Hello and welcome to our guide on CAPM Certification Training.
By the end of this article, you will know all about the CAPM Certification, its training requirements, and a breakdown of its exam structure, to help you pass the certification with flying colors.
We’ll answer the following questions and topics, and cover some more important FAQs:
Project management certification is a professional milestone. It demonstrates an aspiring project manager’s commitment to their craft, and a willingness to take the next step in their career!
Our comprehensive guide to the PMI-CAPM will walk you through everything you need to know in order to level up in your chosen project management field.
Let’s get started!
What is the PMI Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)?
What is the PMI-CAPM? It is a certification that aims to add more provable skills to a project manager’s toolkit. The Project Management Institute developed it
The PMI-CAPM can be considered a starter certification for those who want to take their project management career more seriously.
Those interested in developing their skills and entering project management positions should consider the CAPM. This helps demonstrate knowledge of crucial concepts, tools, techniques, and good practices in project management.
Despite having little to no professional project management experience, CAPM-certified individuals will already be equipped with professional certification and deep technical knowledge that will help set them apart from their peers.
The added credibility, network, and resources provided to PMI members and certified individuals also help jumpstart project management careers.
What makes the CAPM Different from Other Project Management Certifications?
The Project Management Institute, Inc hosts various certifications in an effort to uphold the standards set in the Project Management Body of Knowledge.
Some examples are the PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) and the Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA). They are highly specialized certifications in the project management knowledge area.
These certifications recognize professionals who have mastered key concepts and techniques in project management, which would make them ideal project managers in their organizations.
Its flagship certification, the Project Management Professional (PMP), is a highly regarded credential for project managers. Those certified are recognized to have excellent knowledge and experience in predictive, agile, scrum, and hybrid approaches to different kinds of projects.
PMP certification is among the most highly sought-after credentials. It positively affects career prospects and salary expectations.
As such, the PMP exam and requirements are much harder to achieve and maintain.
Amongst the Project Management Institute’s different certifications, the CAPM can be thought of as PMP on training wheels. Its non-requirement of professional project management experience makes it an entry-level opportunity for aspiring project managers.
The CAPM, in particular, focuses on a key outline of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and the PMBOK guide by the PMI.
What are the PMI-CAPM prerequisites?
To secure eligibility as an applicant for the CAPM certification, you must meet the following prerequisites:
- Educational background: a secondary degree – a high school diploma, an associate’s degree, or the global equivalent
- Project Management Education:23 hours of project management training before commencing the CAPM exam.
Note that you do not need to have any professional or project management experience in order to acquire this certification. This makes it one of the best beginner project management certifications available in the market.
Once you have achieved the certification, you will have to pursue Professional Development Units (PDUs) in order to maintain it. For CAPM, you need to earn 15 PDUs every 3 years to keep your credential.
What is the PMI-CAPM exam?
The PMI-CAPM certification exam is a 3-hour long, 150 multiple choice question exam. The questions are broken down into 135 scored questions and 15 unscored pretest questions.
The pretest questions are simply beta questions that help the test makers develop their examinations according to the capability and level of their examinees. They are randomly placed throughout the exam.
All the questions in the exam are based on PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)
The cost of the exam is $225 for PMI Members and $300 for non-members.
Currently, PMI-CAPM certification is an online exam. It is proctored online and runs for three hours straight. Unfortunately, no breaks are allowed, and leaving the online exam forfeits your application.
What is the training for PMI-CAPM?
Aside from the CAPM certification exam, you will need 23 hours of project management education from an authorized training partner (ATP) and their designated courses. This is important for the certification requirements.
PMI’s own Project Management Basics official online course is eligible as training for the CAPM. It is a foundational course that counts as 23 professional development units (PDUs).
Aside from PMI’s offering, there are different courses and boot camp options that can satisfy the educational requirement for the certification. A reputable education provider in your area should not be too hard to find.
The 23 contact hours of training can also be a useful CAPM exam prep course. Here are some tips to abide by when studying and training for this rigorous certification.
Review A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
The PMBOK Guide is now on its sixth edition and continues to be the most straightforward and comprehensive course material and resource for the CAPM certification course.
Study the CAPM Handbook
The CAPM Handbook is another free resource as provided by PMI. It is a comprehensive guide all about applying for the CAPM certification.
Within its pages, you will get a good idea of the certification timeline and the steps you need to go through in order to be eligible and pass the entire process.
Do Quizzes and Exam Questions based on CAPM Sample Questions
PMI has made some sample questions available on their site, but you may be able to find older exams posted online and from different practice question providers elsewhere on the internet.
Study with an Authorized Training Partner
Whether you prefer an in-person or an online training course, there are a lot of options available for you. Enrollment at an offline or online CAPM course will help you dedicate time for the exam.
PMI handles their own training, but many Authorized Training Partners have a comprehensive CAPM training course. Many of them also feature a money-back guarantee to help boost confidence in your ability to pass the exam.
PMI-CAPM Exam Structure
The PMI-CAPM Exam is divided into 13 different Learning Objectives as knowledge areas. The test also puts a specific amount of focus on each objective throughout the exam, indicated for convenience.
All of these learning objectives are based on knowledge areas from the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).
Introduction to Project Management (6% of the exam)
The Introduction to Project Management section includes knowledge on the five project management process groups, namely:
- Initializing the project
- Planning the project
- Execution of the project
- Monitoring & Controlling the project
- Closing the project or the project phase
Applicants are expected to understand the relationships of project, program, portfolio, operations management, and the typical project lifecycle.
