It will take a combination of three types of skills to successfully prepare yourself for the PMP (Project Management Professional) certification exam: technical skills, leadership skills, and business skills. The exam requires a demonstration of how you can apply these skills in an actual project environment rather than simply knowing the theoretical aspects of them.
Skills Studied in Preparation for the PMP Certification Exam
1. Deep Project Management Knowledge
A good base knowledge of project management concepts inclusive of the project life cycle, process groups, and knowledge areas such as scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, procurement, and stakeholder management is essential.
2. People/Leadership Skills
Team management and leadership skills are a heavy part of the PMP exam. In addition to the above-listed types of skills, you need to be proficient in the following areas as well: conflict resolution, communication, motivation, stakeholder engagement, and servant-leadership.
3. Agile and Hybrid Methodologies Knowledge
You need to understand Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and their hybrids. In addition, you need to know when to apply predictive versus adaptive methods based upon the project situation.
4. Business and Strategic Thinking
Your business and strategic thinking abilities will be assessed through the exam in areas such as aligning projects to organizational objectives, supplying business value, managing benefits, and supporting change management.
5. Situational Analysis and Effective Decision Making
The exam will contain multiple questions that will require you to analyze situational questions, determine an appropriate course of action, and apply PMI's philosophy and best practices.
6. Time Management and Exam Strategy
You must be proficient in managing your time during the exam. You should also understand how to analyze, recognize question patterns, and properly eliminate answer alternatives.
In Summary
To pass the PMP Exam, you will need hands-on experience in managing projects, have a solid PMI attitude, show leader-type skills and have been exposed to both Agile and Business Strategy. It's about how you think as a Project Manager, not only what you have memorized as definitions.