Exam content & outline

Use the current Exam Content Outline as your checklist. It describes the knowledge and tasks tested; the exam is not simply a test of one textbook.

• 150 questions in 180 minutes.
• 135 scored questions and 15 unscored pretest questions.
• Available at a Pearson VUE testing center or through online proctoring.

Understand projects, programs, portfolios, and how a project differs from ongoing operations. Learn project life cycles, planning, roles, responsibilities, and common problem-solving techniques.

• Distinguish risks, issues, assumptions, and constraints.
• Understand scope, schedules, costs, quality, and resources.
• Recognize the roles of a project manager, sponsor, and team.

Learn when a planned, sequential approach is appropriate and how project work is organized, scheduled, and controlled.

• Understand work breakdown structures and work packages.
• Apply critical path methods.
• Understand cost and schedule variances and project controls.

Understand approaches that allow teams to adapt as needs change. Compare adaptive and predictive projects, and learn how teams plan, prioritize, and track iterative work.

• Recognize the components of Scrum, Kanban, and other adaptive methods.
• Understand iteration planning and adaptive project tracking.
• Identify how teams prioritize tasks and evaluate success.

Learn how teams understand business needs, communicate with stakeholders, gather requirements, and confirm that a delivered product meets those requirements.

• Understand business analysis roles and communication.
• Choose ways to gather and document requirements.
• Understand acceptance criteria and delivery readiness.

Do not treat a practice-test percentage as an official passing score or a guarantee. Use your results to find topics that need more work, and consult PMI for current scoring policies.