Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
PMP eligibility check against your project history
PMI sets a minimum number of months spent leading projects, counted within a recent window and different for degree holders and those without a degree, plus 35 contact hours of project management education. Checking your own history against the current handbook before spending money tells you whether to apply now, in six months, or to sit a different credential first.
First tasks
- Download the current PMP certification handbook from the PMI website
- Note the experience months and lookback window for your education level
- List every project you led or directed inside that window with start and end months
- Write your eligibility verdict and the month you could apply
Exam content outline and PMI handbook folder
PMI writes the exam from its Examination Content Outline, not from any one book, and it revises that outline every few years. A single folder with the current outline, the handbook and the PMI pages on fees, scheduling and policies, all dated, means every later study choice is checked against the source rather than a forum post.
First tasks
- Download the current PMP Examination Content Outline and note its effective date
- Copy the domain names and their task lists onto one summary page
- Write down current exam fees, retake limits and rescheduling rules from PMI
- Check the PMI site for a revised exam content outline @recurring(quarterly)
Qualifying project experience inventory
The application asks for each project's dates, your role, the organisation, a contact who can confirm it and a description of what you did. Building a full inventory first, from old CVs, calendars and performance reviews, finds the months you forgot and shows where the contact for an old project has moved on.
First tasks
- Pull project names and dates from old CVs, calendars and appraisals
- Enter each project with start month, end month, organisation and role
- Mark overlapping months and recalculate the non-overlapping total
- Find current contact details for the person who can confirm each project
