viii Preface

The result of our effort is the PMP Exam: Practice Test and Study Guide. This
tenth edition contains study hints, a list of exam topics, and 40 multiple-choice
questions for each of the ten knowledge areas presented in A Guide to the Project
Management Body of Knowledge Fifth Edition (PMBOK Guide).*
And, as in previous editions, this edition includes a plainly written ratio-
nale for each correct answer, with a reference to the appropriate pages in the
PMBOK Guide, and in some cases to the other sources.
We have listened to your comments and have expanded our rationales to dis-
cuss in more depth why an answer is correct, often by explaining why the other
answers are incorrect, and to help you broaden your understanding of the con-
cepts in the answer. We also have provided some study tips in these rationales.
You additionally will find a reference to one or more of the five process
groups, Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, or Closing at
the end of each rationale. Those references are important because they give you
an understanding of the types of exam questions that fall within each of these
five major project management performance domains.
What is different, however, with this tenth edition is each question also con-
tains a reference to the June 2015, Examination Content Outline (ECO), pub-
lished by PMI, which is the blueprint for the exam. You can download the ECO
from the PMI web site, and you will see it consists of numerous tasks associated
with the domains on the exam. These domains are the process groups, and we
have a chapter in this tenth edition that describes each domain in more depth.
This tenth edition is completely aligned with this new ECO.
This tenth edition includes scenario-based questions, which may comprise
approximately 50 percent of the questions found on the PMP exam. It omits
many of the purely definitional questions, but focuses on the key concepts you
need to understand and study. Additionally, we have reduced the length of many
of our questions, to more accurately represent the real exam.
We have included a completely original, 200-question on-line practice test,
which is also in the book. We have a Study Matrix in this edition as well. The
matrix is included as an appendix. The matrix, which is based on PMIs Role
Delineation Study, the basic document for the ECO, will help you to use the
200-question exam to its full advantage. It provides a way for you to assess your
strengths and weaknesses in each performance domain and to identify areas that
require further study.
A special note to those who speak English as a second language (ESL): Our
experience in teaching project management programs around the world has
shown that most of our ESL clients understand English well enough to pass
the PMP exam as long as they know the content. Nevertheless, in an effort to
avoid adding to your frustration before taking the exam, we have painstakingly
reviewed each question and answer in the Study Guide in the knowledge areas

* PMBOK is a trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc., which is registered in the United States
and other nations.