Before you start your PMP(r), you should write down the 10 Project Management Knowledge Areas as a reference. Why? Because you might suddenly become nervous or distracted during an exam and forget what they are. (Side note: You are given three pieces of paper before the exam begins so make sure you use the space.
You need to not only know the names of the items, but also their order. This can be difficult for some. It is easy to forget one or reverse the order of the 10 items.
There is an easy solution (well, 6 actually). This article will introduce 6 mnemonics to help you remember the 10 Knowledge Areas. Keep your favorite and use it. There is no need for you to know more than one. My personal favorite is number 1.
Before we start, let’s briefly recap the 10 Knowledge Areas: 1) Integration2) Scope3) Cost4) Time5) Quality6) Human Resources7) Communications8) Risk9) Procurement10) Participants
As you can see, the list is quite long and may not appear to be in a logical order. Let’s now get to the 6 mnemonics which will help you remember this list in under 5 minutes.
1. “I Surely Thought Carol Quit Helping Cats Razz Parents Squirrels”
This one is very funny. It’s hard to imagine a cat and a human conspiring to pick on a poor squirrel. This one was my favorite.
2) “I weighed time, cost, and quality with HR Communications as risk on Procurements to Stakeholders.”
This one applies logic and helps you see the order in which you would complete the knowledge areas within a project.
3) “I saw two Crows Quietly Drinking Coffee and Reading Poetic Songs”
This one, like #1, isn’t realistic but it is funny. Humor is a great way to distract from stress during stressful exams.
4) “Integrating scope and time will cost our Quality HR to communicate with Procuring Stakeholders”
This one is very similar with #2. It is easy to understand and orders the knowledge area.
5) “I Saw The Cat. Quick! He can run pretty quickly”
6) “I Saw Two Cars Quickly Hit Carl’s Rear Passenger Side.”
Yikes! Although car accidents are not fun, if you can remember the 10 Knowledge Areas, then do it!
That’s it! These are the 6 ways to remember the 10 knowledge areas of project management.
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