Introduction to the PMP Exam

Thinking about earning your Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification but feeling overwhelmed by all the terms and concepts? You're not alone. The PMP exam covers a wide range of knowledge, but it all boils down to a few key areas.

This A-to-Z guide will give you a rapid tour of the foundational concepts you'll encounter on your PMP journey, helping you understand the language of professional project management in just a few minutes.

We will discuss the knowledge areas and process groups of project management.

We will demystify Agile and Scrum.

If Agile is the "healthy living" mindset, then Scrum is a specific diet and exercise plan to achieve it. It's the most popular framework used to implement the Agile philosophy. Scrum provides a lightweight set of roles, events, and artifacts to help teams manage complex work.

Scrum can be broken down into a "3-5-3" structure: 3 Roles, 5 Events, and 3 Artifacts.

The 3 Scrum Roles (The Team)

1. Product Owner: This person is the voice of the customer. They are responsible for the "what"—defining the features of the product and prioritizing the work in a list called the Product Backlog to maximize value.

2. Scrum Master: This person is a servant-leader for the team. They are responsible for the "how"—ensuring the team follows Scrum principles, facilitating events, and removing any impediments or blockers that slow the team down.

3. Developers: This is the cross-functional group of people who do the actual work of building the product. They are responsible for the "doing"—turning items from the backlog into a usable product increment.

   These concepts will all be discussed in more detail.