PfMP® FAQ — Common Questions (Prep, Focus, Scope)

How is PfMP different from PMP and PgMP?

PMP is about leading projects. PgMP is about coordinating programs to realize benefits. PfMP is about managing portfolios: selecting, balancing, and governing investments across programs, projects, and operations to achieve strategic objectives.

What should I focus on most?

Use the weights as a guide: Strategic Alignment (25%), Portfolio Performance (25%), and Governance (20%) are the biggest areas. Most misses come from weak prioritization logic, unclear decision rights, and poor interpretation of portfolio-level metrics and trade-offs.

Is there a lot of math?

PfMP is not a math-heavy exam, but you should be comfortable interpreting value and performance reasoning (e.g., ROI/NPV concepts, capacity constraints, trade-off analysis). The exam rewards decision quality more than computation.

How do I improve “best answer” instincts?

For each question, restate:

• Strategic objective: what outcome/value is being optimized?
• Constraint: what’s fixed (budget, compliance, capacity, deadlines)?
• Governance: who has authority and what threshold applies?
• Portfolio impact: how does the decision affect dependencies, benefits, and risk posture?

Then eliminate answers that optimize one component while ignoring portfolio constraints.

Where do official requirements live?

Use PMI’s PfMP certification page: https://www.pmi.org/certifications/portfolio-management-pfmp

This hub is mapped to PMI’s official PfMP Examination Content Outline.