PMP exam is changing: Here’s all you need to know

The Project Management Institute (PMI) says the Project Management Professionals (PMP) certification examinations will change come July 2020. The PMI says the change is due to important findings from their periodical research.

Following a report on the PMI’s website, the body conducts an important field research every three to five years. PMI relies on this periodical research to keep the PMP certification relevant in the real world.

During this research, PMI tests for three factors

How the project management profession has progressed,
The impact of emerging trends on the project management profession, and
Changes in project managers’ responsibilities

The current PMP certification is based on similar research they’d conducted back in the year 2015. But based on recent findings, PMI is altering the PMP certification examinations again.

In this article, you’ll discover how best to respond to these changes right now! Let’s get to it.

PMP® exam 2019 is changing

Is The PMBOK® Guide changing?

If you plan on taking the PMP exam on or before 30 June 2020:

Continue your studies without changing anything.
Use the current PMP Exam Content Outline (published in 2015) as your general guide to the exam.
Study using the PMBOK® Guide Sixth Edition
Try to schedule your exam no later than 30 April 2020 so that you can avoid the 'mad rush' expected for May and June. Since everyone wants to take the exam before the change.
Scheduling your exam before May 2020 also gives you an additional two months to take it again in case you don't pass at first.

If you plan on taking the PMP exam on or after 1 July 2020:

Download the new PMP Exam Content Outline (June 2019) and study it from cover to cover so you understand the topics you will be asked about on the new exam.
Continue your studies using the PMBOK® Guide Sixth Edition. It is still valid.
Study The Agile Practice Guide and learn about agile approaches.
Find out how and when you will be given access to any additional training materials they provide.
Prepare for your PMP exams using the updated materials.
Schedule your exam on or after 1 July 2020

About The Author

Mr. Sanjeeva Nagmoti is a graduate in Civil Engineering with PMP certification. He carries 22 years of extensive professional experience from global organizations like Ericsson, Huawei, and Airtel in multiple domains, mainly from Telecom and Construction. He is a content writer, PMP trainer, and mentor in project management. He has experience in managing project both on real as well as virtual platforms. During leisure, he likes listening to music and play chess/cricket.