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TOPIC: How Long Are the New "Case Studies" Really?

How Long Are the New "Case Studies" Really? 3 months 2 weeks ago #33120

  • Edward Robinson
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Everyone's talking about the new case studies, but no one has specifics. Are we talking about a half-page scenario followed by 3-5 questions? A full-page project narrative with 10 questions? The length and complexity will totally change my time management strategy. If you sat through a recent PMI webinar that showed an example, please share any details!

How Long Are the New "Case Studies" Really? 3 months 2 weeks ago #33124

  • Markus Kopko
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Good question – and you're right that specifics are hard to come by. Here's what we actually know, separated by source quality:

**What the ECO confirms (official):**
The ECO 2026 (p. 18) describes the Case/Scenario format as a "detailed scenario or situation" that "may contain graphs or charts" – describing a company, project, decision process, or combination. Candidates answer "a series of questions based on all the information provided." The case study section comes first, followed by a 10-minute break. After the break, you cannot return to the case study questions.

What the ECO does NOT specify: the number of case studies, the number of questions per case study, or the exact length of each scenario.

**What pilot participants report (anecdotal, Jan 2026):**
Multiple Reddit reports from the January pilot describe roughly 2-3 case studies, each with approximately 5 questions, for a total of 10-15 questions in the case study section. Reported time per set: 8-10 minutes (reading + all questions). Most pilot takers finished the full exam with 50-60 minutes to spare, so the 240-minute total seems generous.

The scenarios appear to be roughly half-page to one-page narratives with embedded visual artifacts (charts, tables, matrices). Not 10 questions per case – closer to 4-5.

**For your time management:**
Based on pilot feedback, a reasonable budget is ~3 min reading + ~5 min for questions + ~2 min review = 10 min per set. With 2-3 sets, that's 20-30 minutes for the entire case study section out of 240 total.

The biggest pilot consensus: the case study section was actually the fairest and best-written part of the exam. Context eliminates ambiguity – you know exactly which project, which constraints, and which stakeholders. The harder part came later with standalone questions.

Caveat: This is pilot data. The final exam (July 9, 2026) could differ. PMI hasn't released pilot results yet (expected mid-March 2026).

BR,

Markus
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