PgMP: Lessons Learned

Hi PgMP Aspirants ,

My name is AK and today we will discuss on how to Prepare for the PgMP

PgMP is the Elite Program Management certification for Program Managers

From Program Standpoint , PgMP is the Most Powerful Certification you can have on your resume

Only 320 professionals have earned it in my country ( India ) and 2.8K worldwide

PMI link for PgMP :https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/program-management-pgmp

Like all my bogs this too will be a very lengthy one, so grab a cup of coffee and hop on !

We will discuss it on the 20 points mentioned below which should give you an idea on the specifics

1 ) Program Management Credentials ( PgMP and MSP ) :

There are only 2 Recognized Certifications in circulation/available, in the market

a) PgMP: It’s is a certificate administered by the PMI: Link below
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Management_Institute

b) Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) administered by AXELOS: Link below
https://www.axelos.com/best-practice-solutions/msp

2) Market Value ( PgMP VS MSP ) :

Though both are considered good depending on the geography you work with, I would prefer PgMP

PgMP carries more Credibility and Market Value specially in Americas,Middle East and Asia

If you analyse the Eligibility/preparation time needed for MSP it’s quite straight forward, compared to PgMP

Please find the value Proposition of PMI PgMP below :
https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/survey-method-program-management-professional-6635

3) PgMP – Eligibility Criteria :

PgMP was launched on 1st Oct 2007

PMI PgMP Eligibility Criteria: https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/program-management-pgmp

PMI says As a program manager, you’re a senior-level practitioner on the forefront of advancing your organization’s strategic goals

You manage multiple, related projects in a coordinated way, achieving benefits that could not occur if the projects were handled separately.

Many practitioners are eligible for the certification but may still be unaware that they meet the cut

So just ask yourself : Am I managing 2 or more related projects over a period of time as advised by the PMI

If you do, Technically you are a ” Program Manager ” irrespective of your designation !

Now please don’t tell me my destination is ” Senior Developer ” but my role is ” Program Manager “

Nobody will buy it !

Though PMP is not a pre-requisite, I would strongly recommend you to earn it before applying for PgMP

The simple reason is, the exam is administered by PMI and the fundamentals are pretty much similar to that of PMP

So PMP is from ” Project Standpoint ” and SPM4 standard dictates ” Program Fundamentals “

Important Note

If you don’t have 4 years of ” Industry Program Management experience ” and 4 years Project Management
Non-overlapping ( For 16 years of education ), I would strongly recommend you to wait till the time you have it

The application form is designed such that you cannot complete it, if you are short of Program experience

You document your strategies, program life cycle, customer engagement, governance and benefits that you drove in your past programs

Imagine if you don’t have them , you don’t want to simply copy someone else experience, as there are high chances of an AUDIT !

4) Decide on which certificate to attempt :

Once you make up your mind that PgMP is the certificate you want to earn we move forward to the business end

5) Choose and Get a Good PgMP Coach :

This is arguably the first and the best step you want to take to make professional history for yourself

A good coach is important as you would need constant Mentoring/Training/Coaching and support to learn the Program Concepts

When I decided to go ahead I found Harisha’s website and read the reviews posted by successful candidates

Harisha Lakaavalli: Email id: harishlr@aceproconsulting.com, has been championing PgMP for many years

I immediately enrollment in the morning batches which he conducts and tried to understand the fundamentals

PgMP is all about leaning how to run programs successfully which aligns to the best practices of the SPM4 standard

Please don’t try to memorize your way to the PgMP exam else it will be disastrous

That’s where a great coach can help you clear your Program Management fundamentals

The best thing about Harisha is his patience and penchant for teaching and training which will help you sail through

I will ‘ highly recommend ” his services as he has easily contributed to at-least 50% of my PgMP glory

Dharam Singh: Email id: dharam@vcareprojectmanagement.com is another good coach is who has been a PgMP Educator for years

But bottom line is no matter who is training you, he can only take you to the pool but cannot make you drink

So just 1 key to PgMP success, and that’s ” HARD WORK “

If you study 30 min here , 30 minutes there and then go bird-watching, i will strongly recommend you to re-consider

6) PgMP Application Process :

