The Project Management Institute (PMI) officially announced the postponement of PMP certification exam to 2021. Previously, the PMP certification exam schedule was announced to fall on July 1. However, due to the current uncertain situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, PMI finally decided to postpone it until January 2, 2021.

Their official page, PMI.org, said the reason for the postponement of this exam schedule is to give the participants an extension of time to complete the requirements to take this PMP certification exam.

“Stakeholders began sharing feedback immediately and the consensus has been they feel they need more time to prepare, ” they wrote.

Then, what are the things that have changed after the PMP certification exam schedule was postponed?

5 Important Rules That Have Changed in PMP Certification Exam 2021

Not only related to the date, but the postponement of the PMP certification schedule also made several elements in it change too. Starting from the scope, qualifications, to the technicality of the examination.

1. Scope of the exam

Unlike before, the PMP 2021 exam will be based on 3 elements: People, Process, and Business Environment. Where, in the previous PMP exam, they based on the elements of Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. For its own weight, the People element is 42%, Process is 50%, and Business Environment is 8%.

2. Exam Questions for Agile and Hybrid

The next important thing in the PMP certification exam 2021 is that 50% of the questions in it will come from Agile and Hybrid methodologies. Even so, there is no official statement about the percentage for the weight of these two materials on the exam later.

3. Official Courseware for PMP Exam

Indeed, since its inception in 1894, the PMP has never released an official document as the main source of exam learning for its participants. As a result, the book Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) became a fundamental document that almost all participants used, to prepare themselves for this PMP certification.

Then, in 2020 PMI officially launched an official course site as a media for PMP certification training. Not only serves as the official preparation content for PMP certification, but this official website also contains an outline of the content that will be tested in PMP 2021 later. This became a breath of fresh air for the participants because of course, they resolved their concerns regarding the limited source of official PMP documents.

4. Authorized Training Provider Program (ATP)

There are significant changes for candidates wishing to take independent courses to study and try out simulated PMP exams. Now, PMI has announced that it is providing an Authorized Training Provider Program (ATP) which will be the only provider for self-directed courses and ATP instructor-led training.

Appreciated at $699 or around Rp10 million (exchange rate: Rp14,194.20), it seems that this is a clear move on of PMI to encourage their participants to take part in instructor-led training also prepared on their part at a lower price.

5. Logistics

This is also an element that will change significantly in the PMP 2021 exam later. Yes, considering the situation in the midst of a pandemic, PMI reportedly made it easier and cut the time for applying documents for their certification. Apart from that, PMI has also decided to allow online PMP exams but under close supervision.

Are you the one who plans to take this PMP certification exam? Don’t forget to keep the information updated via the official PMI page at https://www.pmi.org.

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