Project managers are expected to learn to adapt to the projects they are handling.
Project Environment (6% of the exam)
The project environment involves the Project Management Office (PMO) as a body that defines a specific organization’s project management rules and standards.
Understanding the roles and hierarchies within organizational systems and projects, programs, and portfolios is critical to the PM role. From here, the project manager can identify the internal and external elements that influence the result of a project.
Role of the Project Manager (7% of the exam
What is your role in the organization and the running project? What is the difference between leadership and management?
This objective has practicing project managers understand their primary functions and responsibilities within the project and their sphere of influence.
The PMI Talent Triangle and its major elements are also tackled within this section, specifically:
- Technical (knowledge and behaviors to help perform the role as a project manager)
- Leadership (knowledge and behaviors to help lead and motivate a team)
- Strategic & Business Management (knowledge and expertise of the industry or organization in order to orient and relate project management frameworks to the real needs of the project)
This triangle framework highlights the critical skills that all project managers must consider when building their professional toolkit.
Project Integration Management (9% of the exam)
This learning objective focuses on the seven processes of project integration management:
- Developing the project charter
- Developing the project management plan
- Managing the project’s execution
- Managing the project body of knowledge
- Monitoring and controlling the project work
- Integrating change control
- Closing the project or project phase
Project managers are expected to understand project change management and recognize their role in integrating processes.
You will also cover these seven steps or processes’ input, tools, techniques, and outputs.
Project Scope Management (9% of the exam)
This learning objective focuses on the six processes of project scope management knowledge:
- Planning the scope management princess
- Collecting the requirements
- Defining the scope
- Creating a work breakdown structure (WBS)
- Validating the scope
- Controlling the scope
The work breakdown structure (WBS) is also a vital tool for building product and project scope.
You will also cover how the project management scope works for agile and adaptive projects.
Project Schedule Management (9% of the exam)
This learning objective covers the six processes in project schedule management:
- Planning the schedule management
- Defining the activities
- Sequencing the activities
- Estimating the activity durations
- Developing the schedule
- Controlling the schedule
Project managers are also expected to solve network diagrams that assist in performing the basic scheduling calculations within projects.
Project Cost Management (8% of the exam)
This learning objective covers the four processes in project cost management:
- Planning the project resources
- Estimating the project costs
- Budgeting the project costs
- Controlling the costs
Project managers are also trained to understand and execute basic forecasting and earned value methods for the project cost management tools and techniques.
Project Quality Management (7% of the exam)
This learning objective covers the three processes involved in project quality management:
- Quality planning
- Performing quality assurance
- Performing quality control
Continuous improvement is also a key element in the quality management project area. Project managers must identify and understand these basic quality techniques and apply them to varying project environments.
Project Resource Management (8% of the exam)
This learning objective covers the six processes in project resource management:
- Planning resource management
- Estimating the activity resources
- Acquiring the project resources
- Developing the team
- Managing the team
- Controlling the project resources
Project managers also need to have techniques for building the project team, managing conflict, and resolving resource problems in their skillset. Alongside this, they must understand the moving parts of a resources management plan, plus data visualization for their project resources.
Project Communication Management (10% of the exam)
This learning objective covers the 3 processes in project communication management:
- Planning communications
- Managing communications
- Controlling communications
Project managers must also recognize the dimensions of communication and the different components that make up an entire communication management plan.
This also includes soft skills of communications and methods for project communication management.
Project Risk Management (8% of the exam)
This learning objective covers the 7 processes of project risk management:
- Planning risk management
- Identifying risks
- Performing qualitative risk analysis
- Performing quantitative risk analysis
- Planning risk responses
- Implementing risk responses
- Monitoring risks
Project managers must also be able to identify critical documents in the risk management process.
They must also be able to execute basic risk calculator models to help assist in adjusting risk as per the project environment.
Project Procurement Management (4% of the exam)
This learning objective covers the 3 processes of project procurement management:
- Planning procurement management
- Conducting procurements
- Controlling procurements
Project managers must also be able to identify different contracts, agreements, and source selection methods to support the procurement processes.
Project Stakeholder Management (9% of the exam)
This learning objective covers the 4 processes of project stakeholder management:
- Identifying stakeholders
- Planning stakeholder engagement
- Managing stakeholder engagement
- Monitoring stakeholder engagement
Project managers should also know how to recognize key stakeholders and their roles and needs. They must identify the key concepts and the advantages of good stakeholder engagement and management.
Note that the 13 learning objectives are more or less equally distributed in their focus within the exam.
Critical learning objectives include communications, integration, scope, schedule, and stakeholder management. This helps you understand what to pay special attention to during your training.
Conclusion
The CAPM is a valuable certification that demonstrates an individual’s dedication to becoming a professional project manager.
It is a great starting point for anyone who wants to pivot to a project management career while stepping up the technical knowledge in preparation for practical experience.
An entry-level project manager can take advantage of this certification and the credibility and network of PMI-certified individuals.
The CAPM expectations and syllabus may be intimidating due to its wide scope and numerous process lists and frameworks. Studying for the certification and exam takes time and effort.
Given the PMBOK guide, practice exams, and/or CAPM prep courses, you have all the materials available to pass the certification and achieve something great for your project management career.
FAQs
We answer some of your most important questions about CAPM certification training here.