Application process would take 3/4 weeks as you need lot of information from your past delivered Program’s

Your coach can help you get the right application built and he would review it before you submit it to PMI

There are 5 questions you need to answer for each program you drove ( out of 10 questions )

I would suggest to keep it simple and to the point without lots of Program/Project jargon’s

The application should look ” original ” and not something that you copied from the text book

Once you submit, it will go to PMI for review and that’s when you know if you applications is selected for AUDIT

The AUDIT is completely random and i can say that because my application was ” Not audited ”

However considering the fewer number of application that goes to PMI their is a higher chance of Audit

In comparison to PMP applications , the number of applicants are less considering the eligibility criteria of PgMP

If your application is selected for audit you would need to send artifacts to PMI for verification

You need not worry if you have provided ” accurate and truthful ” information

Remember the PMI code of ethics which says : Respect, Responsibility, Fairness and Honesty

1st Evaluation :

Once your application is accepted, it will go for the 1st evaluation where a panel of PgMP ‘s will review your application

If there are any corrections to be made or any in-efficiencies they will send it back to you for update

2nd Evaluation :

The 2nd evaluation is the 170 question, 4 hour exam which is administered in a Pro-metric Center near you

7) PgMP – Study Materials/Artifacts :

I referred to the following set of books,training’s and Question databases

1. Standard of Program Management (Version 4): The BIBLE of Program Management
2. Examination Content Outline ( ECO )
3. PMBOK 6th Edition
4. Harish’s Online PgMP training: 36 hours
5. Harish’s online Classroom Practice Questions: 127
6. Question Bank ( Harish’s ) – 650 Questions
7. Dharam Singh’s Question Bank: 175 questions
8. Ginger Levin’s ( late – RIP ) Question bank: 520 Questions
9. Jean Gouix and Martial Bellec: 440 Questions
10. Lesson’s learned articles and help from successful candidates

PgMP Total Practice Questions attempted : 1912

When you buy any other book apart from the one’s listed above, make sure they are authentic

Unlike PMP where we have tonnes and tonnes of good question databases available, PgMP has fewer so be careful

8) PgMP – Study Plan and Approach :

” Whatever comes easy will not last long and whatever lasts long will NOT come easy ”

PgMP is one certification that will NOT come easy!

So plan your study schedule well in advance , make a daily routine and stick to it no-matter what

In my case i had left my job in Dec last year and despite opportunities coming in i decided to focus on PgMP

Please find below my study plan which clock’s 700 hours in total ( including Application process )

The number of hours are subjective as some may pass it by clocking 400 and some many even fail on 700 hrs

More than the number of hours you clock it’s important to get the fundamentals right first time

In Program Management we say that ” whatever you can monitor you can Report and control. If you cannot monitor deliverables you cannot control them”. Control can be either Preventive/Corrective.

SPM4 : Governance Plan

So monitor on how many hours you give to yourself to study and pass the exam

9) Mastering the Standard ( SPM4 ) :

If you have to sail through this exam you need to master the standard

Read and understand every word and every line till the time you are confident of the Processes

The standard is hardly 150 pages and there is nothing that is ” irrelevant ” in the standard

I can form a question from any/every line of the standard and so can PMI, so study it religiously

Let me share a screen grab of how I studied the standard so that you can relate to it( please find the pic below )

I literally fought a World War 3 on the standard and you need to do the same !

When you study the standard ” understand the purpose ” of the artifact/activity and how they contribute

Let me explain you with an example :

You are in the Program Closure meeting and the Program Sponsor says :

Pull out the artifact which we will refer to determine if the Program was successful or not

Which document is he referring to ?

1. Program charter 2) Business case 3) Governance plan

The Program Charter documents the Metrics for success, methods of measurement and a clear definition of success, but is that the purpose of the document ?

It’s also mentioned in the Governance plan ( standalone or tailor-made one ) but is that the purpose of the document?

