Craig Bergwall ⋅ Marietta , GA U.S. Army, Lieutenant Colonel ⋅ 20 years served

I just completed my PMP within the last 6 months. Easiest way I found to classify project info was to group by operation/assignment. Try to keep as many under the same "supervisor" as possible. Think of any activity, event, exercise, etc you worked on: any FTX, CALFX, range, EXEVAL, ARTEP, deployment. Anything you've had oversight over. Capture how many hours or weeks you spent working on it, and the % of time you spent. Translate 40 hours per work week by the % of time you spent into total hours. E.g. 26 weeks at 95% of your time working on it comes to 988 hours. The standard PMBOK breakout for each domain is: Initiating=6%, Planning=20%, Executing=42%, Monitoring & Controlling=27%, and Closing=5%. Multiply your total hours for each project by these percentages to get number of hours for each. So, the 988 hours would break out as: 59 hours Initiating, 198 hours Planning, 415 hours Executing, 267 hours M&C, and 49 hours Closing. Hope that helps.

Joe Paschall ⋅ Madison , AL nLogic, LLC ⋅ 26 years experience

I had the same concerns in my own transition as I prepared for PMP in 2008. Before I started the PMP Application, I referenced the PMBOK and other documents online (www.pmi.org) that explain what "project management" means to PMI. Once you understand this, it will be easier for you to place your own experience in the context of the application. This also provides a better basis as you prepare for the exam.

John Cooke ⋅ U.S. Navy, Lieutenant ⋅ 6 years served

I actually found the book "Project Management for Dummies" useful is explaining all the terms of the PMBOK in a meaningful way. It was written by an expert in the PMBOK and I found it helpful to telling the elements of Project Management. Your Army experience was as a cog in a big Portfolio Management or at least Program Management wheel. Keep in mind the the PMI and PMBOK breaks it down to single project management -- projects have a start and an end.....sometimes projects in the Army may seem like they'll never end.

Linda Windisch ⋅ Milpitas , CA IBM ⋅ 34 years experience

Karo, your question made me laugh, because PMI definitely has it's own language. You've already received great advice about using PMI resources. The best think I can say, is read the PMBOK, Read the PMBOK, READ THE PMBOK. Be sure to check out a local chapter of PMI, they can help you with preparation for the exam. BEST WISHES to you!

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

VCTP Syracuse can help, as can local chapters of pmi.org.

Also see:
"A PMP Checklist For Veterans: "How to Learn More About the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification:"

https://acp-advisornet.org/question/927/a-checklist-for-veterans-how-to-learn-more-about-the-project-management-professional-pmp-cert./p1