BrainBOK Blog

We are pleased to announce the release of two new PMP^® certification practice exams for our PMP students. The new exams are PMP Fundamentals Exam 1 and PMP Fundamentals Exam 2.

We frequently get requests from our students to provide a recommended study plan for the PMP^® certification. People learn in different ways and at different pace. It’s hard for us to prescribe a method that works for everyone. However, to assist our students who are starting out with their preparation, we are providing some general guidance in this article. This plan should help you prepare for PMP in about 8-12 weeks (your mileage may vary). You need to tailor the plan according to your situation, needs and learning style. This plan can also be used for the CAPM^® certification.

Resource Leveling and Resource Smoothing are two resource optimization techniques used in the Develop Schedule process, as defined in PMBOK^® Guide, 6th Ed. PMP^® and CAPM^® certification aspirants often get confused between these terms. While Resource Leveling is explained quite well in the Guide, Resource Smoothing isn’t. In fact, Resource Smoothing doesn’t find a mention in most project management references. In this post, we’ll learn about the difference between the two with the help of examples and illustrations. If you been following my personal blog, then this is another post in the PMP Study Notes series.

Do I Need to Memorize the PMBOK^® Guide Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs (ITTO)’s? This is a question that every PMP^® and CAPM^® aspirant asks at some point or other during the course of the exam prep. Mastering the ITTOs is undoubtedly a key success factor for both PMP^® and CAPM^® certifications. But does it mean you need to resort to rote memorization? Read the post to find out.

Benefits Realization Management (BRM) or Benefits Management is one of the new subject areas included in the PMP Exam with the Jan 2016 update. Project Management Institute (PMI^®) has been conducting extensive research on BRM for the past 2 years. In this post, we’ll learn what BRM is, what its benefits are, and where it fits in the context of project management. We’ll also look at the role of project managers in BRM and why PMI has been focusing so much on this discipline. This post could also serve as study notes for the PMP^® exam.

Project Management Institute (PMI^®) has updated its Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program (certification renewal requirements) to align with the new PMI Talent Triangle™. In this post, we’ll review how the new requirements have changed vis-à-vis the previous, and how PMI-certification holders can ‘transition’ from the old program to the new. If you have certified recently, you can also learn about the updated CCR program through this post.