The Business case is the Primary Justification document for an investment decision and the success criteria for a Program

Business case lists the benefit’s against which we measure the success of the program hence we constantly review it

So all three have the required information, but understanding the purpose is important to get it right

When you read the standard read the chapters 1,2,” 7″,3,4,5,6 and 8 because we want to touch base with PLC (7) first

10 ) Critical Performance Domain – Program Life Cycle Management :

There are 5 Performance domain and each one is important to master in order to pass the exam

a) The Break up is listed below

1. Program Life Cycle = 44%
2. Stakeholder Management = 16%
3. Strategic Program Management = 15%
4. Governance = 14%
5. Benefit’s Management = 11 %

Total Questions you attempt in the exam are 170 but 20 questions are NOT scored and are used to measure the ” difficulty level “

But like all other PMI exam’s we won’t know which are those 20 questions so do your best on all questions

b) It’s evident that the PLC consists of 44% of the total number so it’s imperative that we score well

God forbid if you score ” below target ” or Need Improvement ” in this domain it will virtually get you a FAIL result

Even if you score ” above target ” in all the other 4 domains which is very difficult , chances of passing are bleak

Chapter 1 and 2 of the standard has a overview on the domain so please read it thoroughly

But the business end of the PLC is chapter 7 and chapter 8 which according to me is the most complex

All work and tasks performed in any Program are accomplished in ” Program Activities ”

Make sure you understand/remember the I/P , O/P and Updates in the various Program Activities

They are in hundreds so it may be a challenge to remember those but that’s the way it is , no short cuts here !

Some are repeated but some are new and different in each Program activity

It’s like the ITTO ( I/p,Tools & Techniques ,O/P’s ) of the PMP but at a Program Level

As an example please find my ” Program Risk Management ” notes below

c) Different deliverables produced in formulation sub-phase, planning sub-phase, delivery, and closure

The exam can trick you by stating that the ” Program Procurement Management plan ” is prepared in the Program Delivery phase which is incorrect!

When you have got your head around these complex and tricky I/O’s you should be fine

Though it looks pretty simple and easy, it’s actually a daunting task to remember all these

Practice will make you perfect ,I advocate you read the Standard and the PLC chapter at-least 7/8 times religiously

If you can perfect the PLC and score ” above target ” the way i did, your chances of passing increases dramatically

11 ) Examination Content Outline :

ECO has 75 tasks in all and again 35 tasks are from PLC , the rest from other performance domain

Now many people think what is ECO and why it’s important , let me explain you with an example below

Assume you are a New Program Manager and your Boss , the sponsor invites you for a 1:1 meeting

He assigns you a new Program and gives you a list of 75 tasks to perform , which is the ECO !

ECO tasks can/should be mapped to the Performance Domains for better Understanding and Analysis

Example : Go to 4.2 of the standard and see the activities listed immediately after the paragraph

They are the same as Task 5 and Task 8 of ” Benefit’s Management ( ECO ) !

If you cannot map the tasks, you haven’t read the standard enough , it’s time to read it again

When ever you go through an ECO task please break down each task : Example

Task 4 : Strategy Program Management

1. What are we doing ? – Answer – Defining the Program Mission Statement
2. By: Evaluating stakeholder Concern and Expectations
3. To: Establish Program Direction

I prepared my own notes to remember the ECO’s , please see the image below . You can do the same

Look at the left side, i have put in key words to help me remember the starting of the task ,right displays entire task

This way i can remember the tasks easily and then analyse it if i get a question on them

Again it looks very simple and easy but in reality, it takes time to master them!

That’s precisely the reason why this exam is so challenging , there are NO short cuts

There are more than one ways to skin a cat, so you can find one that suits your style of learning

12 ) PMBOK 6th Edition :

It depends on when did you earn your PMP , if it was 5 years back then i recommend you to read it once thoroughly

Special Attention /Emphasis should be given on the following topics :

1. Scope Management: Brush up on the PWBS and Scope Statement etc ( refresher )
2. Schedule Management: Develop a schedule and it’s optimization ( particularly leveling etc )
3. Quality Management: Tools and Techniques used in QA and QC
4. Risk Management: Particularly Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
5. Stakeholder Engagement: Salience Model etc

Integration Management is also the ” core activity” that we do, so please understand it from Program standpoint !

