So this post opens in a little different way. I’ve taken a YouTube video I’ve been watching and turned it into a “podcast” style conversation to listen to while I’m driving around. I already have a Google Workspace account, so NotebookLM is included. Why not use it?
Here’s my latest jam.
The work continues.
Lately, I’ve been diving into the core areas of the PMP exam—people, process, and business environment as dictated by the Examination Content Outline. It’s been late nights reading, watching videos, and grinding through mock tests on Percipio. The breakdown is pretty simple on paper but, as usual, the devil’s in the details. Here’s where I’m focusing right now and what I’ve managed to scrape out of my brain onto digits. Enjoy.
People (42%)
Team Dynamics and Getting Work Done Through Others
This section’s all about how people work together—or don’t. It’s the human side of project management, which sounds easy until you’re the one mediating a team fight during a deadline crunch. The exam hits these areas hard:
- Roles and Responsibilities: Know what the sponsor, PM, team, vendors, and sellers actually do. It’s not enough to guess—if you can’t explain who’s accountable for what, you’re toast.
- Conflict Management: Five techniques. Learn them. The exam doesn’t care if you “feel” like collaboration is always best. It’s situational.
- Leadership Styles: Servant leadership gets a lot of love, but you better know when a more directive approach makes sense.
- Tuckman’s Ladder: Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning. If you’ve ever led a team, you’ve seen these stages play out.
- Communication Models: Interactive, push/pull communication, the 5 C’s. If you don’t know how to get the right info to the right people, it’s game over.
- Emotional Intelligence: Self-awareness and self-management aren’t just trendy terms. The exam expects you to know how they impact team performance.
- Practical Tools: RACI charts, team charters, stakeholder mapping—these aren’t theoretical. Understand when and why you’d use them.
I’ve found that flipping through flashcards on team dynamics helps lock in some of these concepts. Plus, rewatching McLachlan’s breakdown on PMP readiness gave me a better sense of when to flex my approach.
Process (50%)
Planning, Doing, and Fixing What Breaks
The process domain owns half the exam—and for good reason. Project success lives and dies in the way work is planned, tracked, and adjusted. I’m spending extra time here because the exam loves to test your ability to apply processes, not just define them.
- Planning Foundations: Know the documents—project charter, scope baseline, WBS, schedule baseline, risk register. If you can’t explain the purpose of each, you’ll get tripped up.
- Estimating Techniques: Analogous, parametric, bottom-up, three-point. And yes, PERT formulas will show up.
- Scheduling Techniques: Critical path, float, leads, lags, crashing, fast-tracking. If you can’t calculate float on the fly, practice until you can.
- Risk Management: Identify risks, assess likelihood and impact, and apply the right response—mitigate, transfer, avoid, or accept.
- Agile Practices: Scrum dominates the agile content. You’ll need to know backlog refinement, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives. Plus, terms like “definition of ready” and “definition of done” are non-negotiable.
- Monitoring and Controlling: Change control shows up repeatedly. Know how to run a change request through the process without derailing the project.
Right now, I’m drilling into risk management and scheduling. The more I practice float calculations, the less time I waste second-guessing answers on mock tests.
Business Environment (8%)
Why the Work Matters
Small percentage, but this section reminds you why the project exists in the first place: delivering value. It’s not complicated, but you need to know the tools and frameworks that guide decision-making.
- Stewardship: Manage resources like they’re not yours—because they probably aren’t. The exam expects you to show good judgment here.
- Value Frameworks: Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, business cases. Know what goes into a business case and how it influences project decisions.
- Prioritization Techniques: MoSCoW, WSJF, Cost of Delay—these are the tools that help prioritize work based on value.
- Financial Metrics: Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), ROI, and cost-benefit ratio. The formulas matter, so practice calculating these.
I’m spending less time here compared to people and process, but I’m making sure I can explain why a project adds value—beyond “because someone told me so.”
Where I’m At
Study efforts continue:
- Reading: Focused on process details and risk management techniques.
- Mock Tests: Daily mini-tests on Percipio, with full-length exams on weekends.
- Flashcards: Hitting the communication models, risk responses, and leadership styles hard.
- Videos: Getting back into the PMP Mindset with The PMP Cheat Sheet - How to Tell if You’re Ready for the PMP Exam by David McLachlan.
- Podcast-ish: I turned that video into a podcast that I can listen to while driving, which also helps.
So, the grind continues.
Wish me and my patience the best…
- Jeff