PMI-CP™ tests whether you can apply construction project management thinking in a way that is commercially and operationally credible: manage contract lifecycles and claims risk, keep stakeholders aligned, control scope/change, and use governance to drive outcomes.
For the latest official exam details and requirements, see:
https://www.pmi.org/certifications/construction
Official domain weights (PMI-CP)
Source: PMI-CP Examination Content Outline — February 2024.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|
| Contracts Management | 50% |
| Stakeholder Engagement | 30% |
| Strategy and Scope Management | 15% |
| Project Governance | 5% |
Important note (PMI): the Job Task Analysis validated that construction and built environment professionals use approaches across the value delivery spectrum, and those approaches can appear throughout the domains (not isolated to a single domain or task).
What questions tend to reward
- Commercial realism: understanding how contract structures, clauses, and delivery methods affect behavior, risk, and outcomes.
- Risk + claims instincts: identifying claim-prone conditions early and choosing prevention/early-resolution actions.
- Interface thinking: defining boundaries, owners, and acceptance conditions across packages and disciplines.
- Communication discipline: using PMIS and “single source of truth” practices to prevent misalignment and rework.
- Change with impact analysis: evaluating scope changes against outcomes, impacts, and governance thresholds.
Common pitfalls
- Treating “contracts” as paperwork instead of as a system that shapes incentives and risk allocation.
- Weak documentation and decision logs (creates avoidable claims and scope churn).
- Unmanaged interfaces (scope gaps at boundaries are classic rework and dispute drivers).
- Solving the wrong problem: picking a solution before clarifying outcomes, constraints, and decision rights.
- Allowing change orders to accumulate without trend analysis and re-baselining decisions.
A practical prep loop
- Use the Syllabus as your checklist.
- After each task set, review the matching part of the Cheatsheet and write a short miss log.
- Do focused drills in Practice, then re-drill the objectives behind every miss.
- Finish with mixed sets that blend contracts + stakeholders + scope/change + governance in realistic scenarios.
Official references used for this syllabus
The learning objectives are derived from the PMI-CP Examination Content Outline (February 2024) and construction project management practice guidance.
PMI standards portal:
https://www.pmi.org/standards