Integration Activities : Chapter 8 – SPM4

13 ) MOCK EXAMS :

Start attempting the mock exams only when you have mastered the SPM4 and the ECO

It doesn’t make sense to waste your mock exams by ‘ guessing ‘ answers and they are ‘ quite expensive ”

Please find below some of the mock exam’s that i gave and my scores, and do align as needed

1. Harish’s QB Mock exam: 2 mock exams: On both, I started with 75% ( 2 months before the final exam )
2. Jean’s Mock exam’s: There are 2 but I took the 100 study questions also as mock exam’s ( 3 in total), I scored 90%,86.5%, and 88%
3. Ginger Levin: Both mock exams I score 42.4% and 50 %, this book houses ‘ very tough questions” so even 50% is a good score

So in total i gave 7 mock exams . I attempted them exactly how i would do under ‘ exam conditions ” , CLOSED BOOK

Don’t cheat yourself by sneaking and looking into the book for answers , if you do so you are cheating yourself !

My exam was scheduled in the afternoon from 12.30pm to 4.30 pm so i picked the same slot for the mock practice tests

Even the ‘ breaks ‘ should be timed , I prefer taking only 1 but 2 breaks are advisable ,RELAX !

I would suggest that you should score 80 to 85% in those mock tests for exam readiness assessment

Ginger levin you should practice ” open book ” as the questions are very tough and it might break your confidence

The primary motive of the book is to make you read the standard as you look for answers

Again attempt only those mock exams that are ‘ authentic ‘

There may be many mock exams available in the market which may NOT be reliable

Simple reason : PgMP is a very high level certification, the aspirants are few compared to PMP ( Demand Vs Supply )

Books that i have Referred in my PgMP Journey are tried and tested by hundreds of aspirants across the globe !

14 ) Buy Your Reference Book’s in advance :

a) In the past 5 days, I have received lots of Pings/calls from fellow aspirants asking me for my study material’s

The said that it takes about 1 month to 45 days for the books to get delivered at their doors steps

That’s when you need to be proactive and plan things in advance , Program Management is all about planning !

Why were you sitting on your behind for these many days ??? , which brings me to point ‘ b”

b) Can you send me the ‘ soft copy ‘ of your Question/Mock database ?

There is a poor ” PgMP coach ” who has spent hundreds of hours writing the mock questions for the PgMP Aspirants

If i keep forwarding their ” intellectual property ” to the whole wide world how is he suppose to make a living ???

As Program Managers we would have made some money working so please spent some on buying original artifacts!

I know the books, mock test etc are very expensive ( in hundreds of dollars ) but it’s worth the effort

You are also contributing positively to the Program Management community , lets grow it from strength to strength

15 ) 1 week before the PgMP Exam :

This can make or break your preparation , if you are working full time i really recommend you to take a week off

Please don’t study anything new , just concentrate on what you have done . My routine was as below

1. Important questions database which I had made a note of earlier and which needed revision before the exam
2. Reading the standard end to end, word by word and filling up any gaps that I had to
3. ECO: It looks very simple and easy but even as we speak you will struggle with it, so prepare well
4. Brushing up on the EVM formulas ( SV, CV, SPI, CPI, ROI, NPV, Communication channel, Payback period, etc )
5. RELAX: The world is NOT coming to an END!

16) How do you figure out that you are prepared for PgMP :

a) There is no perfect way to figure out but if you scroll to the end of the standard and can recollect the glossaries, you are good

b) Your mock test will give you the much-needed confidence. If you have scored 75% you are walking a tight line

c) If you are in a PgMP study group and can answer most of the question without looking into the standard correctly, you are good

d) Getting very Nervous before the exam – It has always worked for me but may not work for you

I get very nervous when i am attempting a difficult exam, be it during my Engineering days or PMP/PgMP

There is so much on the line, hundreds of hours of hard work, application process and the emotional connect

Now if i am NOT prepared, i usually tell myself ” who cares , I am NOT dying if I Fail ”

Well you won’t be dying if you fail, but if you pass believe me you would fell on top of the world !

17) Adequate sleep the night before the PgMP exam :

I cannot emphasize this enough . Please, Please and Please Sleep for at least 7/8 hours the night before the exam

I will tell you my story so that you don’t make the same mistakes that i did

I was travelling a bit and the night before the exam I slept for only 2 hours

Let me sleep for only 2 hours and then after the exam i have the 2nd half of the day to sleep , boy i was wrong !

