The Project Management Podcast

Personal Pause Update

Play audio-only episode Your browser does not support the audio element. Download the episode. A brief personal update from your host. My wife recently had a serious fall that required hip surgery and rehabilitation, so my time is fully devoted to her recovery right now. One recorded interview is on its way to your feed shortly, but the schedule will stay quiet for the next few weeks while I reschedule cancelled interviews and we get through this together.

Episode 555: Master All 7 PMBOK 8 Performance Domains for the PMP Exam (With Sample Exam Questions)

Play audio-only episode | Play on YouTube | Play on Spotify Episode Summary The seven performance domains from the PMBOK Guide 8th edition form the backbone of how project work actually happens, and they are woven into nearly every situational question on the PMP exam. The catch is that the exam never labels them. Cornelius Fichtner, PMP, takes you through all seven domains: Governance, Scope, Schedule, Finance, Stakeholders, Resources, and Risk. For each domain, he presents a sample question from The PM Exam Simulator, works through the answer choices, and then hands you a structured takeaway built around three skills: how to recognize the domain in a scenario, how to evaluate your answer options, and how to eliminate the traps. Along the way you work through fourteen exam-style questions, including drag and drop matching, choose-multiple formats, and classic four-option scenarios covering everything from negative float and crashing to contingency reserves and psychological safety.

Episode 554: PMBOK Guide 8th Edition, All Six Principles for the PMP Exam

Play audio-only episode | Play on YouTube | Play on Spotify Episode Summary Preparing for the PMP exam means developing the ability to make sound decisions under pressure, not simply recalling definitions from a textbook. In this lesson, drawn directly from the PM PrepCast PMP exam prep course and PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator, Cornelius Fichtner walks through all six project management principles from the PMBOK Guide 8th Edition and shows exactly how to recognize and apply them when facing the kind of ambiguous, scenario-based questions that appear on the actual exam. Each principle gets its own sample question from the PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator, a step-by-step walkthrough of why the wrong answers are wrong, and a second practice question so listeners can immediately test what they have learned. The episode covers all six principles in sequence: Adopt a Holistic View, Focus on Value, Embed Quality into Processes and Deliverables, Be an Accountable Leader, Integrate Sustainability Within All Project Areas, and Build an Empowered Culture. Each principle is taught not as a concept to memorize but as a mindset to recognize and apply, because the exam consistently rewards situational judgment over terminology.

Episode 553: Revenge of the Risk Register (Premium Preview)

Premium This is a preview of our premium episode. Full access is available only to premium subscribers. Click here and learn about the Premium Podcast to access this interview... Play audio-only preview episode | Play on YouTube | Play on Spotify Episode Summary We welcome back Dawn Mahan and Jerry Manas for a project risk management conversation that connects movie moments with practical project leadership. Dawn and Jerry, co-editors of Projectland Goes to the Movies: 22 Blockbuster Strategies for Project Success, focus on the chapters they personally wrote and use them to examine how project managers identify early warning signs, assess uncertainty, choose risk responses, and handle the human side of risk. Jerry uses Star Wars to explain fast risk assessment, OODA loops, situational awareness, risk response planning, and the difference between risk as threat and risk as opportunity. Dawn uses The Italian Job to discuss trust, hidden resistance, team pressure, stakeholder behavior, sabotage, and what happens when a new person joins an already established team. Together, they make a practical point for project managers: risk management cannot live only in a register. It has to show up in conversations, sponsor alignment, team formation, stakeholder engagement, and regular project decisions.

Episode 552: PMP Exam Content Outline

Play audio-only episode | Play on YouTube | Play on Spotify Episode Summary The PMP Exam Content Outline, often called the ECO, drives everything about the PMP exam, yet many students still focus almost entirely on the PMBOK Guide. In this episode, Cornelius Fichtner explains why the PMP exam is not a test of the PMBOK Guide and why the ECO serves as the real syllabus behind the certification exam. He walks through how PMI develops exam questions, how volunteers create and review questions based on the ECO, and how reference materials such as the PMBOK Guide support the process without directly defining the exam itself. Along the way, Cornelius breaks down the structure of the ECO into domains, tasks, and enablers, helping PMP candidates understand what PMI expects modern project managers to know in predictive, adaptive, and hybrid environments. He also explains why concepts such as value delivery, sustainability, compliance, and artificial intelligence now appear in the latest version of the exam. The discussion includes a practical walkthrough of the People, Process, and Business Environment domains, how exam percentages are distributed, and why PMI periodically updates the exam based on real-world project management practices.