My PMI-SP study journey and exam experience

1. Abstract

Project management and scheduling professionals who wish to obtain this elite certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) may find this article useful.

PMI-SP can be a game changer for schedulers, project managers, and PMOs.

It is worth to mention that the exam level will undoubtedly vary to you based on multiple key factors: experience in scheduling, having other certifications from PMI with a long journey in attempting PMI exams, years of experience in project management and scheduling, etc..

I would judge the exam level as moderately challenging and possibly requiring some concentration.

2. My study plan:

• The first step towards passing the exam was for me to register on the PM Tricks website.
• I read the standard for scheduling professional one time only.
• I quickly skimmed through the following chapters in the PM book: risk management, communication and stakeholders management, time management (in-depth), and cost management.
• I went through the ECO for PMI-SP at least thirty times, paying particular attention to the schedule development and schedule closeout domains, which need to be comprehended and retained sequentially.
• I did not attempt many PMI-SP exam banks as the study material for this certification are somehow scarce.
• The exam will assess your experience as a scheduler rather than a project manager, hence keep this rule in mind because all the scenario questions which make up over 60% of the exam questions are based on this criterion.
• It surprised me that despite having over 15 years of experience in scheduling and project management, my application was turned down twice before being accepted on the third attempt. This is peculiar because in my four previous certifications, I have never had a PMI application denied. The lesson here is to make sure your application is well-built and satisfies the standards before submitting it formally.
• My overall study plan tentatively took one and half month, with an average of 1-2 hours study per day (did not study everyday).

3. Exam experience:

• My expectation was that the exam would be considerably easy, this is based on my conversations with multiple PMI-SP certified professionals who recently passed the exam. However, I was aback to find that it was somewhat challenging and demanded a deep comprehension of the scheduling professional standard and even beyond.
• I finished the exam seventy minutes ahead of schedule, which is a pretty reasonable ratio between exam length (240 min) and the number of questions (170 Q's).
• I did not take any break during the exam duration.
• I did not spend much time responding to few questions that were difficult in one way or another (big question, four to five lines long, with long-looking similar options). I often respond to all of the tedious and perplexing questions with my best estimate or educated guess. Don't freak out if you see queries like these. Remember that the exam score does not take into account the correct or incorrect answers to 20 out of 170 questions. This does not, however, imply that the scoring system will not evaluate these specific questions.
• I encountered many questions on Earned Value Management, you need to memorize and understand all the formulas.
• At least 4-6 network diagram questions asking about the critical path, what will happen to the project duration if a new activity is added, duration of near critical path, finding the free float of activities, etc.. I do not recommend going to the exam unless you have a solid understanding on network diagrams, eventually the exam is very practical and not theoretical. Hence, skipping the network diagram questions as many do, does not make you a real scheduling professional.
• There were many straight forward questions on the exam (1 line with short answers testing your basic knowledge), these will surely help you to earn some points on a condition that you have read the SP standard and the ECO.
• Many questions on changes in the schedule, change requests, escalations, and risk management, what should you do as NEXT step. Keep in mind that you must respond to the questions from the standpoint of a "scheduler," not the "project manager."
• At least 10-15 situational questions on what to do if you encounter project delays, if the board approved a change request (what should you do next), what documents you update after a change is approved, archiving lessons learned and updating the organizational process assets.
• More than 5-8 questions on critical chain method with the type of buffers.
• At least 5 questions on the type of reports and who receives what and when.
• 4-6 questions on communication channels and the audience for your reports.
• All ITTO's of time management are very important, expect not less than 4 questions on this, even if not straightforward.
• There were 8-10 lengthy questions with distracting options, you should not worry if you see these hitting your screen one after the other, hence just stay focused.
• The framing of the questions was very good, the exam timing gives a fair distribution for a combination between long questions (3-4 liners) and short questions (1-2 liners).
• Take great care when reading each and every question. Don't rely on the notion that says you should only read the last statement when a question is lengthy; on the SP exam, this won't work because every word in the question could be important in determining the right answer.
• Since you will encounter certain frameworks and concepts on numerous questions, having a thorough understanding of them is essential, this includes the following but not limited to: Hammock, LOE, Critical Path, Negative float, Lead and Lag, Agile (have seen this many times), Schedule model and Schedule model Instance, Rolling Wave planning (have seen many times), Crashing, Fast Tracking, Schedule Compression, WBS and WBS dictionary, Resource levelling (have seen minimum 6-8 times on questions), Monte Carlo simulation, Standard deviation, PERT formula, # of communication channels formula, EVM management formulas, Productivity and Availability, Resource loaded Schedule, GERT, Project Charter, Out of Sequence, Tornado diagram and Sensitivity analysis, Risk P x I with the mitigation plan, Control chart, Salience model, RBS, Resource Histograms (many questions on that piece), Resource Calendars, S-curves, Performance Measurement Baseline, Bar charts, Gantt charts, Presentations, Forensic analysis, all type of estimates (analogous, 3 Point, PERT, Bottom up, parametric), etc..
• I was very confident I would pass the exam before it concluded, but to be honest, I didn't anticipate receiving such a great score and exceeding my targets in every domain.
• Ultimately, I think the exam is MODERATE in terms of complexity; you should be able to pass it if you prepare well.

I urge all professionals who see the worth of PMI certifications to add this credential to their profile, particularly those who meet the eligibility, skill, and experience requirements.

4. Value of PMI certification:

All the PMI certifications that I have attained were my gateway to elevate my career in project management. These credentials did not only validate my experience but also equipped me with the skills to navigate complex project management challenges. Whether you are a seasoned professional or a rising star, PMI opens doors to new opportunities and career growth.

Do professional certifications merit the investment of time and funds required to obtain them?

Certainly, if they are affiliated with institutes like PMI. There are many training organizations that award credentials simply for enrolling in a course. Usually, these are no more significant than the prize inside a Cracker Jack box. In contrast, PMI is very strict about requiring applicants to have some experience before allowing them to take the four-hour, one hundred and seventy question exam. And just to make sure the applicant is not fluffing up his/her application, PMI has the option of auditing you to ensure that you have done what you are claiming in your application.