When i sat for the exam i could concentrate for the first 2 hours and after that my body started giving UP

I could hardly concentrate and it was my sheer good luck, that during the initial 2 hours of the exam gave me most of the PLC questions

I scored ” above target” in both Program life cycle ( 44% ) and strategic Program Management ( 15 % ), 59% – DONE !

However the other 3 Performance domains questions were sandwiched during the latter 2 hours

I still scored a ” target ” in Governance and Stakeholder engagement ( Good Enough to sail through )

Benefits Management took the biggest hit where i scored a horrible NI but remember BI is only 11 % of the game

On 89% of the total questions i did quite well and Aced/passed the exam easily and comfortably !

A person who can TOP Program Life cycle and Strategy domains can easily knock off BM but i was not well rested

Please be Cognizant and be well Rest before the exam

My Exam Analysis below –

18 ) PgMP – Exam Experience :

Now nobody can predict the pattern of PMI’s questions so it’s best advised to study well before the exam

a) It’s very important to start off well so I would advise that you spend some more time on the first 20 questions

The reason is to build your confidence to take on the other remaining questions

Imagine starting off horribly, where you know for sure that the 20 questions you answered are ” wrong ”

Your confidence will take a beating !

b) Take a couple of breaks in between the 4 hours exam, grab a cup of coffee and freshen up

c) Based on my personal exam experience i can jot down the following points

1. 10% of the question that I got was directly from the standard ( Non-Situational based): VERDICT – EASY
2. 20 % of the questions had only 1 Correct answer – EVM etc ( Situational ): VERDICT – MEDIUM/EASY
3. 50% of the questions had 2 correct answers – choose the best ( Situational): VERDICT – TOUGH/AMBIGUOUS
4. 20% of the questions had 3 correct answers – choose the best ( Situational): VERDICT – TERRIFYING!

Please be advised these were my personal experience , other may see it differently , please don’t Judge me for this !

My assumption is the ” Point number 4 ” above will decide weather you get ” above target ” or ” target” in a domain

Now that’s my assumption i don’t know for sure ( i may be wrong ), PMI knows it better than anybody else

If you get the ” Congratulations screen ” after the 4 hours virtual WAR, you will get a certificate like the one below

19 ) PgMP – Toughness Context :

Hard, Tough, Very tough are all relative terms and are quite ” subjective” so don’t get demoralized

But please be prepared for the exam and take it on your chin !

Many people have a tendency to compare PMP VS PgMP though it’s an un-fair comparison

PMP is for Project Managers and PgMP is for Program Managers, so the roles are different and so are the standards

PMP is for ” Boys” and PgMP is for ” Men/Legends “

PgMP will separate the Men from the Boys !

If i have to put a number to it, i will say PMP is 7/10 and PgMP is 10/10 ( Difficulty level-10 being the highest )

I have never attempted a more difficult/ambiguous exam than the PgMP!

I did ” very well ” in my PMP and scored ” above target ” in all the 5 processes . Please find my lessons learned below

http://projectmanagementwithak.com/how-to-conquer-pmp/

Also My Agile Scrum Blog :
http://projectmanagementwithak.com/agile-scrum-best-practices/

If you want to read a bit about PgMP on Quora, then the link : https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-pass-PgMP

20 ) Attitude before the Exam :

Once you did whatever you could and you know you are well prepared , constantly motivate yourself by telling :

If i can’t pass this exam nobody exam on this planet can !

2.8K professionals are PgMP’s around the world and i can stand up with them , shoulder to shoulder

If they have done it , so can I , Nothing can stop me from sailing through

To end this blog and lessons learned i will leave you with a leadership thought from my hero Muhammad Ali who once said –

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

Muhammad Ali – The Greatest!

Go get your PgMP and rule the world of Program Management , All the very Best !

Keep Inspiring!

Regards,

AK , PgMP® , PMP®, CSP-SM™, CSM® , ICP-ACC , ITILv3

PMI is a registered trademark and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc

PgMP and PMP is a registered certification mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.