One page. All concepts.
Study made simple.
Built for the way your brain actually works — not the way textbooks are written. Read once, remember always.
180
Exam Questions
3
Domains
50%
Agile / Hybrid
230
Minutes
01
The Three Exam Domains
The PMP exam tests you across three domains. Questions are scenario-based — they test judgement, not memory. You are always the PM making the best decision for your team and stakeholders.
42%
People
Leading, motivating, empowering teams. Managing conflict, negotiation, collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and servant leadership.
50%
Process
Planning, executing, monitoring and controlling work. Risk, scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, procurement, communication.
8%
Business Environment
Connecting project work to organisational strategy. Benefits realisation, compliance, organisational change, and delivering value.
Exam Mindset Rule #1
The exam will never ask you to fire someone first, escalate to senior management immediately, or ignore a problem. The correct answer almost always involves communicating proactively, empowering your team, and resolving issues at the lowest level first.
02
The PM Mindset Framework
50% of PMP questions test your decision-making mindset. These are the non-negotiable mental models that guide every correct answer.
Servant Leader First
Your job is to remove blockers, enable your team, and facilitate — not to command and control. Always ask: “How can I support my team?”
Proactive, Not Reactive
Identify risks before they become issues. Update your risk register. Communicate early. Never wait for problems to escalate on their own.
Follow the Process
Update the project plan. Get changes approved through the CCB. Perform integrated change control. Never implement changes informally.
Resolve at Lowest Level
Try to solve conflicts directly with your team before escalating. Escalation is a last resort — not a first response.
Communicate Everything
When in doubt, the answer is to communicate. Inform stakeholders, update the plan, document lessons learned, and be transparent about project status.
Value Delivery Focus
Every decision is evaluated against: does this deliver value to the customer and align with business strategy? That is the ultimate measure of project success.
Inspect & Adapt
In agile contexts, you embrace change. Retrospectives, sprint reviews, and continuous improvement are not optional — they are how the team gets better.
Ethical Always
Honesty, transparency, fairness, and respect — always. If an answer choice involves hiding information or being dishonest, it is wrong.
03
Essential Formulas — EVM & More
Earned Value Management (EVM) is the most heavily tested quantitative area. Know these formulas cold — understand what each number tells you about your project’s health.
| Acronym | Name | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| PV | Planned Value | Planned work × Budget Rate | What the work should have cost by today |
| EV | Earned Value | % Complete × BAC | Budgeted value of the work actually done |
| AC | Actual Cost | Actual spend | What you actually spent to do the work |
| CV | Cost Variance | EV − AC | Negative = over budget |
| SV | Schedule Variance | EV − PV | Negative = behind schedule |
| CPI | Cost Performance Index | EV ÷ AC | <1 = over budget; >1 = under budget |
| SPI | Schedule Performance Index | EV ÷ PV | <1 = behind; >1 = ahead of schedule |
| EAC | Estimate at Completion | BAC ÷ CPI | Forecast total cost based on current performance |
| ETC | Estimate to Complete | EAC − AC | Remaining cost needed to finish |
| VAC | Variance at Completion | BAC − EAC | Negative = project will go over budget at end |
| TCPI | To-Complete Performance Index | (BAC − EV) ÷ (BAC − AC) | Efficiency needed to meet budget target |
| PERT | 3-Point Estimate | (O + 4M + P) ÷ 6 | Weighted average of Optimistic, Most Likely, Pessimistic |
| Comm. Channels | Communication Channels | n(n−1) ÷ 2 | More team members = exponentially more channels |
| Float | Total Float / Slack | LS − ES or LF − EF | How long a task can delay without delaying the project |
Memory Trick
EV is always in the middle. CV = EV − AC (Cost: did we earn vs what we spent). SV = EV − PV (Schedule: did we earn vs what we planned). Performance indexes divide EV by the other value. Negative variances are bad. Index below 1.0 is bad.
04
Agile vs Predictive — Know Both
The PMP exam is ~50% agile/hybrid. You must be fluent in both worlds and know when to apply each approach — or combine them in a hybrid model.
🔁 Agile / Scrum
- Work delivered in short iterations (sprints, typically 2 weeks)
- Scope is flexible — requirements evolve with customer feedback
- Product Backlog managed by Product Owner; refined continuously
- Daily standup: What did I do? What will I do? Any blockers?
- Sprint Review: demo working product to stakeholders
- Sprint Retrospective: how can the team improve its process?
- Scrum Master is a servant leader who removes impediments
- Velocity measures how much work a team completes per sprint
- Definition of Done: shared team agreement on “complete”
- Embrace change — change is a competitive advantage
📐 Predictive / Waterfall
- Work planned upfront in phases: Initiate → Plan → Execute → Close
- Scope is defined and baselined; changes go through CCB
- WBS breaks scope into manageable deliverables
- Critical Path Method (CPM) identifies longest path = project duration
- Baseline: scope, schedule, and cost baselines set early
- Change Control: all changes formally evaluated and approved
- Lessons learned documented at project close
- Project Manager actively manages all constraints
- Suitable for well-defined, stable requirements
- Risk Register updated throughout; responses planned upfront
⚡ Hybrid Approach — When to Use What
Use Agile when:Requirements are unclear or evolving; frequent customer feedback needed; team is self-organising and cross-functional.
Use Predictive when:Requirements are stable and well-defined; regulatory/compliance constraints exist; fixed price contract or fixed deadline.
