CAPM Tutorial

This is the introductory lesson of the CAPM tutorial, which is part of the CAPM Certification Course. In this lesson, we will be introduced to the CAPM, the purpose, and the learning outcomes of following the tutorial.

Let us begin by introducing PMI in the in the next section.

What is PMI?

Project Management Institute or PMI is a not for profit organization that offers a certification program for project practitioners for all educational and skill levels. PMI is based in the USA and has local chapters across the globe.

Therefore, if you are based in Singapore, you can look for a PMI chapter in Singapore. Such local chapters conduct regular knowledge sharing and networking sessions for people interested in project management.

What is CAPM?

Certified Associate in Project Management or CAPM is one of the certifications awarded by PMI. It is a credential industry recognized and demanded worldwide. For many of the project management jobs, it is a mandatory qualification.

CAPM is not restricted to a specific domain. A project manager working in any industry, be it manufacturing, retail, defense, or information technology, can write the CAPM exam and upon successful completion can be a CAPM certified professional.

To sum up, PMI is an organization and CAPM is a credential. PMI therefore writes and supervises the CAPM examinations. A CAPM credential is valid for five years. After the completion of this three-year period, it can be renewed.

Professional Development Unit

PMI measures project management experience in the units of PDU. PDU means Professional Development Unit. You can acquire PDUs in many ways.

For example, if you attend a project management class of 1 hour by an expert, it is considered equivalent to 1 PDU. If you write a white paper on the topic related to project management, it may be equivalent to 5 PDUs.

PMI has detailed guidelines on what kind of project management activity amounts to how many PDUs. You can look for the “CCR handbook” on the PMI website for more details. PMI releases a guide every four years.

It is called as PMBOK® Guide, i.e., a Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. PMBOK® Guide acts as a textbook for the CAPM exam. PMBOK® Guide can be considered as a standard for project management profession.

In the next section, we will discuss the benefits of CAPM Tutorial to professionals.

Benefits of CAPM Tutorial to Professionals

Professionals seeking to raise their skill sets to a new level in the growing field of project management can take up this CAPM Tutorial. It is best suited for:

• Project associates and executives

• Any professional aspiring to start a career in project management

In the next section, we will learn about the CAPM exam.

About the CAPM Exam

The CAPM exam covers 150 questions, out of which 15 questions are considered as pre-test questions used for future tests and are not scored. You will not be communicated about these questions; they might be any random pick.

Therefore, you should answer all 150 questions with the same seriousness.

PMI includes these questions to see how many test takers are getting them right. Based on this, they might decide to include these questions in the future exam. It is similar to a survey conducted by PMI. Of the 150 questions, therefore, 135 will be scored.

All questions are multiple-choice questions, with only one correct answer. You get one point for every question answered correctly.

There is no negative marking for the incorrect ones. You may also mark a question for review and revisit it at the end, if unsure then.

However, you should attempt all the 150 questions in the given time. PMI grades students on each of the five process groups and based on the grading they declare CAPM pass or fail. The grades are not disclosed to everyone rather a rating is given.

They are Below Proficient, Proficient, and Moderately Proficient in each of the five process groups. The percentage of questions from each of these aspects is listed on the table below:

CAPM exam is conducted for three hours.

There is 1 Point for every right question. There is no penalty for wrong answers. The result (pass or fail) is determined by a combination of these grades. How many grades or number of points one has to score to pass the CAPM exam is not made public by PMI.

The questions in CAPM exam are related to various aspects of project management. These aspects are project initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. We call these aspects as Process Groups.

For more details, please refer to the “CAPM Examination Content Outline” on the PMI website.

Let us next discuss the CAPM exam syllabus.

CAPM Exam Syllabus

There are 5 process groups, 10 knowledge areas, and 47 project management processes. To understand the syllabus, you need to understand the following terms—process groups, knowledge areas, and processes.

Let us first discuss process group.

The project management discipline is divided into five broad process groups:

• Initiating

• Planning

• Executing

• Monitoring and Controlling

• Closing

Project execution and monitoring and controlling processes go hand in hand. Therefore, when a new project is initiated, all processes of project initiation process group should be applied to the project.

Similarly, when the project is being closed, all processes of project closing group should be applied.

For instance, “Identify Risks” is a process of project planning group. So when the project is in the planning phase, you must identify all the risks of the project.

Next, let us see what knowledge area is. A knowledge area is a set of specific processes performed to meet a project objective.

As per PMBOK® Guide, there are 10 knowledge areas as listed below:

• Project Integration Management

• Project Scope Management

• Project Time Management

• Project Cost Management

• Project Quality Management

• Project Human Resource Management

• Project Communications Management

• Project Risk Management

• Project Procurement Management

• Project Stakeholder Management

Let us now consider processes. There are 47 processes. These processes might be accomplished in the project planning process group and few others in project monitoring and controlling process group.

For example, “Develop Schedule”, one of the processes, is a part of the “Planning” process group and the “Project Time Management” knowledge area.

Likewise, in “Human Resource Management” knowledge area, “Develop Human Resource Plan” process is in the project planning group and “Manage Project Team” process is in project execution group.

Let us look at the CAPM Prerequisites in the next section.

CAPM Prerequisites

PMI-CAPM certificate is an “experience” as well as “knowledge” based certification. This means certain prerequisites are to be met in order to be able to apply for this certification. The prerequisites depend upon a person’s formal education.

The table below explains the prerequisites:

Lastly, one also has to submit details of having attended 35 hours of project management training just before writing the CAPM exam. R.E.P. stands for Registered Education Provider. PMI R.E.P training institute means, these training companies are registered with PMI as a registered education provider.

These provide 35 PMI contact hours certificate, if you attend their 35-hour training program. Their certificate can be used as a proof to be submitted to PMI. Applications can be submitted online. Once the exam fee is paid, PMI sends an Authorization Letter.

Many companies are PMI R.E.P. and provide project management training. Simplilearn is one of them. PMI randomly audits some applications from time to time.

In the event of the application being selected for audit, clear instructions will be given on the evidence that has to be physically submitted to PMI. Follow the instructions and send the evidence before authorization is given to proceed.

Examination must be written within a year of receiving the Authorization Letter. If you need more information on PMI, you can visit their website, www.pmi.org

Let us focus on the objectives of this CAPM tutorial in the next section.

Objectives

By the end of this CAPM Tutorial, you’ll be able to:

• Define PMI and CAPM

• Discuss the project management framework along with project lifecycle and organizational structure

• Explain the Project Integration Management, Project Scope Management, Project Quality Management, Project Human Resource Management, etc.

• Define communication and Project Communication Management and its process.

• Define risk, calculate risk, and describe project risk management process

• Explain the key terms used in Procurement Management along with its process

• Discuss the skills needed to manage stakeholders along with stakeholder classification models

Let us take a look at the lessons covered in the CAPM Tutorial in the next section.

Lessons Covered in the CAPM Tutorial

This CAPM tutorial covers a total of 13 chapters. Given below is a small description of all the chapters.

Conclusion

With this, we come to an end about what this CAPM tutorial includes. In the next chapter, we will discuss the Project Management Framework.