TOPIC: PMP exam is such a joke and a total nonsense comparing to a real life PM

I am a project manager for 10 years,
and I have been studying PMP for about a year,
the more I study, and the more I am lost with the PMI concept and the real life project management in my company.

Why you have to study for a test, and memorize all the make up words from PMI (none of those words will be using in real life project management).
Many have said that you don't have to memorize too many words, but just need to understand the meaning of the words, and it's a joke,
because in the exam, they will test you the meaning of the words in a so called scenario question.

and
Why they have to make so many different words for a same topic:
project scope, business case, project requirement, project charter
Don't tell me how they are all different in PMI point of view!
Because they are all the same in real life.

Raidan:

"Project Management" as defined by ANSI/PMI 99-001 was created in response to US Federal Government desire to standardize project management. The US Government, perhaps the largest project-based employer in the world, wanted companies who do project-based business with the Federal Government held to a single standard. As such, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in conjunction with PMI created a the industry consensus standard, ANSI 99-001 "Standard for Project Management."

That you don't like it or you don't want to follow the standard is irrelevant to the overall discussion: If you or your company want to do project-based business with the Federal Government, you will be expected follow ANSI/PMI 99-001. It is just that simple. Period.

Furthermore, the PMP certification is a baseline: It merely indicates that (1) you have a baseline of project management experience and (2) you passed a standardized test on any given day. It means no more or less than that. PMP certification, like any other professional certification is simply a statement by the certifying organization that you have a base-level of experience and you have passed a standardized test. It does not imply, one way or the other, of how good or bad of a project manager you are.

If you don't want to take the exam because you see no value in it then my advice is, "Don't." Why waste the time, talent and treasure of studying for the exam? If your current employer (assuming you're not self-employed) is requiring it, ask them why they are requiring it.

I'm not a professional "Project Manager," but in my business I must manage projects professionally. I found that in studying for the PMP exam I can improve the projects that I do for clients, and as such, give them a better product that will be more appreciated.

Harry

Hi RaidanZ, thank you for the fresh perspective.

I see where you are coming from. Some organizations have their own PM best practice established and to some extent, sometimes they may even be conflicting with the PMP methodology.

However, I'd also like to think that every project is a team effort and great communication is the key to project success. In the case of large to mega projects where there will be tens and hundreds of professionals involved in the PM process, I think it is important for everyone in the team to have a common understanding of the same "made-up" terms.

From my own experience with the Prepcast lessons, it didn't only teach me the PMP methodology, it also taught me the mindset of a great PM. For example, having an abundance mindset and thinking globally, to having an open mind and defer judgment.

As a community moderator, my job is to help everyone understand the exam content. If you think project scope, business case, project requirement, project charter all mean the same to you, I'd like to help to distinguish the differences.

Best,
Joe

Hi Raidan,

It is something like a base to broaden your horizon. From a science student's perspective, We did calculus in maths, did lot of numerical in physics, learned chemical equations and then did engineering however, not everything worked out for us nor we are using those in our day to day. However, that doesn't mean the baseline was incorrect, Isn't?

Of course the whole aspect of PMP as a certification is nonsense, at least in the construction industry. The writer is correct in all that has been said. Getting a technical certification is way better than promoting the sale of expensive e-books and a costly certificate.

Yep agree 125% with poster. I am a senior project manager at a large company and have been there as a contract employee for years. They pay me well over $250k per year and I've had over 40 people on a project team in my tenure there and have completed over 10++ complex projects. This PMP exam and prep is an absolute joke. Of course I understand the general concepts of project management, but to pass this test I'd have to memorize the terminology, and sit for 4 hours to take a test to prove what I already know and have been doing very successfully I might add for YEARS!!

I equate this antiquated process & structure to that of memorizing how to spell a list of 50 words back in high school. Where did that get us ... ever hear of spellcheck? Well the same principal applies, I can look up ANY of the information with the touch of the button if I need it. No need to memorize any of this .... just like I don't have to know how to spell every single word in the dictionary. They need to adjust the PMP exam to be open book where all that is needed to get PMP should be an UNDERSTANDING of the concepts and not focus on the memorization.

I have been a project manager for 15 years and am disgusted with the ridiculous arbitrary artificial jargon and BS that the PMI have created. They should have stopped at PMBOK 4. I totally agree with your comment and think that the PMI have done a great disservice to project management, turning it into a joke. No one would ever accomplish a project if they created all of the artifacts and management plans and SOW's and RTMs' and WBS' and WBS Dictionary and Code of Accounts and it goes on and on to absurdity. Who are the pot smoking academic's at PMI who are trying to destroy project management?

Dear Anon:

Please see Joe Pang's and my responses from earlier in the thread. They remain valid. My continued advice is: If PMP certification is not of value to you, do not waste time treasure and talent pursuing it.

