Daunted by the PMP Exam? Use a Big Picture Roadmap and Small Chunks to Tackle it with Confidence
(The PMP Exam® can seem like a big scary monster, but it is worth pursuing.)
Value
The PMP credential is valued by hiring managers for a reason. It is not a “Certification-Mill” produced certificate that is easy to get and issued for just attending a class or passing a trivial exam. You have to understand the concepts involved and show you know how to apply them. This makes it more challenging to master but also more worthwhile.
Salary surveys (including PMI’s New 12th Edition Report) indicate project managers with a PMP credential earn, on average, 16% more than those without the certification. So, if you are serious about a career as a project manager, getting your PMP credential is well worth the effort – even if it might seem a daunting task. Fortunately, we can use neuroscience to study smarter.
An Achievable Action Plan
Use a “Big and Small” approach. The solution is to combine a single big-pi.jpgcture view of the entire syllabus with tackling the topics in small, micro-learning modules.
The Big Picture View
By maintaining a single-page, whole-scope view of the PMP® exam topics, we see the entire landscape of subjects to learn. We also can track our progress against this map, filling in or ticking off topics as we master them. Just like tracking project scope and outcomes, we need a game plan and scoreboard.
Books and training courses contain large quantities of information. Unfortunately, we do not learn in large batches. Instead, we learn incrementally one idea at a time. A structured learning unit consists of information review, application, and then assessment.
(Study needs regular application and assessment to make it stick)
We can try reading books a few pages at a time or watching videos for 30 minutes per day, but unless the content is structured correctly, with regular application and assessments, we will be overwhelmed with information that we do not solidify.
The solution is micro-lessons that combine the content with explanations of its application in real-world scenarios and self-assessment quizzes to confirm understanding. If you answer the quiz questions correctly, you are ready to move on. If you get some wrong, then review the material again until you score them correctly.
Topics you already know go quickly, but you are assured you have tackled the full scope. Topics you struggle with will take more time and likely extra research and study, but good learning environments provide those links too.
Chart Your Own Course
Being able to choose the order of topics to study can help with comprehension and motivation. It is important to process information in a sequence that seems logical. If you believe learning about projects should start with the Business Case, then Vision and Project Plan, go in that order. If you think Team Formation, Stakeholder Engagement and Communications should come first, start there. Books and training courses that have illogical sequences can confuse or frustrate learners.
PM Illustrated
The website PM Illustrated was built on these concepts.
- Big Picture – It provides a big picture view of all the exam topics so you can see them at a glance and track your study progress
- Micro-Learning – Topics are explained in 35 modules, each with explanations of how they work in real projects and accompanied by a self-assessment quiz.
- Chart Your Own Course – Explore the content in multiple ways, based on a project timeline, work groups, or the PMP® Exam Content Outline. Go in any order and track your progress via badges earned for topics covered.
- Extra Support – Also available is a large format wall poster, and Kindle or physical books that provide additional case studies, an Agile primer and exam-taking tips.
Explore the site and content for free at www.PMIllustrated.com – the PMP exam should not be a big scary monster; with a good plan and bite-sized chunks, you can overcome it!
