TOPIC: PMP Application: Short projects - combine or separate?

I am finalizing my PMP application and would appreciate opinions on the following:

I acted as project manager for a number of different SharePoint site development projects. Each individual site meets the criteria of a project (temporary, related tasks, unique result) but were quite short (25 - 30 hours of my time).
My specific role in each of the projects was the same in terms of the different processes, so my application descriptions would be the same for each (except for the specific title and description statement).
Should I / could I combine them into a single experience portfolio, or should I keep them as separate projects?

Thanks

Hi Val,

I'm going to share 2 posts from Cornelius that offer some good advice on grouping projects for the exam application:

75 projects over 5 years - Application question
PMP Application - Project Grouping

If you still are in a quandary after reading those posts, reply back and we'll see if someone else has more advice for you.

Submitting the application is time consuming and can be frustrating.

Hang in there!

Thank you for your response - I had done a search for prior questions, but I didn't go back as far in my search as those answers (which helps me understand that I should expand future searches as those answers will still be relevant!)
In the end I didn't need to include those projects as I was able to use larger projects first to get to my 4500 hours.
I submitted yesterday and recieved approval in less than 24 hours!

Thanks again for your reply

Val

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for your answer to Val's question. I am in the same boat with approximately 200 projects in six years. Most of my projects are tenant improvement projects that are similar in scope. The bulk of these projects are for less than ten clients. Truthfully, the thought of listing all projects has kept me from moving forward with the application in prior years.

Lee,

Continuing Val’s thread of short projects, I hope the links above help you fill out an application if you haven’t already.

I read more of Cornelius’ application experience with large numbers of projects:
“To my knowledge, there is no limit. At the time when I took the exam my experience was on small and medium sized projects of 1-9 months in duration. Because of that I had to add at least 15 projects onto my application.”

In some cases you could perhaps group the construction projects by business? Government, Healthcare, Industrial?

Keep in mind when you take the PMP test, your experience in a smaller company will be different than the assumptions the exam uses. For example, the exam presumes:

You as the PM . . .
• only manage big projects.
• have none of the authority and all of the responsibility.
• don’t make decisions, you present options.

I had to commit to this mindset, too, when taking the exam. It helped to repeat it before each simulated test I took.

I hope you persist in filling out the application if you haven’t already done so. If you have 35 contact hours, at least 4,500 hours of leading and directing projects, and at least 36 months as a PM, you should be eligible (4,500 if you have a bachelor’s degree and 7,500 if you don’t).

Wish you best, Lee!