Use Hybrid when:Part of scope is known, part is uncertain. Core infrastructure predictive; features/UX agile. Best of both worlds.
05
Process Groups & Knowledge Areas
PMBOK 6 organises project management into 5 process groups and 10 knowledge areas. These are the building blocks — understanding the flow helps you answer “what should the PM do next?” questions.
🚀 Initiating
→
📋 Planning
→
⚙️ Executing
⇄
📊 Monitoring & Controlling
→
✅ Closing
Initiating
- Develop Project Charter
- Identify Stakeholders
- Authorise the project
- Assign Project Manager
Planning
- Develop Project Mgmt Plan
- Define/Collect Requirements
- Create WBS
- Develop Schedule & Budget
- Plan Risk, Quality, Comms
Executing
- Direct & Manage Project Work
- Manage Quality
- Acquire / Develop Team
- Manage Stakeholder Engagement
- Conduct Procurements
Monitor & Control
- Monitor Project Work
- Perform Integrated Change Control
- Validate / Control Scope
- Control Schedule & Costs
- Monitor Risks & Comms
Closing
- Close Project or Phase
- Document Lessons Learned
- Release Resources
- Final Stakeholder Sign-off
The 10 Knowledge Areas (PMBOK 6)
Integration
Scope
Schedule
Cost
Quality
Resource
Communications
Risk
Procurement
Stakeholder
Integration is the most important — it ties all other areas together. The Project Manager is the integration point. Everything flows through the Project Management Plan.
06
High-Value Concept Summaries
📌 Critical Path Method (CPM)
The longest path through the network diagram. Zero float = critical path. Delay any critical path task = delay the project. Tasks with float can slip without delaying the end date. Fast-tracking runs tasks in parallel. Crashing adds resources to critical path tasks.
🔄 Change Control Process
1) Change request submitted → 2) CCB evaluates impact on scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk → 3) Approved or rejected → 4) Project plan updated → 5) Team notified. Never implement a change without approval. Gold plating (adding unrequested features) is always wrong.
⚠️ Risk Management Flow
Identify → Qualitative Analysis (probability × impact) → Quantitative Analysis (EMV, Monte Carlo) → Plan Responses → Implement Responses → Monitor. Positive risks = opportunities; exploit, share, enhance, or accept. Negative risks = threats; avoid, transfer, mitigate, or accept.
👥 Conflict Resolution (Preferred Order)
1. Collaborating/Problem-solving — best, win-win. 2. Compromising — both give up something. 3. Smoothing/Accommodating — temporary. 4. Forcing — win-lose, last resort. 5. Withdrawing/Avoiding — worst. Exam almost always prefers collaborating.
📊 Power/Interest Grid
Stakeholder management tool. High power + high interest = Manage Closely. High power + low interest = Keep Satisfied. Low power + high interest = Keep Informed. Low power + low interest = Monitor. Always identify stakeholders early — the charter triggers this.
🏗️ Project Charter vs Project Plan
Charter: authorises the project, names the PM, gives high-level info. Signed by the sponsor. The PM doesn’t sign it — the PM helps create it. Project Management Plan: detailed, created during planning, covers all knowledge areas. It’s a living document.
💡 Motivation Theories
Maslow: Physiological → Safety → Social → Esteem → Self-actualisation. Herzberg: Hygiene factors prevent dissatisfaction; Motivators drive satisfaction. McGregor: Theory X (people dislike work) vs Theory Y (people are self-motivated). Ouchi: Theory Z — focus on loyalty and long-term employment.
📦 Procurement Types
FFP (Fixed Price): Seller bears cost risk. Buyer knows exact price. T&M: Shared risk, used for uncertain scope. CPFF/CPIF: Buyer bears most risk. Seller reimbursed + fee. Exam tip: fixed price contracts incentivise the seller to be efficient. Cost-plus contracts require more oversight.
07
PMI Code of Ethics
The PMI Code of Ethics governs how PMP-certified professionals must behave. These four values appear directly in exam questions — especially in difficult situational scenarios.
Ethics Exam Tip
If you discover someone is behaving unethically — a sponsor accepting gifts, a vendor being dishonest, a team member falsifying data — always report it through proper channels. Ignoring it, covering it up, or waiting to see what happens are never correct answers on the PMP exam.
08
Quick-Fire Answer Rules
When you’re unsure on a question, these decision rules eliminate wrong answers fast. Internalise these and they’ll save you on dozens of questions.
If conflict on the team →
First try to resolve it directly (collaborate). Only escalate if all direct attempts have failed.
If scope change requested →
Evaluate impact first, then submit a change request, then get CCB approval. Never just do it.
If project is behind schedule →
Analyse the root cause first. Update the schedule. Inform stakeholders. Consider crashing or fast-tracking.
If stakeholder is unhappy →
Meet with them to understand concerns. Do not ignore. Do not go to senior management first without trying direct resolution.
If you see unethical behaviour →
Always report it. Ignoring or participating in unethical activity is never correct — regardless of who is doing it.
In agile, if requirement changes →
Add it to the product backlog. Let the Product Owner prioritise it. Embrace the change — don’t resist it.
If asked “what should you do FIRST?” →
Always gather information / assess the situation before taking action. Understanding comes before doing.
If two answers seem right →
Choose the one that is most proactive, most communicative, and most in line with the PM as servant leader.