In the science and engineering industry, seeing a “PE”, “LG”, “PMP”, or other initials behind someone’s name shows that person went through years of work experience that culminated in a substantial test to confirm the right to practice their area of technical expertise. Many go through this licensing journey but few outside that group know what the process is really like.
We’re telling those stories here. Aspect’s professionals are writing a series of articles that capture the trials and successes of studying for and receiving these career-defining milestones.
James Packman, Project Management Professional (PMP)
Test taken: September 2021
Results given: About 10 seconds after completing the exam (it’s a long and nervous 10 seconds)
James hiking in the Enchantments
Tell us a little about the PMP program. How long does it take?
To qualify to take the PMP exam, one must have 36 months of experience leading projects (60 months if no 4-year college degree) and take a 35-hour prep course. There are many companies that offer PMP prep courses; I chose to take it from Project Management Academy (PMA). The course was live online over 2 weeks. The PMA prep course costs a little more than some other vendors, but they have good online resources, which I used extensively for independent study after the prep course.
After the prep course, I studied for about 4 months before I was ready to take the exam. This was longer than I anticipated partly because I had a challenging personal issue occur (the death of a close friend). I also followed PMA’s advice to keep taking practice exams until you score 80 percent or higher. But in hindsight, I found that the actual exam questions tended to be much simpler than the practice exam questions. Most of the charts, equations, and management models covered in the prep materials weren’t on my exam. Maybe this helped prepare me well, but I think I ended up over-studying.
What was the best piece of advice you got as you started the certification?
Study at least a little bit several days a week. There’s so much information to learn, it helps to build the knowledge in small pieces and reinforce it with frequent study.
What should a person gearing up to do this know about the mental, physical, and social challenges of certification?
For fellow Aspect staff who are considering PMP certification, they should know that only some of the content applies to the types of projects we do at Aspect. Skills like communication, budget management, and leadership apply to every project. But many of the technical project management skills covered in the PMP material are used more widely in other industries, such as manufacturing, software development, and construction.
In some of those other industries, Agile and related approaches, such as Lean, are widely used for managing projects. These methodologies complete work incrementally and/or iteratively from a backlog that is developed during the project. Most of the projects we do at Aspect are what are known as Predictive or Waterfall in the project management world: we scope out the entire project at the beginning and then implement it based upon an agreed budget (here’s a handy article that compares the Agile and Waterfall methodologies).
I find that the project management approach is largely dictated by our clients who often require a complete scope and cost estimate to authorize work. However, an Agile approach could be useful on some Aspect projects, especially when there are unknowns that the initial work will reveal and affect subsequent work. The incremental approach does occur at Aspect to a degree, such as environmental site assessments (Phase II ESAs occurring based on Phase I findings), and I’m using it on some data analysis tasks in the Ecology SAM Study on Stormwater Source Control that I’m leading.
A helpful, albeit intangible, take away for me was trying to adopt an Agile mindset when it makes sense for a project. Specifically, when the work lends itself to adaptive outcomes, flexibility, and the client is open to realizing project value along the way rather than just when the final report is delivered.
Anyone considering PMP certification should also know that the knowledge base is jargon-heavy (at times even pedantic), and a term in the project management world might mean something different in other realms. Sample alternate definitions in the PMP world include the terms: activity, process, risk, charter, coach, domain, quality, parametric, baseline, float, scope, and value—to name a few.
Walk us through the Big Test Day…
I registered to take the exam about a month in advance to get the date and time I wanted. The test is typically proctored at a testing center, though at-home testing was possible during the pandemic. The at-home testing was more restrictive with things like fewer breaks allowed and more complicated with verifying your home setup before the exam. So, I chose a testing center in Northgate (Seattle) that offered evening times so I didn’t have to miss work.
The testing area had about a dozen walled cubicles, each with a desktop computer. You can’t bring anything of your own into the test area: no food or drink, no pen or pencil, not even your own earplugs (they provide). You may take breaks to eat or drink in the lobby but the exam clock does not stop during breaks. The exam is closed-book and they give you a notepad to make notes during the exam, which you must turn in at the end. I was given a few 8x14 laminated sheets and some dry erase markers.
For the exam, you have up to 230 minutes to answer 180 questions, including breaks (the clock keeps ticking!). However, the exam is divided into three segments of 60 questions each, and you have to close out each segment before moving onto the next one. The goal is to answer each question as there is no advantage to leaving questions blank (blank = wrong). So, the exam is effectively three 60-question exams back-to-back and thus requires good time management.
Another good piece of advice I was given is to do a brain dump onto the notes pages as soon as you start the exam. For me, the brain dump was formulas, definitions, and reminders about how to estimate activity durations, calculate earned value, budget forecasting, and the differences among the many types of charts and their associated uses.
How did you feel when you got the results?
Big relief! As soon as you complete the last 60-question segment, there is a pregnant pause, and a moment later it reveals your result. The exam is pass/fail only and you don’t get a numeric score or know which questions you got right or wrong. The result given just as below target, on target, or above target. I was grateful to pass on my first attempt with an “above target” score in all domain areas!
What advice do you have for people looking to get their PMP?
My advice is to give yourself enough time to study (weeks or months depending on your schedule) and for the 35-hour prep course, which is given over 1 or more weeks depending on how it’s taught. Also, be open to learning the concepts as the project management world understands them, some of which may be different than you’ve experienced so far as a project manager.