The APM PMQ Exam Syllabus Topics are the topics covered and contained within the latest (2018) APM PMQ Syllabus:

What is a Project and what is Project Management?

The following are the key knowledge areas for the APM PMQ Exam:

Taking the worst situation, you may only get:

So, you don’t have to put in perfect answers for every topic!
As a back stop if you are really struggling, you may have to choose a couple of “??” choices from your exam paper. If so, estimate your likely marks, and go for the question where you think you will score best.

APM PMQ Exam question answering skills

When you consider the time constraint and the number of questions you need to answer, then on average each question will cover between one and a half to two sides of paper, giving a total of around fifteen to twenty sides all together.

Start each answer or part answer on a new page, it makes it easy to mark and keeps you on track.

Don’t just keep on writing – a text dense ten-line paragraph is hard for the examiner to read and potential marks may be missed (by the examiner and you!)

Each point you make should start on a new paragraph, so leave a two- or three-lines gap between each paragraph.  This will also stop you from waffling on about a single point, keeps you on track, and makes it easier and clearer for the examiner to mark.

Make sure any diagrams you draw have a title, are clearly labelled and have a key if appropriate (e.g. on a network diagram).  If you have drawn a graph, clearly label each axis and state the scale you have used.

Be as neat as you can but don’t waste time, and use a ruler when appropriate.

Freehand boxes are perfectly acceptable on a network diagram, for example, but keep them neat; using a ruler wastes valuable time.

Use short sentences and simple words. 

Avoid all use of jargon and acronyms. If you are tempted to use them then explain what they mean. 

Remember the examiner can only mark what you have written, they do not know that you may have meant something else as well. If your statement means more than one thing explain them all. 

Avoid using “etc.”, if there is something to say, say it.

Use your own experience when answering the questions.  For example, there are as many project life-cycle definitions and risk process names as there are industries and organisations.
So, you could start your answer to a question such as “State the purpose managing risks, and give an example of the risk management steps” by writing something like:

“I work for a chemical processing company and our life cycle has the following phases: inception, definition, delivery, handover, benefits realization”.  This enables…….

Finally, answer your check questions first, you will gain confidence and you may discover that in fact, one of your “?” turns out to be a check symbol choice!

Contents, processes, steps and lists

Your exam will be based upon your memory, and one of the hardest things to do is to remember the list of key headings in a document for example, or perhaps the named steps in a sequence.

So, when checking the exam paper for potential questions that you will answer, do note if your answer may need to quote a sequence steps, the typical contents, or simply making a list of key points.

Even if the question topic is one that you feel confident of answering, noting any of the above, and thinking through if you can come up with the sections or lists first, will help stop you from answering such a question in the first place – and chose a different question!

What is being asked?

As your teacher probably hammered home when you were at school, ALWAYS read the question.

Our brains have this inbuilt temptation to answer the question it thinks you have been asked rather than what is actually being asked.

So, read the question at least twice and analyze its content.  It should be clear, and it should be obvious what is being asked of you.

APM PMQ Exam Final point

When I was at school, some of my chums seemed to breeze through exams, whereas I stressed out badly, counting down the days until the day of the examination itself. So, by the time I was sitting the exam, I was a quivering wreck and my brain seemed to be turning to sawdust!

The adage of “keep calm and carry on” would have helped me immensely…

So here is my final piece of advice:

And…
The examiner knows that the world needs qualified project management professional like you, so the examiner is hunting for answer evidence for you to romp home with a pass grade
The examiner is on YOUR side, so see YOUR exam as a gifted opportunity to shine and PASS!

The Need for Time Management

Your three-hour exam might seem a long time to start with, but it will fly past and your chances of passing are greatly diminished if you run out of time and are not able to complete all questions.

 You need to create a time plan.  Out of the 52 Body of Knowledge topics, 37 are covered in the APM PMQ syllabus out of which any 16 are tested in the exam. You are having to answer any 10 questions out of the 16 available. The pass mark is 55%.

