PMP Exam is changing in January, 2021
What do I need to do?
Important Edit:
Due to business impact of Coronavirus issue, PMI is postponed the changes until 2nd January, 2021. The changes which is described here will be now come into effect on 2nd January, 2021.
Background:
Every 4 years PMI conducts a survey to understand current and emerging trends in Project Management and how responsibilities of project managers are changing. Based on this survey, PMI updates its PMP Exam Content Outline (ECO). PMP Exam Content Outline is the primary reference to prepare questions for PMP Certification Exam. Every time this survey is done, PMP Exam Content Outline (ECO) is updated. As a result, PMP Exam is retrofitted to comply with updated PMP ECO.
What is changing in PMP Exam effective 2nd January, 2021?
Another such survey was conducted recently in 2019. Survey is completed and PMI has come out with its new PMP Exam Content Outline in June, 2019. New ECO suggested categorization of tasks under project management (activities a project manager is expected to perform) in three domains – People, Process and Business Environment. This is a significant deviation (you can say it a paradigm change) from all previous ECOs published so far until 2015 (since inception until 2015) which categorized the tasks in 5 domains – Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring & Control and Closure.
What does ‘PMP Exam is changing’ really mean?
The new PMP Exam Content Outline published in June, 2019 is appearing aligned with PMI Talent Triangle™ which advocates for three primary skills for a project manager – Technical Project Management, Leadership and Strategic & Business Management. Leadership maps to People domain, Technical Project Management maps to Process domain and Strategic & Business Management maps to Business Environment domains defined in PMP Exam Content Outline 2019. Because PMP Certification Exam is based on Exam Content Outline, the distribution of PMP Certification Exam Questions will changes.
How will this impact?
PMP Exam is changing! How will this change impact the exam and you? This change will impact distribution of the questions appear on PMP Certification Exam. Questions of PMP Exam will be categorized in three domains suggested by new PMP ECO i.e. People, Process and Business Environment. Let’s look at the difference between current (until 1st Janury, 2021) and new (after 2nd January, 2021) categorization of PMP Certification Exam.
Current distribution of PMP Exam questions (until 1st January, 2021)
| S. No. | Domain | Distribution of questions on PMP Exam |
| 1 | Initiation | 13% |
| 2 | Planning | 24% |
| 3 | Execution | 31% |
| 4 | Monitoring and Control | 25% |
| 5 | Closure | 7% |
| Total | 100% |
New distribution of PMP Exam questions (Effective from 2nd January, 2021)
| S. No. | Domain | Distribution of questions on PMP Exam |
| 1 | People | 42% |
| 2 | Process | 50% |
| 3 | Business Environment | 08% |
| Total | 100% |
After this changes come into effect from 2nd January 2021, 42% questions on PMP Exam will be related to people, 50% questions will test process knowledge of the candidates and 8% questions will check candidate’s awareness about business environment.
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Besides this change in question distribution pattern, there will be a lot of focus on project life cycle also. The new PMP ECO also focus on Agile and Hybrid project life cycles. 50% questions will still be on Predictive Project Life Cycle but other 50% questions will be on Agile and Hybrid Project Life Cycle. This distribution is not specific to any domain but will be spread across all three domains.
What do I need to do?
As soon as a PMP aspirant hear that PMP Certification Exam is changing, this is the first question comes on his mind. My analysis of this change is that it will not impact the way questions being asked on the PMP Exam. Checking the conceptual and philosophical knowledge of the candidate will remain same. You should expect similar situational questions even after 1st January, 2021.
The version of PMBOK® Guide will remain same i.e. 6th Edition which is the main reference book for project management knowledge to frame questions. This means, the scope of the questions for subject knowledge will remain the same.
The questions distribution pattern will change. Instead of questions being categorized in Initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control & closure, they will be categorized in people, process and business environment. My analysis is that the general distribution of questions even now is more or less same. It may not be that strict to people, process and business but post 1st January, 2021, the questions will strictly be distributed as per EOC i.e. 42% – people, 50% – process and 8% business environment.
More focus on Agile and Hybrid life cycle, will increase number of questions on Agile and Hybrid life cycles and reduce number of questions on predictive life cycle. Though NEW ECO talks about more focus on Agile and Hybrid but there is no mention whether Agile Practice Guide will be referred or not. It is not clear whether new questions on Agile/Hybrid will come from Agile Practice Guide or PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition only. Though PMI always said that PMP Exam is not only on PMBOK Guide but they mentioning it more prominently that PMP Exam will refer other books also. Looks like fair possibility of referring Agile Practice Guide. This uncertainty will remain until we get a clarification from PMI or some people give PMP Exam.
Every change brings some kind of uncertainty. The uncertainty level in this change is high as there is a paradigm change (from initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & control and closure to process, people and business environment) and second bringing more focus on Agile/Hybrid cycle. Therefore to be on safer side, it is a good idea to clear the PMP Certification Exam before 1st January, 2021. It is any way a good idea to clear the exam ASAP once you decide to go for it.
As there are still couple of months to go for this changes to come into effect, let’s continue focus on to clear the PMP Exam before 1st January, 2021. In few months as we approach the change date, I will publish another article explaining what different you need to study to pass the PMP Exam after 1st January, 2021 with flying colors.