PMP® Exam Preparation Course
Equivalent of 5 days of live online preparation for the PMP exam, based on the July 2026 exam outline and ...
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Instructor
Philip Russell
21
Students
enrolled
- Description
- Curriculum
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This course is built to get you through the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam. It follows PMI’s exam content outline of July 2026 and the PMBOK® Guide 8th edition, so it covers predictive, agile and hybrid work the way the exam does.
It runs over 5 days, live on Zoom with a qualified instructor, so you can join from wherever you are. PMI asks for 35 contact hours of project management education before you apply, and the course gives you those hours.
How the 5 days fit together
All week you follow one program, Akwanaka, through 3 linked projects: a hospital built on a baselined plan, an SMS service built in Scrum, and a set of rural clinics run as a hybrid. Day 1 starts the work (the exam, the decision ladder, the charter and the stakeholders). Days 2 and 3 plan it, first the scope and schedule and then the cost, quality, contracts, risk and team. Day 4 runs and controls it, and Day 5 adapts, learns and closes, then ends with a timed mini-mock and your study plan.
What you get on this site
Each of the 65 lessons has a scenario, the teaching, an exercise with the answers hidden until you’ve tried, and a worked exam-style question with the reason each wrong option fails. Every lesson also has a slot for a short video, and most come with a fillable PDF handout you can type into and save.
The question practice starts with a diagnostic before Day 1. You then get a practice set at the end of each day, homework for Days 1 to 4, a checkpoint quiz, a 10-item pacing drill and a 60-item mini-mock in 80 minutes. You tag your misses by task and by trap, and on the last day you turn that tally into a 3-week plan that includes 2 full 240-minute mocks.
Who should attend
Project managers and team leads who meet PMI’s experience requirements and want to earn the PMP.
Before Day 1: the diagnostic
Day 1: Alignment (why the project exists, who decides, which approach)
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1.01 Course launch and diagnostic debriefBy the end you can state the shape of the 2026 exam (items, time, weights, formats), explain why judgment matters more than memorizing, and name your 3 weakest tasks. -
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1.02 The decision ladder and ethicsBy the end you can place any option on the 4-rung ladder, reject premature or avoidant options, and apply the 4 ethics values as a check at every rung.
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1.03 Principles and value deliveryBy the end you can name the 6 PMBOK 8 principles, link each to a real project behaviour, and judge whether a project delivered value rather than just output.
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1.04 Choosing an approach and spotting it in a stemBy the end you can recommend predictive, agile or hybrid from the project's traits, place a brief on Cynefin or Stacey, and name the approach from cue words in a stem.
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1.05 Scrum essentialsBy the end you can name the 3 accountabilities, 5 events and 3 artifacts of the 2020 Scrum Guide and say who decides what in a Scrum or hybrid stem.
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1.06 Hybrid in practice with Kanban, Lean and scalingBy the end you can sketch a hybrid life cycle for a case, say where the Product Owner's authority ends and change control begins, and explain Kanban, Lean waste and scaling frameworks at exam level.
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1.07 Organizational contextBy the end you can say how much authority a PM has under each organization structure and project management office (PMO) type, tell enterprise environmental factors (EEFs) from organizational process assets (OPAs), and apply the lessons-learned rule.
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1.08 GovernanceBy the end you can describe the parts of a governance framework, define success metrics, and decide from thresholds whether a matter stays with the PM or goes up.
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1.09 Initiation essentialsBy the end you can say what the business case, benefits management plan, charter and assumption log contain, who owns each, and spot what is missing or wrong in a charter.
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1.10 Develop a common visionBy the end you can create and promote a shared vision, keep it current, and use 5 Whys to find the root cause of a vision misunderstanding.
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1.11 Identify and analyze stakeholdersBy the end you can identify stakeholders, keep a register, place stakeholders on power/interest and salience models, and use the engagement assessment matrix to spot gaps.
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1.12 Engage, build trust and influenceBy the end you can build trust, choose an appropriate source of influence, tailor messages to a stakeholder, and handle a resistant senior stakeholder privately and directly.
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1.13 Practice set 1By the end you can apply Day 1 judgment under exam timing and read your own results by task and trap type.
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PMP practice set 1 (Day 1) - Part 1 of 2 -
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PMP practice set 1 (Day 1) - Part 2 of 2
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1.14 Daily reviewBy the end you can name the five Day 1 trap codes, tag your own errors, write a short item with a trap note, and record what you'll do tonight.
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PMP homework 1 (night 1) - Part 1 of 2
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PMP homework 1 (night 1) - Part 2 of 2
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V-01 Day 1 vocabulary quiz - Part 1 of 3Essential vocabulary for the PMP Exam. Not knowing vocab in this quiz will very likely cause you to fail your PMP Exam.
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V-01 Day 1 vocabulary quiz - Part 2 of 3Essential vocabulary for the PMP Exam. Not knowing vocab in this quiz will very likely cause you to fail your PMP Exam.
