Project Management PMP Certification Exam Tips

Project Management certification exam takers will find PMP certification tips from PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) to use during training and studying for the Project Management Professional exam like project processes covered in knowledge areas, earned value techniques, tools and techniques (ITTO), etc.

PMBOK Guide is a standard for project management or a project management framework, but not a project management methodology!

Project Plan (aka Project Management Plan in PMBOK) is an all-covering document which includes narrative descriptions of all facets of a project. You can consider Project Management Plan as including sub-plans for managing each knowledge area.
On the other hand, Project Schedule is a breakdown presentation of all activities to be performed for the project to be completed using a scheduling tool like Microsoft Office Project, Primevera, etc.
Especially, these two terms are easily confused and misused. So pay attention to distinct these two terms.

Read carefully and understand each rule shaped around the base four values mentioned in Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

Understanding Project Management Knowledge Areas is vital if you plan to take PMP Project Management Certification Exam by PMI.

A project starts with Project Charter, not with prior studies.
Understand the difference between project and operational work
Be able to seperate portfolio, program, project, subproject and understand PMO (Project Management Office)
Learn project organizational structures (functional, weak matrix, balanced matrix, strong matrix, projectized and composite)
For weak matrix project organization, understand project expediter, project coordinator. And be able to compare these roles with project manager role.
If a task is being made in high level, it is in "Initiating Process Group" otherwise it belons to one of the planning processes of "Planning Process Group"
Memorize "Project Management Process Map" which shows which project management process takes place in Knowledge Area as well as in Process Group pivot table
In Project Management Process Map there are 10 Knowledge Areas Memorize the names of the project management processes. If you don't see the exact name of the process, you are possible making a mistake on that question.
In "Validate Scope" process group, as a project manager you take formal acceptance of project deliveries from customer.
In Project Quality Management knowledge area, "Perform Quality Assurance" means audit on how project is manged. "Control Quality" process group deals with test.
Learn the "tools and techniques" and in which project management process they are used. Also memorize the names of the people who developed the idea or the method behind these tools and techniques.
Dependency determination identifies if a relationship is a mandatory, discretionary, external or internal dependency. Please read PMP tips on activity dependency types
Decomposition is the term used for the technique to subdivide work packages into activities in "Create WBS" process

It is better as you understand and memorize the ITTO (Input, Tools & Techniques, Outputs) of each the 47 project management processes.
Here is a few tips for you about the ITTO's of PMBOK 5th edition Project Management Processes:
1.) Project Management Plan is input for all Monitoring & Controlling and Closing processes.
2.) For Executing processes, related sub-process management plan is an input.
3.) Project Charter is input for:
  Initiating:
I => Identify Stakeholders,
  Planning:
I => Plan Integration Management,
S => Plan Scope Management, Collect Requirements, Define Scope,
T => Plan Schedule Management,
C => Plan Cost Management,
R => Plan Risk Management