The PMI Examination Content Outline (ECO) is the authoritative PMP syllabus. Every exam question is mapped to a specific task. If you want to audit your study plan against what’s actually tested, map your practice-question miss-rate to this table and you’ll see exactly where your gaps are.
The ECO organizes the exam around 3 domains and 35 tasks:
- Domain I, People (42%), 14 tasks
- Domain II, Process (50%), 17 tasks
- Domain III, Business Environment (8%), 4 tasks
Here’s the compact version.
Domain I: People (42%, 14 tasks)
| # | Task | What it tests | Study priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Manage conflict | Recognize conflict stages (Speed Leas), pick appropriate resolution technique (collaborate > compromise > smooth > force > withdraw), apply servant leadership | HIGH, most frequently tested task in Domain I |
| 1.2 | Lead a team | Set vision, support diversity, pick leadership style (directive vs. collaborative), apply servant leadership, inspire | HIGH |
| 1.3 | Support team performance | Appraise performance, give feedback, recognize growth, verify improvements | Medium |
| 1.4 | Empower team members and stakeholders | Organize around strengths, support accountability, bestow decision authority | Medium |
| 1.5 | Ensure team members/stakeholders are adequately trained | Determine competencies, allocate training resources, measure outcomes | Medium |
| 1.6 | Build a team | Appraise skills, deduce resource needs, refresh skills, maintain knowledge transfer | Medium |
| 1.7 | Address and remove impediments, obstacles, blockers | Identify impediments early, reprioritize to unblock team, escalate appropriately | HIGH (Agile-heavy) |
| 1.8 | Negotiate project agreements | Analyze needs, verify objectives align, assess priorities, reach WIN-WIN | Medium |
| 1.9 | Collaborate with stakeholders | Evaluate engagement needs, optimize alignment, build trust | HIGH |
| 1.10 | Build shared understanding | Break down ambiguity, reach consensus, explore alternatives, support outcome | Medium |
| 1.11 | Engage and support virtual teams | Examine virtual context, distribute work appropriately, tools/engagement | Medium |
| 1.12 | Define team ground rules | Communicate principles, form team charter, enforce rules | Low-Medium |
| 1.13 | Mentor relevant stakeholders | Allocate mentoring time, recognize growth opportunities | Low |
| 1.14 | Promote team performance through emotional intelligence | Assess behavior, analyze motivators, evaluate EI | Medium |
Key insight: Tasks 1.1, 1.2, 1.7, and 1.9 likely account for 60%+ of People-domain questions. Weight your study accordingly.
Domain II: Process (50%, 17 tasks)
| # | Task | What it tests | Study priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Execute project with urgency to deliver business value | Assess incremental delivery, examine value, minimize waste | HIGH (value-first philosophy) |
| 2.2 | Manage communications | Analyze needs, determine methods, communicate, confirm understood | HIGH |
| 2.3 | Assess and manage risks | Determine risk options, iterate, build register, treat risks | HIGH |
| 2.4 | Engage stakeholders | Analyze, categorize, develop engagement plan | HIGH |
| 2.5 | Plan and manage budget and resources | Estimate budget, anticipate future needs, plan/manage reserves, monitor variations | Medium (EVM questions live here) |
| 2.6 | Plan and manage schedule | Estimate, utilize benchmarks, prepare, measure ongoing progress, modify to manage needs | Medium (CPM questions live here) |
| 2.7 | Plan and manage quality | Determine quality standards, recommend options, survey deliverable, service, QA/QC | Medium |
| 2.8 | Plan and manage scope | Determine requirements, break down scope, monitor/validate | HIGH |
| 2.9 | Integrate project planning activities | Consolidate plans, assess dependencies, gaps, business value | Medium |
| 2.10 | Manage project changes | Anticipate, determine strategy, execute strategy, determine response | HIGH |
| 2.11 | Plan and manage procurement | Define strategy, deliver approach, contract types | Low-Medium |
| 2.12 | Manage project artifacts | Determine requirements, validate, continuously assess | Low |
| 2.13 | Determine appropriate project methodology/methods and practices | Assess needs, recommend development approach (predictive/iterative/agile) | HIGH (development-approach questions) |
| 2.14 | Establish project governance structure | Determine appropriate governance for given project, define escalation paths | Medium |
| 2.15 | Manage project issues | Recognize risk becoming issue, attack with approach, collaborate on impact | Medium |
| 2.16 | Ensure knowledge transfer for project continuity | Discuss responsibilities, outline expectations, confirm approach | Low |
| 2.17 | Plan and manage project/phase closure or transitions | Determine criteria, validate readiness, conclude activities (finalize, archive, celebrate) | Medium |
Key insight: Tasks 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.8, 2.10, and 2.13 cover the bulk of Process-domain questions. Development-approach selection (2.13) is especially heavy in hybrid-scenario questions.
Domain III: Business Environment (8%, 4 tasks)
| # | Task | What it tests | Study priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Plan and manage project compliance | Confirm compliance, classify categories, determine threats, use methods to support | Medium |
| 3.2 | Evaluate and deliver project benefits and value | Investigate benefits, document agreement, verify ownership of ongoing benefit realization | HIGH (benefits realization) |
| 3.3 | Evaluate and address external business environment changes for impact on scope | Survey changes to external environment, assess impact, recommend options | Medium |
| 3.4 | Support organizational change | Assess culture, evaluate org change impact, recommend actions, facilitate change | Medium |
Key insight: Business Environment is only 8% of the exam but is often unprepared-for. Candidates coming from pure PM careers (without MBA-style business training) tend to underweight this domain.
Suggested study time allocation
Most PMP candidates study 150-200 hours total. Here’s a rough allocation:
| Domain | % of exam | Study hours (of 175) |
|---|---|---|
| People (Domain I) | 42% | 75-80 hours |
| Process (Domain II) | 50% | 80-85 hours |
| Business Environment (Domain III) | 8% | 15-20 hours |
Within each domain, weight toward HIGH-priority tasks (the ones that show up most on exam).
How to use this cheat sheet
- Track your practice-question performance by ECO task (not just domain)
- Identify your 3-5 weakest tasks
- Allocate 50% of your remaining study time to those
- Take a full-length mock exam every 7-10 days to recalibrate
Want practice questions that tell you exactly which ECO task they test, and why your wrong pick was wrong for that specific task? PassCoach.ai is in beta waitlist. First 100 signups get lifetime access for $99.
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