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V-01 Day 1 vocabulary quiz - Part 3 of 3Essential vocabulary for the PMP Exam. Not knowing vocab in this quiz will very likely cause you to fail your PMP Exam.
Day 2: Plan the work (stakeholders, scope, value, schedule, resources)
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2.01 RecapBy the end you can name the trap code behind your own Day 1 misses and can state the answer pattern that avoids it.
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2.02 Align stakeholder expectationsBy the end you can categorize stakeholders, surface what each really expects, and run a facilitated meeting that ends in agreed decisions.
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2.03 Plan communicationBy the end you can build a communication strategy from stakeholder needs and fix a weak communications matrix.
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2.04 Integrated planningBy the end you can assemble a project plan from its parts, spot gaps and clashes between the parts, and keep the plan current.
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2.05 Scope: predictiveBy the end you can define scope with elicited requirements, break it down into a WBS that follows the 100% rule, and tell validating scope from controlling scope.
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2.06 Scope: agileBy the end you can build and refine a backlog of well-formed user stories with testable acceptance criteria, and tell a story's acceptance criteria from the Definition of Done.
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2.07 Identify and prioritize valueBy the end you can name what "value" means to each stakeholder, rank work by value and feedback, and use a value stream map to find waste.
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2.08 Deliver and measure valueBy the end you can choose a delivery option that shows value early, and make sure benefits are tracked after delivery.
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2.09 ResourcesBy the end you can plan the people, equipment and materials a project needs, read a resource histogram, and see that resource estimates feed activity durations.
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2.10 Schedule: build, read and controlBy the end you can sequence activities, read a network diagram, find the critical path and float, use three-point estimates, and choose between crashing, fast-tracking and leveling.
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2.12 Agile planning, estimating and flowBy the end you can plan releases and Sprints, estimate with story points, forecast with velocity, and use flow measures.
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2.13 Practice set 2By the end you can answer 18 mixed items at exam pace (about 80 seconds each) in single, multi-response and matching formats, and learn the answer pattern for each trap type.
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PMP practice set 2 (Day 2) - Part 1 of 2
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PMP practice set 2 (Day 2) - Part 2 of 2
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2.14 Daily reviewBy the end you can add today's predictive-agile pairs to the mirror table, tag your own errors by trap code, and explain why a tempting wrong option fails.
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PMP homework 2 (night 2) - Part 1 of 2
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PMP homework 2 (night 2) - Part 2 of 2
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PMP Day 2 exercise stems
Day 3: Plan the safeguards, then build the team
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3.01 RecapBy the end you can name the traps behind your own Day 2 homework misses and know which traps to watch for today.
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3.02 Finance I: budget and reservesBy the end you can build a cost baseline and budget in the right order, say who controls contingency and management reserve, and plan how spending is tracked and reported.
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3.03 Quality: plan and build inBy the end you can write measurable quality requirements, prefer prevention over inspection, classify costs of quality, and use the Definition of Done as the agile quality gate.
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3.04 Compliance IBy the end you can confirm which requirements apply, classify them by category, spot the threats to meeting them, and take the right first step when a compliance question appears in the plan.
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3.05 Procurement I: who carries the riskBy the end you can decide make or buy, choose a contract type by who carries the cost risk and how clear the scope is, and handle a fixed-price vendor delay with the right first moves.
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3.06 Procurement II: select, negotiate, manageBy the end you can score proposals with weighted criteria, prepare a negotiation with a walk-away position, manage a vendor and contract changes by the contract terms, and handle gifts and conflicts of interest ethically.
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3.07 Risk I: plan, identify, assessBy the end you can set up a risk plan with appetite and thresholds, find risks with the right techniques, write them properly in a register, and score them on a probability-impact matrix.
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3.08 Form the teamBy the end you can set up team expectations, write a team charter and ground rules, fix a responsibility matrix, and lead a team through its stages, including virtual teams.
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3.09 Leading: styles, EI and representing the teamBy the end you can pick a leadership style to fit the situation, use emotional intelligence, carry the team's voice upward without hiding anything, and solve problems with the team by finding the root cause.
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3.10 Empower and motivateBy the end you can use motivation theories to diagnose what drives people, set decision authority at the right level, and build self-managing, psychologically safe, inclusive teams.
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3.11 Manage conflicts and negotiationBy the end you can find what a conflict is really about, name the five Thomas-Kilmann modes, read the context, choose the best mode, and negotiate on interests with a walk-away (BATNA).
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3.13 Practice set 3By the end you can answer 18 mixed items under exam timing, using the decision ladder and the day's rules, and check your answers by trap type.
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PMP practice set 3 (Day 3) - Part 1 of 2
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PMP practice set 3 (Day 3) - Part 2 of 2
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3.14 Daily reviewBy the end you can add today's mirror pairs, tag your errors by trap and task, practise a distractor autopsy, and set one action for tomorrow.
