Five Common PMP Exam Prep Myths

A colleague forwarded me a copy of another company’s PMP Exam Prep marketing brochure they recently received via email (we’re talking 2023 here – their material reads as if Rip Van Winkle woke up after 20 years and wrote it). I was pretty shocked by what I saw being passed off as PMP Exam Prep wisdom and it motivated this post.

Here are five common myths I see being spread by not just them, but in various groups related to PMP Exam Prep. Having been in this business with Cheetah’s four-day accelerated learning immersion experience since, 2001, I have lived through many of these myths being put to rest.

Myth 1 – You need to memorize all 49 PM Processes and all those processes’ inputs, outputs, tools and techniques (ITOs).  Well first off, you never had to do this for any PMP exam, ever. The PMP exam is not about memorizing numerous easily sourced details. The test is to evaluate if you have the ability to make sound decisions as a project manager. Memorizing all this arcane information is not a sound decision so you’ve already failed the exam before you even take it if you’re doing this. Second, the new PMP exam released Jan 2021 is not even based on these previous versions of the Project Management Body of Knowledge. The seventh edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge does not have the 49 PM Processes, and was released 8 months after the new exam started. The new exam therefore could not be based on the new PMBOK.

Myth 2 – You must commit at least six months to prep for the PMP Exam. Well, that really depends on how you’re prepping. If you’re not studying the correct material and not doing it in an efficient manner, you could spend three years preparing for the PMP exam and still not pass it. In most PMP exam prep approaches, you aren’t studying the correct material in an efficient manner – so there is no relationship between time preparing and results on the PMP exam.  With Cheetah’s Accelerated Exam Prep system – you learn how to learn in a way that stays with you forever. You demonstrate your new accelerated learning capabilities by passing the PMP exam the day after your four-day immersive experience.  How do you know what you’re really capable of unless you’re pressed into service?  This is what you demonstrate by passing the PMP exam after four days of Cheetah’s accelerated exam prep. This isn’t just a few students who master this. It’s every Cheetah student – which is how Cheetah can confidently guarantee passing the PMP exam for the students who follow the program.

Myth 3 – It’s not possible to pass the PMP exam the day after you complete a PMP Exam Prep program. This might actually be true for companies that specialize in PMP Exam Prep. But it’s not true for Cheetah’s Accelerated Exam Prep system – because Cheetah Learning specializes in something different – Accelerated Learning. Cheetah students learn how to learn fast while mastering the skills required to pass the PMP exam over four days – they take and pass the PMP exam the day after they complete their program to demonstrate they have mastered Accelerated Learning.

Myth 4 – As long as you know PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), you can pass the PMP exam.  The PMP exam is based on PMI’s Exam Content Outline which is updated approximately every 7 – 10 years. The new PMP exam with the new exam content outline was released on Jan 1, 2021. It is based on over 200 different references and resources. While in the past there used to be a tighter correlation between previous versions of the PMBOK and the PMP exam, the current version of the PMBOK was published 8 months after PMI released its new PMP exam.

Myth 5 – All PMP exam prep providers are the same.  This myth can cost an organization billions in lost revenue and can derail an individual’s career prospects. Based on what PMP exam prep providers are publishing and what we’ve heard from people who have taken other PMP prep programs, less than 50% of people even will take the actual PMP exam after they take the standard PMP exam prep program.  The industry standard for PMI-authorized training providers for the PMP exam is an anecdotal 80% first-time failure rate. Yes, you read that correctly – who is going to risk something where they only have a 20% chance of passing?  It’s no wonder people are afraid to take the PMP exam after a standard PMP prep program. Fewer than 50% of people who fail the PMP exam the first time will take the PMP exam again.

For comparison purposes, you will see why the company on the left’s stock went up over the course of a decade in direct proportion to the number of their staff who mastered accelerated learning with Cheetah and quickly passed the PMP exam. The company on the right sent one person through Cheetah every year but had its own internal program (you can read between the lines as well as I can of what is going on with those folks). Their stock price did not fare as well. It’s not hyperbole when the evidence points to the billions this company lost due to poor performance like this from the wrong decision on how to prepare people to pass the PMP exam.

If you have 100 people who need to become PMP certified – with Cheetah, 100 become PMP certified. In the company on the right, for 100 people, the stats show only 30 become PMP certified. For those doing cost of provider comparisons, the company on the right costs them about $7000 per person PMP certified – and that is just in the cost for the training. The cost of bad decision-making – billions. It is the ability to assess the overall ROI of important decisions that is also credited for the increasing stock price of the company on the left.

Passing the PMP exam creates a significant career advantage – one you want sooner rather than later (especially in an environment of mass layoffs).  Make sure you’re prepping in a way where you are guaranteed to pass the day after your program ends. If you’ve read this far, use promotion code PMPMarch2023 to get 5% off Cheetah’s Accelerated Exam Prep program and make someday today for becoming PMP certified, Cheetah FAST.

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CCPM, RYT

Chief Cheetah, Cheetah Learning