Course
PMBOK 8e Prep
Six principles, five focus areas, seven domains — exam-ready
This journey prepares you for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam based on PMI's PMBOK Guide 8th Edition (2025). It's content prep — not a substitute for PMI's eligibility checks. Make sure you (or your audit-readiness file) clear the gates below before you book the test.
Prerequisites — check before starting
What this journey assumes
- Roughly 60–80 hours of study time over 6–10 weeksMost candidates report 50–100 hours total prep. This journey is sized to fit inside that range when paired with two full mock exams and targeted weak-spot drilling.
- Exam fee: ~US $405 (PMI member) or ~US $555 (non-member)PMI membership is ~US $159/year and includes a free PMBOK Guide PDF — it usually pays for itself versus the non-member exam fee.
- Test format: 180 questions, 230 minutes, online-proctored or test-centreTwo optional 10-minute breaks. Three performance domains (People 42%, Process 50%, Business Environment 8%) — note the domain weights differ from PMBOK 8e content weights.
This may not be the right journey if…
- You're brand-new to project work with no leadership exposure — PMI's experience gates will block you. Consider CAPM® first.
- You only need a quick overview of PMBOK 8e without sitting the PMP — you'll still get value, but the exam-strategy section will read as overkill.
- You're studying for a different certification (PRINCE2, IPMA, ITIL) — vocabulary overlaps but PMI's preferred-answer patterns are distinct and may mislead you on those exams.
Progress at a glance
- 0 mastered
- 0 in progress
- 31 not started
Per-section breakdown
- Section 1: Foundations & value delivery0/4
- Section 2: The six refined principles0/6
- Section 3: The five focus areas0/5
- Section 4: Approaches & tailoring0/4
- Section 5: Performance domains I — governance, scope, schedule0/3
- Section 6: Performance domains II — finance & stakeholders0/3
- Section 7: Performance domains III — resources & risk0/3
- Section 8: Exam strategy & final review0/3
Time estimate is a credible minimum: ~17 min per concept (lesson + first quiz), 10 min per section test, 30 min per mock exam. Most learners end up at 1.5–2× this — budget headroom.
Modules
What a project is, what value delivery means, and the system of roles, EEFs and OPAs that every PMP scenario assumes.
- F1.1Project, program, portfolio, operationsU
- F1.2Value, the business case, and benefits realisationU
- F1.3EEFs vs OPAs — what's outside, what's insideAn
- F1.4Sponsor, PM, team, stakeholdersU
PMBOK 8e refined the twelve 7e principles down to six. Each is a stance, not a process — and the exam tests whether you can apply them in tradeoff scenarios.
- P2.1Adopt a Holistic ViewAn
- P2.2Focus on ValueAn
- P2.3Embed Quality Into Processes and DeliverablesU
- P2.4Be an Accountable LeaderU
- P2.5Integrate Sustainability Within All Project AreasU
- P2.6Build an Empowered CultureU
PMBOK 8e renames the historic Process Groups as Focus Areas: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, Closing. They overlap, iterate, and are independent of approach.
- FA3.1Initiating: charter the project, identify stakeholdersU
- FA3.2Planning: scope, schedule, cost, risk, responseU
- FA3.3Executing: coordinate work, engage stakeholdersU
- FA3.4Monitoring & Controlling: variance, change, course-correctAn
- FA3.5Closing: hand over, document, releaseU
Predictive, adaptive, hybrid: choose by characteristic, then tailor lifecycle / processes / engagement to the actual project.
- AT4.1Predictive (plan-driven) approachU
- AT4.2Adaptive (agile) approachU
- AT4.3Hybrid approachAn
- AT4.4Tailoring: what, why, howAn
The first three of seven Performance Domains. Each domain is an outcome area, not a knowledge silo.
- PD5.1Governance domainU
- PD5.2Scope domain (and the WBS)An
- PD5.3Schedule domain (critical path basics)An
Finance covers the project's economics — including the most-tested numeric tool, Earned Value Management. Stakeholders covers identification, analysis, and engagement.
- PD6.1Finance domain — business case, NPV, IRR, paybackU
- PD6.2Earned Value Management (EVM)An
- PD6.3Stakeholders domain — identify, analyse, engageAn
Resources covers people and physical assets — including team formation and conflict. Risk covers both threats and opportunities, with five response strategies each.
- PD7.1Resources domain — team formation and dynamicsU
- PD7.2Risk domain — threats (the five negative strategies)An
- PD7.3Risk domain — opportunities (the five positive strategies)An
PMI-isms, scenario triage, ethics, and a study-plan checklist for the final two weeks before the exam.
- ES8.1PMI-isms — how the exam thinksE
- ES8.2Scenario triage — how to read a PMP questionE
- ES8.3PMI Code of Ethics + final two weeksE
Practice exams
Full-length, timed practice exams in the PMP scenario style. Each question explains the principle behind the right answer.
Mock exam — 30 PMP-style scenarios
30 Q · 45m · 70% pass30 questions, 45 minutes, drawn proportionally from all eight sections. Treat anything under 70% as a study gap.