Aim for your Best AMP PMQ Questions

When you first open the paper in the exam room you must quickly identify all 10 questions that you intend to answer. Identify the topics that you are familiar with from your project experience and the ones you are not so comfortable with. Be aware that unfamiliar topics may be set in an easy question for you, but there will be some that you definitely will not attempt.

So, prioritize the topics into your personal confidence groupings such as:

Topics that I hope will come up and will definitely answer
Topics that I need to be prepared for and will answer once I have exhausted my ‘best’ topics
Topics that I will not attempt
I suggest that you start with your preferred questions and work down accordingly. The main thing is to stick to your plan unless you have a very good reason for not doing so such as having misread a question.

General APM PMQ Exam Time Management

First read each question carefully to be sure that you understand the questions being asked and make your choices accordingly.

Each question will be specific and therefore a general answer will not give sufficient evidence and get you the marks that you require.

A major cause of lost marks, possibly causing you to fail, is not actually answering the question that is asked so to avoid this mistake by being sure that you understand exactly what it is the examiner is asking.

Avoid writing down everything you can remember learning about the question topic. The examiner is trying to find our whether you understand a particular aspect of a topic and is looking for you to provide evidence of your understanding.

Do not use jargon or acronyms without at least once per question, writing them out in full. Do not assume the marker knows that you know! Do not hide your answer behind generic words such as ‘management’ or ‘strategy’ as these can obscure the answer point you are attempting to make.

What you write down is the only way the marker can test your understanding so make every word count!

You have 180 minutes to complete 10 questions which 15 minutes per question is around leaving you 15 minutes at the start to read and plan and 15 minutes at the end of the exam to check through and add any last-minute additions.

Each question is worth 50 marks and some will consist of multiple parts. You will be told the number of marks that are available for each part.

As a guide you should allow 3 minutes per 10 marks although some parts will require more time than others.

One you have decided to start a question it is worth allocating time to each point that you will be asked to make. For example, many of the questions ask you to explain or describe 5 aspects about a question topic.

So as a guide, you should spend approximately 3 minutes per point.

If you spend 7 minutes of your first point you only have 8 more minutes to cover 4 more points!

If you go wrong in a question, just cross out the error and carry on as starting again will cost you valuable time.

 Your APM PMQ Exam Answer Structure

Your answer structure should follow the question structure – Duh!

Very often the question will ask you to make 3 or 5 points, so you would want to answer in the form of “Point1,..Point2,….act….” and leave a gap between each Point so that it is clear to the examiner.

Be clear:

This is an important distinction as you are only likely to get 50% of the marks for saying ‘what’ something is when you are asked to ‘explain’ it.

Here is the APM definitions for the types of question styles you may be asked to answer:

List. A simple list of terms or phrases with no description or explanation of what each term or phrase is or means. Candidates are not required to give a structured sentence.

State. A coherent single sentence that summarizes, for each point, what something is or means.

Describe. A clear description of what is understood by a term or phrase. Each point requires a short paragraph made up of more than one sentence.

Explain. An explanation making clear the meaning and relevance of an idea or concept. Each point requires a paragraph made up of two or more sentences. It may be appropriate to provide examples or use diagrams to clarify your explanation. However, if there are specific marks for examples or diagrams, this will be explicitly stated in the question.

List and Describe. Where a single question asks a candidate to List and then Describe. Candidates should either:

List the number of points needed first, and then describe them in a separate paragraph, or,
Use clearly defined sub-headings in the text to indicate the points listed
Sometimes, when answering an ‘explain’ question it may be hard to think of ‘why’ something is relevant or important. A technique is to ask yourself, “What happens if this is NOT done?” For example, “if this were not done X, Y and Z will occur”

Consider the project lifecycle in some questions as may give you some answer ideas, for example if you were asked about, say, cost control, it can sometimes be helpful to consider the topic being examined in the context of the project lifecycle from concept to closure.

You can use your own project or work experience if it helps answer a question (or maybe even a project-related methodology that you are familiar with) but take care not to use jargon as the examiner may know nothing about your company or industry.

Where there are calculations (such as in some earned value question) you must show your working so that the marker can follow what you have done. Even if you get the wrong answer through miscalculation, you may get some marks if your method or even part of it was correct.