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PMP homework 3 (night 3) - Part 1 of 2
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PMP homework 3 (night 3) - Part 2 of 2
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PMP Day 3 exercise stems
Day 4: Execute, measure and respond
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4.01 RecapBy the end you can name the trap type behind each of your Day 3 misses and state the correct rule in one sentence.
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4.02 Finance II: performance and justificationBy the end you can read an earned value snapshot, choose the right forecast and the right escalation, and recall the business-case measures from Day 1 in plain words.
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4.03 Status: reading the numbersBy the end you can read a burndown, burnup, cumulative flow diagram, cycle time and velocity trend and say what to do about each.
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4.04 Quality: check and improveBy the end you can read a control chart and a Pareto chart, choose between inspection, audit and review, and name the improvement cycle that follows.
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4.05 Compliance IIBy the end you can read an audit-checklist exhibit, rank the gaps by consequence, and choose the correct action for a noncompliance.
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4.06 Status: artifacts and communicationBy the end you can choose and tailor the right artifact and message for each audience and keep artifacts current and accessible.
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4.07 Reporting and meetingsBy the end you can pick the right report or radiator, facilitate a meeting that produces decisions, and refuse to dress up bad news.
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4.08 Manage customer expectationsBy the end you can identify customers, keep outcomes aligned with their expectations, and respond to satisfaction signals with the right next action.
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4.09 Risk II: respond and monitorBy the end you can choose and justify a response for threats and opportunities, distinguish contingency from fallback and residual from secondary risk, and keep the risk picture current.
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4.10 Issues, risk-to-issue and impedimentsBy the end you can tell a risk from an issue, log and work an issue with stakeholders, decide when to escalate, and prioritize and remove impediments.
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4.12 Change controlBy the end you can run a change through the right path, decide whether something is a change request, and keep baselines, logs and documents current.
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4.12b Change control, part 2By the end you can size a change before answering it, name who approves it in each approach, and tell change control from configuration management.
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4.13 Practice set 4By the end you can read graphic items quickly, apply the decision pattern for each exhibit, and manage time on harder items.
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PMP practice set 4 (Day 4) - Part 1 of 2
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PMP practice set 4 (Day 4) - Part 2 of 2
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4.14 Daily reviewBy the end you can leave with the formula handout, an updated mirror table, a tagged error tally and one self-written graphic item.
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PMP homework 4 (night 4) - Part 1 of 2
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PMP homework 4 (night 4) - Part 2 of 2
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PMP Day 4 exercise stems
Day 5: Adapt, learn and close, then integrate and test
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5.01 External business environmentBy the end you can scan the outside world with PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental), judge which changes matter, and route the right ones into the backlog or the baseline.
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5.02 2026 themes: AI, sustainability, securityBy the end you can name the main risks and governance steps for AI in a project, and handle sustainability and security as requirements and risks instead of side topics.
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5.03 Support organizational changeBy the end you can assess a culture, size a change's impact on the project, and use the ADKAR model and Kotter's 8 steps to diagnose why a change is not sticking.
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5.04 Knowledge transfer and lessons learnedBy the end you can find critical knowledge, gather it by the right method, build a culture that shares it, and apply the rule "capture lessons now, consult before planning, update OPAs".
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5.05 Continuous improvementBy the end you can turn lessons into actual change: use past lessons, run a retrospective or after-action review, and push a finding into the organization's process assets.
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5.06 Close the project or phaseBy the end you can close a project or phase properly: agree closure criteria, obtain approval, confirm the receiving team is ready, and finish contracts, finances, resources and final lessons.
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5.07 Transfer case 1: a hybrid ERP rolloutBy the end you can read a linked scenario once, then answer five situational items fast and justify each choice aloud, in a setting you haven't seen this week.
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5.09 Exam technique and pacingBy the end you can plan the 240 minutes, handle every question format, flag and return, and use cue words and elimination to find the keyed answer.
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PMP pacing drill (block 5.09)
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5.10 Mini-mock: 60 items in 80 minutesBy the end you can sit a 60-item mini-mock under exam conditions in one unbroken sitting, then mark your own answers and see your first score.
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PMP mini-mock exam (blocks 5.10 to 5.12) - Part 1 of 4
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PMP mini-mock exam (blocks 5.10 to 5.12) - Part 2 of 4
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PMP mini-mock exam (blocks 5.10 to 5.12) - Part 3 of 4
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PMP mini-mock exam (blocks 5.10 to 5.12) - Part 4 of 4
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5.13 Mini-mock reviewBy the end you can tag each miss by task and trap code, and use a distractor autopsy to see why a tempting wrong answer fails.
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5.14 Study plan and closeBy the end you can leave with a 3-week study plan built from your own error tally, exam-day logistics sorted, and the mirror table complete.
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PMP Day 5 exercise stems
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