What is a Project Management Professional (PMP)
On this website we will describe what the PMP is, and what are the requirements to become PMP. We have already mentoned the PMP term several times in here, however we haven't actually explained who or what the PMP is. So what is a Project Management Professional (PMP)?

Basically a PMP is a person, a project management practitioner who:
  • has approved and had possibility to demonstrate a professional level of project management knowledge and experience by taking part in projects and / or supporting projects using project management tools, utilities, methodologies and of course techniques
  • has spent at least 4,500 hours conducting projets in a project manager role
  • has taken part and completed at least 35 hours of formal project management training
  • has managed to pass a computer-based exam administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI)
The exam has the following characteristics:
  • The PMP Exam assesses the knowledge and application of globally accepted project management ideas, concepts, techniques, procedures and methodologies
  • Addresses the six performance domains (see below) described in detail in the role delineation study (PMI, Role Delineation Study)
  • Addresses the 9 knowledge areas and the 5 different process groups. All of them are described in detail in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide
  • The exam contains of 200 multiple choice questions
  • It also includes 25 questions that are 'preexam' questions being field-tested by PMI that do not affect grading
  • It requires 143 correct answers to get a passing grade, which is 81.7% of the 175 questions that count toward the grade
  • Takes maximum up to 4 hours. In practice people say they had probles to finish all the questions on time
Performance Domain% of exam# of questions
1. Initiating11.6%20
2. Planning22.7%40
3. Executing27.5%48
4. Monitoring & Controlling21.0%37
5. Closing8.6%15
6. Professional Responsibility8.6%15