PMP Exam Changes 2020 - Delayed

Hello and welcome. In this video, we are going to discuss the PMP exam changes that's going to be coming July 1st, 2020. These changes were originally going to be implemented December 15th, 2019, but PMI has just announced that these changes are going to be pushed back by 6 months. So if you want to learn how you can get certified before these changes take place, be sure to sign up for our free class where we will break down exactly how you can pass your PMP certification in the next 6 weeks. Weeks, so be sure to sign up at www.examspm.com/free. Okay, now let's dive right into what the changes are. So I just mentioned that the changes are being moved back by 6 months, which really works in your favor so you have more time to get certified on the old version of the exam versus the new one. Now the changes coming to the exam are significant, and before we dive into the changes, let's talk about why these changes are happening. So basically about Every two years, the PMI will change the PMP exam in order to reflect the latest trends and advancements in project management. So the PMP exam content outline does change every two to three years. The last major change came in about December 2016, January 2017, and that's when the PMBOK sixth edition happened. And so the next cycle is the RDS. So what is an RDS? RDS. Stands for Road Delination Study. So every 3 to 5 years, PMI would go out and they would survey thousands of project managers in a variety of different industries to find out what they do on their daily basis, and they would try to incorporate this information along with the best practices in the PMBOK in order to create the test questions on the PMP exam. So the PMP exam is mainly a situational question exam because they want to reflect what project managers actually do on daily basis. So basically every 2 to 3 years, it's either an update in terms of the content, in terms of what they found in the industry, and then the next cycle in about another 2 to 3 years from now will be an update to the PMBOK exam. And that's kind of the cycle we've been seeing in the changes to the PMP exam. Okay, now that you have a history of how the PMP exam changes and why it changes, let's talk about what's changing in the next iteration. One of the most significant changes is the domain reclassification. Currently, the exam is based on the 5 domains that's found in the PMBOK Guide: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. This is the 5 process groups outlined in the PMBOK 6th edition. After the new exam changes take place, the PMP exam will be classified into just 3 different classifications based on what PMI has determined being the 3 most important tasks or domains that project managers do in their daily jobs, and these 3 are people, processes, and business environments. So this reclassification is a huge change because the key here is that the divide between the PMP exam and the PMBOK Guide will continue to grow, and what this means for you is that if you're just reading the PMBOK Guide and you attempt the PMP exam after, Even if you got the entire guide memorized, there is still a very high chance that you will not pass the PMP exam because the PMP exam is taking the content from the PMBOK and putting it into situational questions, and they're interpreting the best practices. You have to be able to identify the best practices and apply them into situations. I'll give you an example shortly, but first let's talk about the reclassification that's happening. So the first one is people. The people section will comprise of 42% of the exam. These questions will involve managing conflicts, leading and directing teams, negotiations, etc. Now, if you think 42% of the exam is big, it's actually not the biggest section of the exam. The process section of the exam is the biggest section, which comprises of 50% of the exam questions. So this is the biggest domain. This portion involves questions on planning and managing budgets and schedule, managing changes, communication, etc. And then the last portion is on business environment. This is the smallest section of the exam, it's about 8% of the exam questions. This portion involves questions that ensure compliance, safety and security issues, realizing project benefits, etc. Now what's unclear right now is whether PMI is just taking their current database of questions and reclassifying them based on these 3 new domains that they identified, or if they're coming up with brand new questions to test you for the PMP exam. So that's one uncertainty that PMI has not cleared up yet, but what we do have word on from PMI is that they are going to include much more agile questions onto the PMP exam. So currently, if you take the current version of the PMP exam, you may see 2 to 3 questions on agile, but after July 1st, 2020, what you'll see is that 50% of your exam questions will be on agile and hybrid project management approaches. So it's no longer optional for you to read the Agile Companion Guide that comes with the PMBOK. Currently it is an optional supplementary reading material, but after the July 1st changes come into place, it will no longer be optional. Agile is going to be a much bigger component of the PMP exam. You can almost think of the new version of the PMP exam as a hybrid between the current PMP exam plus the current PMI-ACP exam. So here are some tips to get you prepared for the changes. The biggest advice I have for you is to avoid the exam rush. So during the last update that came around January 2017, that's when the PMBOK 6th edition came out, there was a huge rush into the exam centers Everyone wanted to get exam dates before those changes happened, so there was a huge lineup to the exam room. Some people were not able to get exam dates because their local testing centers were fully booked up, and PMI doesn't give you any extensions for any reason. So just because you couldn't get a date, all the exam rooms are booked up, they're not going to give you an extension to write the old version of the exam. For any, actually any reason whatsoever. In fact, there was one student at Examspm, her exam was canceled before the PMBOK 6th Edition update happened due to a snowstorm in her city. So everyone who was supposed to write that date were not able to write that date, and that was the last date that they were able to write for the PMBOK 5th Edition exam. And even though it was a circumstance that was outside of her control, PMI still did not extend the date for her to write the PMBOK 5th Edition exam. So the July 1st deadline, when PMI says that that is the deadline, they mean it. They will not extend this deadline for any reason whatsoever, and you can expect that everyone's going to wait till the last minute, so there's going to be a huge rush in June 2020 to write the PMP exam. So the last date for you to write the PMP exam is June 30th, 2020. So if you are looking to write the current version of the exam before all of these updates that's going to come out, then be sure to book an exam in your local Pearson Exam Center months in advance so that you can make sure that you get a date. Because trust me, a month or 2 months before the changes happen, there will be a huge rush of people going to the local exam centers. Okay, now let's also address some myths. One of the popular myths is that with every update, the exam just gets tougher. This could be true or it could also not be true. These updates are not meant to make the exams more difficult. They just need to reflect the changes in the project management industry, so it's more an update to the questions in order to reflect the best practices that project managers need to know. The point of them is to not make them harder. Another myth is that people believe that with a new update to the PMP exam, most of the questions will change. What we do know is that 50% of the questions will change because 50% of the exam going forward will be based on Agile. However, we don't know if the other 50% will remain the same and if they're just going to be reclassified or all of those questions will be changed. There's no confirmation from PMI on this. Now what we do know is that there is no change to the PMBOK, edition as of right now. That's probably going to come in another 2 to 3 years. So what we do know is that there's no changes to the processes, knowledge areas, concepts, and emerging practices that you're going to be tested on. If you enjoyed this video and you want to get your PMP certification before the July 2020 updates, be sure to sign up for our free course at www.exampm.com/free where we will show you exactly the exact study plan that you need to follow in order to obtain your certification in the next 6 weeks. I can't wait to see you there. Talk soon.