

Old PMP Exam Weightage -

New PMP Exam Weightage -

Since the number of domains has reduced, the weightage is not spread across the domains as thinly as before. This means that the candidates can concentrate on fewer major areas of topics instead of having to spread their preparation time across many areas. So they can be well-rounded in a particular domain and benefit from that strong foundation much more in the new PMP exam than the old one. But it also means that if their preparation of a particular domain is weak, it will cost them that much more in the new PMP exam. So now it is even more important to seek out the right PMP certification online.

Changed Percentage of Exam Questions From Agile And Hybrid Methodologies -

There will be a large number of questions from the Agile and Hybrid methodologies present on the new PMP certification exam. This is because of the growing popularity of the Agile methodology in Business environments. The software development industry and the IT sector, in particular, are relying more and more heavily on Agile methodologies to drive their projects to successful completion.

The PMI has declared that 50% of the exam questions will be based on the Agile and Hybrid methodologies. As can be seen easily, this is an extremely high percentage and it shows how important it is for PMP aspirants to study the Agile methodology topics properly and thoroughly.

Official Preparation Materials For The PMP Exam Now Available -

Since the inception of PMP in 1984, the PMI has never endorsed any kind of study materials for the exam officially. While the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) has existed since the beginning, it has never been a comprehensive resource for the exam since many questions from outside it also appear on the exam. So the choice of a variety of study materials available in the market has always been a big source of concern for the PMP aspirants. However, with this new exam, PMI has announced that they will be releasing official course preparation materials for the exam which will match the outline and format of the exam cent percent. Now the aspirants will not have to worry about which study materials to choose out of the plethora available in the market.

Authorized Training Provider (ATP) Program -

The PMI has announced that it shall be the sole provider of a self-paced course, priced at $699. The other option that PMP aspirants have is to enroll in training from a PMI authorized training provider (ATP). This option costs much lesser money and it is clear from the high price of the self-paced course that PMI intends to prompt PMP aspirants to take its training courses from ATPs. Any instructor of PMP has to pass a Train the trainer course designed by PMI. So they will be monitoring and regulating PMP instructors much more closely now.

COVID-19 Related Changes -

• The PMP certification exam application process is now much faster, simpler, and less time-consuming.
• PMI has decided to allow candidates to take the PMP exam from the comfort of their home taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Difficult Will The New Exam Be?

We have listed the changes in the major domains that the exam will be based on. This makes the new PMP exam much more difficult than the old one. With the domain changes and the emphasis on Agile and Hybrid methodologies, it is expected that the new exam will have a much higher difficulty factor. The scenario-based questions will be much more involved and they might be more than a challenge for even experienced project managers. It will be nearly impossible to clear the exam without the right kind of online PMP certification training.

Will The PMP Certification Cost Be Higher?

The PMI is going to release a brand new official training resource at a certain price. This resource will have to be supplied to new students by the Authorized Training Providers. So each time a new student registers the ATP will have to pay a certain amount of fees to the PMI. These extra costs will be passed down to the students and so it is expected that the cost of PMP certification training courses will increase.

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