PMI-Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP) is one of the most widely recognized certificates for Planning Engineers in the field. In this article, I will explain everything you need to know about the certification. I will cover the following:

1- The certification benefits

2- The exam eligibility

3- The application submission

4- The exam preparation

5- What to expect on the exam day

6- Receiving your results

1- The certification benefits

Here are some reasons why you should pursue the PMI-SP certification.

• PRESENT the PMI-SP initials after your name.
• ACHIEVE professional status as an expert by earning the credential.
• CERTIFY your great knowledge.
• ADD the most widely recognized certificate in the planning field to your portfolio.
• LEARN the best practices of planning and scheduling.
• ACCESS a wealth of high-quality knowledge from the study materials.
• GET shortlisted for interviews and have better career opportunities.

It also helps with the paradox of choice that many hiring managers have. The paradox of choice is the confusion that humans experience when they have so many good options but they have to choose only one. For example, you would like to buy a new mobile phone and you narrowed down your options to two phones. They are both almost identical (same budget, specs, etc) but one of them has an additional camera that you won’t probably use. If you are like most of us, you will choose the one that has the additional camera because you know, why not? Similarly, if the company shortlisted two candidates who have the same quality and quantity of experience but one of them is PSP and PMI-SP certified. The hiring manager has to overcome the paradox of choice so the company ends up hiring the one who is also certified because why not?

Moreover, certifications in general make a great investment. When you prepare for a certification, you spend the time and effort upfront to earn the certification and then you become certified for life. You will need to earn PDUs to maintain your certification but this is not a big deal.

Certifications can also help you stand out from the crowd. For example, according to the PMI’s fact sheet of 2023, there are 3,263 PMI-SP certification holders worldwide. If you think that this is a high number, think again. If you search LinkedIn with the words “Planning Engineer” and then filter by “People”, there are 638,000 planners worldwide as of the day of writing this article and this number continues to grow. The number of PMI-SP certification holders is like a drop in the ocean compared to the global pool of planners. Therefore, earning a certification can make you stand out.

Certification Pathway

I will walk you now through the below certification journey.

1- Exam Eligibility

2. Application Submission

Follow the below steps to submit the application

1- Create an account with PMI.

2- Create a new application under the PMI-SP Exam.

3- Fill the below details:

• Contact Information
• College Education
• Experience
• Training

Once you open the application, it will remain active for 90 days. After submission, PMI will take 5-10 days to review and then receive a feedback email. (approval of audit). A specific % of applications are randomly selected for an audit. After the application is approved, you will make the payment and schedule the appointment. The exam fees will depend on whether or not you are an active PMI member as below.

3. Exam Preparation

The exam has 170 multiple-choice questions and you have 3.5 hours to complete it.

Moreover, you will be tested in the five domains as below:

Domain 1: Schedule Strategy (14%)

Domain 2: Schedule Planning and Development (31% of examination)

Domain 3 – Schedule Monitoring and Controlling (35% of examination)

Domain 4: Schedule Closeout (6% of examination)

Domain 5: Stakeholder Communications Management (14% of examination)

Recommended Study Materials

There are three sources for your preparation

1- Practice Standard for Scheduling

It includes the below 5 chapters.

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The schedule model principles and concepts
• Chapter 3: Schedule model good practices overview
• Chapter 4: Scheduling Components
• Chapter 5: Conformance Index

You don’t really need to study Chapter 5 because you will not get any questions related to this chapter in the exam.

2- Relevant Chapters from PMBOK

You don’t need to study the whole PMBOK because you are not preparing for the PMP. You need to study specific topics as below.

• Chapter 5 – Project Scope Management (only the “Create WBS” area)
• Chapter 6 – Project Schedule Management.
• Chapter 7 – Project Cost Management (only the “Control Cost – EVM” area).
• Chapter 9 – Project Human Resources Management (only the “Plan HR Management” area).
• Chapter 10 – Project Communication Management.
• Chapter 11 – Project Risk Management.
• Chapter 13 – Project Stakeholder Management.

Exam Preparation Challenges

Challenge 1: The weight of all study materials is not equal

You will be heavily tested on certain topics compared to other topics. Paradoxically, in the PMP exam, the weight of every knowledge area is almost equal.

Challenge 2: No practice questions

The recommended materials explain the theories but practice questions are not included. The last thing you want to do is to practice the questions in the exam itself. You must be familiar with the nature of the exam questions and the PMI’s tricks.

5. The Exam Day

• It is a 3.5-hour long exam. Have a healthy breakfast that has slow-digesting carbs that will give you a steady supply of energy over long periods.
• I recommend arriving 45 min before the exam start to account for the delay associated with finding parking, finding the test center, checking in, etc).
• Bring a valid government-issued photo ID that has your signature.
• Calculators are NOT allowed.
• The testing center will provide you with paper and pencil only.

6. Receive Your Results

• You will receive the exam report at the test center the day you sit for the examination.
• You can also access your exam report and download your certificate from your PMI account.
• You will receive an email notifying you when your exam report is available online.
• Your details will be added to the PMI’s certification registry.

Check out our PMI-SP Exam Preparation Course which includes detailed tutorials of the most important exam topics plus 3 full mock exams with the model answer.

Regards,

Osama Saad, MBA, PMP, PSP, CCP, PMI-SP

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