PMP Complete Review Guide 2026–2027

4. The work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposes total scope hierarchically down to work packages, covering 100% of the work and nothing more. (ECO Task 2)
5. The scope baseline is the scope statement + WBS + WBS dictionary. Changing it requires change control. (ECO Task 2)
6. In agile, scope is broken into a prioritized backlog owned by the product owner and refined continuously. (ECO Task 2)
7. MoSCoW classifies requirements: Must, Should, Could, Won't (this time). (ECO Task 3)
8. A minimum viable product (MVP) is the smallest version that delivers value and gives early feedback to learn from. (ECO Task 3)
9. Measure benefits with indicators agreed with stakeholders, and review business value throughout the project, not only at the end. (ECO Task 3)
10. Resource leveling adjusts the schedule to resolve shortages and may delay completion; smoothing adjusts within float. (ECO Task 4)
11. Contract types: fixed price (FFP) puts risk on the seller; cost reimbursable (CPFF, CPIF) puts it on the buyer; time and materials (T&M) shares it. (ECO Task 5)
12. Common procurement documents: RFI to gather information, RFQ to request a price, RFP to request a full proposal. Bids are scored against criteria set in advance. (ECO Task 5)
13. Before negotiating, define your best alternative (BATNA) and your limits; after signing, track performance and compliance with contract terms. (ECO Task 5)
14. Contingency reserve covers identified risks and is inside the cost baseline; management reserve covers unknown unknowns and is outside it. (ECO Task 6)
15. Earned value: CV = EV − AC, SV = EV − PV, CPI = EV ÷ AC, SPI = EV ÷ PV. (ECO Task 6)
16. Forecasting: EAC = BAC ÷ CPI (if current performance continues), ETC = EAC − AC, VAC = BAC − EAC. (ECO Task 6)
17. Cost of quality: conformance (prevention, appraisal) and nonconformance (internal and external failure). Prevention costs less than fixing defects later. (ECO Task 7)
18. Quality tools: Pareto for the biggest causes, fishbone for root cause, control chart for process stability, and histogram. (ECO Task 7)
19. The critical path is the longest path in the network with zero total float; any delay on it delays the project. (ECO Task 8)
20. Story points are a relative effort estimate; velocity is the points completed per iteration and is used for forecasting. (ECO Task 8)
21. A burndown chart shows remaining work; a burnup chart shows completed work and scope changes together. (ECO Task 9)
22. Before closing: formal acceptance, validate readiness to hand over, close procurement and finances, hold lessons learned, and release resources. (ECO Task 10)

Common mistakes in this chapter

• ✕ Choosing the approach by personal preference. Correct: assess complexity, requirement volatility, and team and customer readiness, then recommend the best fit.
• ✕ Implementing a change as soon as it is requested. Correct: assess impact first and send it through change control; no baseline changes outside it.
• ✕ Mixing up contingency and management reserves. Contingency covers identified risks and sits inside the cost baseline; management reserve covers unknowns, sits outside it, and needs management approval.
• ✕ Confusing crashing with fast tracking. Crashing adds resources and usually raises cost; fast tracking overlaps activities and raises risk. Both apply to the critical path.
• ✕ Confusing resource leveling with smoothing. Leveling can change the critical path and end date; smoothing works within float and changes neither.
• ✕ Gold plating (adding features nobody requested) or letting scope creep in unchecked. Correct: deliver what was agreed; any addition goes through change control.
• ✕ Reading SPI and CPI backwards. Above 1 is good (ahead of schedule or under budget); below 1 means behind schedule or over budget.
• ✕ Choosing a fixed-price contract when scope is unclear. Correct: vague scope fits time and materials or cost reimbursable; fixed price pushes risk onto the seller, who raises the price.
• ✕ Closing without documented acceptance from the customer or sponsor. Correct: get formal acceptance, hand over deliverables, close contracts, record lessons learned and release resources.
• ✕ Skipping lessons learned when a project ends early. Correct: early termination still follows closure steps, documenting reasons, lessons and deliverable status.