Harry

While I agree with the sentiment that PMI is making a lot of money from the test taker (because PMI is also a business), I can completely back up what Harry has mentioned about PM standards in the federal government. I have managed military projects for several years, and I found the PMP exam very relevant to much of my everyday work. Harry is right when citing that the majority of formal projects are managed inside the federal government, and thus some of these concepts may not be relevant to other fields, but it never hurts to have a different perspective. If you believe that the PMP exam is irrelevant to your field, or if obtaining the certification is of no real value to you or your profession, then I encourage you to spend the time and money doing something else. I would also encourage you to refrain from being a troll on an academic website dedicated to attainment of the PMP certification.

Agree! As an exam and even as a body of knowlage PMP is a joke.
But a lot of company seem to value the certification, so it still holds value.

I have to agree with the poster here. I've been a PM for many years AND I work for the federal government, managing massive and complex projects. At no point have I ever encountered a situation where the PMP cert was required for our projects. Further, the PMP language is arbitrary and nonsensical, and nobody in the industry talks like this from my experience. It's just a made up language that is redundant to what already exists. If I ever had a contractor or PM communicate using PMP language, I'd have no idea what they were talking about. It really seems to be used more as a tool to weed out candidates in the private sector than anything else...hence the reason I am studying for it. But yeah, the deeper I get into it, the more confused I am.

Raiden,

Welcome to the forums.

Your complaint is a common one. However, the PMP was never designed or advertised as a certification of "you can't do Project Management without this" or "this is the one true standard for PM everyone must adhere to". As PMI itself will even say, PM is such a broad and versatile field that every organization has it's own way of doing it, even within the same industry. If you're looking for a certification that is going to prove to an organization that you'll be able to immediately jump in and start doing PM the exact way they want you to, you're not going to find it.

All the PMP says is that you know the baseline principles of PM. That you're willing to work extra on your own time to better yourself. And that you can pass a test. If that's not valuable to you or your organization, then don't get the certification.

Hi all,

Honestly, I must say I have quite a different view on this topic. I can’t understand how the PMP or the language used in the PMP framework could be considered arbitrary, nonsensical, or even invented.
What is the basis for such a claim? When I think of terms like Project Charter, Work Breakdown Structure, or Risk Register, these are well-established concepts that are similarly named in many other project management standards.

Where I do agree—and where I also see an issue—is that every project management standard tends to try to leave its mark and differentiate itself from other standards, frameworks, or methodologies. But as I
understand the founding of PMI and the PMP, this was precisely one of the key reasons that led a group of professionals to come together and say, “Hey, we need a globally unified and standardized project management language,” precisely to reduce the confusion and arbitrariness that existed back then—even more so than it does today, hopefully.

That was the exact intention behind it, and in my experience, I believe they succeeded to a considerable extent. Maybe not in all industries and globally, but if I take the industry I come from—IT—then the Project Management Professional is regarded as the gold standard worldwide.

Okay, PRINCE2 might still be more prominent in the UK, but that may well be. I can’t judge that. I’m based in Germany. But even here, we’re seeing convergence, and PMP has gained more traction than, for instance, t
he IPMA standard promoted by GPM.

The variety of standards and terminology is a nuisance and should ideally be unified—we are absolutely on the same page there. However, no institution or organization has yet succeeded in fully achieving this. Still, the PMI and the PMP are the most globally widespread, recognized, and respected standards. That may be different in the government sector—I can’t assess that, as I don’t work in that field—but when I look at job postings here in Germany (and that includes some government roles), I regularly see that a project management certification is either required or at least preferred. And the phrasing is almost always something like: “We require a project management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent.”

So, whether you support or criticize the PMP is up to each individual. But for my part, I find the philosophy behind the PMBOK Guide, the methodology, and the overall framework promoted by PMI to be both sensible and applicable. What I learned while preparing for the PMP and everything I’ve continued to learn since, I strive to apply in my daily project work—and, I believe, with some degree of success.

I can’t really relate to the comments or criticism mentioned. But again, that’s just my personal opinion.

Thank you.

All I can say is that I have been a PM in the private sector, the federal government, and the NGO world for decades in the arena of hundreds of millions of dollars. I have never heard of "Project Charter", "Work Breakdown Structure", or "Risk Register", nor have I ever heard of most of the processes and terms taught by PMI. Do I estimate and manage budgets? Yes. Do I draft a scope of work? Yes. Do I award contracts to vendors? Yes. Do I manage teams of technical experts and communicate the project's progress to senior management? Yes. Do I pivot as needed when the progress goes off track for whatever reason? Yes. Do I use or need a weird language and unnecessary intermediate steps and processes to do any of this? No. Have I ever encountered anyone in my travels who has employed PMP language? No. Would I hire someone because they have a PMP? No. My own view is that the PMP often teaches methods and jargon that one would need to later unlearn in order to be a successful PM. There are many questions I have encountered in the quizzes and training where I immediately know how it would go in the real world. But when I am presented with PMI's "correct" answer, I am left baffled, because I know that if I had implemented that response in an actual project, it would have gone off the rails. I am thankful that PMI requires years of experience as a PM to take the test, because it's hopefully easy enough to forget it all once you pass and just go back to being a regular PM. What I DO know, is that PMI and the PMP industry has already gotten about $500 of my money. And you know the saying about if something doesn't make sense on the surface, just follow the money. That's the only thing about all of this that makes any sense to me.