PMI Exam Procedure Update

Be aware! One of the most common tips for the PMP (and other PMI Exams) is wrong! You are likely told or found on the Web that you can use the unused portion of the 15 minutes tutorial to jog down notes. This is incorrect based on our research.

Summary:

PMI recently changed its policy on whether you can use the “unused portion” of the tutorial time for brainstorming and jogging down notes. The short answer is “no”, but you should ask the test center when you check-in. At the least, do not plan to have the 15 minutes extra time as you plan for your test.

Details:

As many of you know, the PMI certification exams at Prometrics start with a 15 minute tutorial of the examination software. Since it’s an easy to use software, most people should finish within 2-3 minutes. This means the remaining time, typically 10 minutes or more, is somewhat flexible. Generally, we advise our students to use this extra time to start writing down notes. However, this practice HAS NEVER been consistent. One of our trainers dug deep into this and even called multiple testing centers and contacting PMI management. Let’s just say the responses vary – some permits, some do not, some not sure. Thus, here is our advice to our customers:

1. Do NOT plan to have this extra time as you prepare the exam. This is the official PMI policy, but it appears that most test centers are not well informed.

2. DO ask Prometrics when you get in. If they allow, great – free time! If not, then you are ready.

BTW, if the center does not allow using that time for jotting down notes and catches you doing so, I believe they would just confiscate the notes. If you experience other penalties, please let us know.

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