PMP Exam Pattern

What is the PMP Exam Pattern?

It is a Computer based testing, there will be 200 multiple choice questions, out of which only 175 questions are scored. 25 questions will be randomly placed throughout the examinations for statistical analysis and those 25 questions are unknown.

Passing score is 131  out of 200 Questions (Including unmarked questions). As for as I see, there is NO official statement on the Passing score. But, with the feedback provided by many PMP certified managers it is roughly calculated to be 65%.  I would also suggest you need to remove 25 sample questions while calculating the pass %  , so it would be roughly 75%.

Total duration of the examination is 4 Hrs. 

Total number of Questions from each Domain/Topic is as per the table below.

Domain / Topic	Percentage of Questions	Number of Questions
Initation	11 %	19
Planning	23 %	40
Execution	27 %	47
Monitoring and Controlling	21 %	37
Closing	9 %	16
Professional and Social Responsibility	9 %	16
Total	100 %	175

If you are appearing for the exam after Aug/2011. The there is a revision in the Exam pattern as below

Domain / Topic	Percentage of Questions	Number of Questions
Initation	13 %	23
Planning	24 %	42
Execution	30 %	52
Monitoring and Controlling	25 %	44
Closing	8 %	14
Professional and Social Responsibility	NA	NA
Total	100 %	175

!!!NOTE!!!! 
The above does not mean that "Professional and social responsibility" is skipped. It just means that this topic will not be tested as a separate topic/chapter/domain but rather it will be integrated into the other domains as it is in real situations, emphasizing its importance in each phase of the project life cycle.

For latest information on this always refer to the PMI PMP_Handbook.

As you see above all the topics are given the due importance. So it is necessary you read thoroughly and take practice questions on all the topics. 

Few topics like procurement and contract management are not handled by many project managers in real life. So, there is a general feeling to skip these topics. My advice is, whether you do handle this in your company or not, but it is better you read all topics. This will be helpful not only in the exam to score few more questions correct but also will be useful in real life when you face the situation.

Please also note: there is a change announced in the exam pattern from 2011/08. It is expected there will not be any changes to PMBOK 4th edition, but almost 30% of the content of the examination will be new or changed to reflect the revision. Any additional info I gather will be updated in this blog when points are clear !!