Business, finance and project management · 40 cards · sources listed below

PMP Flashcards: A Checked Starter Set for Exam Prep

The PMP exam content outline has three domains: People, Process and Business Environment. PMI published a revised outline for exams from July 2026 that keeps those three names but shifts the weighting toward Business Environment (governance, compliance, change and value delivery). This set is not tied to either edition; it teaches long-standing concepts that candidates most often mix up: earned value formulas, schedule math, risk responses, predictive vs agile approaches and stakeholder engagement. It is an independent study aid written in our own words; it is not PMI content and does not reproduce the PMBOK Guide. Because the 2026 outline gives Business Environment more weight, our business-environment group is only a light starter; check the current outline on pmi.org for the exact domains, weights and tasks tested now. This is a starter set, not the full syllabus.

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Free PMP flashcards: 40-card starter set

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Earned value and cost formulas (13)

Know these exactly: every symbol matters.

What are the three basic earned value measures (PV, EV, AC)?

Planned Value (PV) = budgeted cost of work scheduled. Earned Value (EV) = budgeted cost of work actually completed. Actual Cost (AC) = what the completed work really cost.

Cost Variance (CV) formula and meaning

CV = EV - AC. Negative = over budget, positive = under budget, zero = on budget.

Schedule Variance (SV) formula and meaning

SV = EV - PV. Negative = behind schedule, positive = ahead, zero = on schedule.

Cost Performance Index (CPI) formula and how to read it

CPI = EV / AC. Below 1.0 = over budget, above 1.0 = under budget. It shows how much value you earn per unit of money spent.

Schedule Performance Index (SPI) formula and how to read it

SPI = EV / PV. Below 1.0 = behind schedule, above 1.0 = ahead of schedule.

What is BAC?

Budget at Completion: the total planned budget for the project or work package. It is the baseline for EAC, VAC and TCPI calculations.

EAC when current cost performance will continue (typical variance)

EAC = BAC / CPI. Use it when past cost performance is expected to continue to the end.

EAC when the variance so far was a one-off (atypical)

EAC = AC + (BAC - EV). Remaining work is assumed to cost what was originally budgeted.

EAC when the original estimate is no longer valid

EAC = AC + bottom-up ETC. Re-estimate the remaining work from scratch and add it to the actual cost to date.

Estimate to Complete (ETC) formula

ETC = EAC - AC (when EAC is already known). It is the expected cost of the remaining work.

Variance at Completion (VAC) formula

VAC = BAC - EAC. Negative means the project is forecast to finish over budget.

To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) based on BAC

TCPI = (BAC - EV) / (BAC - AC). The cost efficiency you must achieve on remaining work to finish within the original budget.

TCPI based on a new EAC

TCPI = (BAC - EV) / (EAC - AC). Use it when the budget has already been judged unachievable and you target the revised EAC.

Schedule, quality and estimating (8)

What is the critical path?

The longest-duration path through the network diagram. It determines the shortest possible project duration, and activities on it have zero total float.

Total float vs free float

Total float = how long an activity can slip without delaying the project end date. Free float = how long it can slip without delaying the early start of any successor.

Crashing vs fast tracking

Crashing adds resources to critical activities to shorten the schedule (cost increases). Fast tracking does critical activities in parallel that were planned in sequence (risk of rework increases).

Three-point (PERT) estimate formulas

Expected = (O + 4M + P) / 6 where O = optimistic, M = most likely, P = pessimistic. Standard deviation is about (P - O) / 6.

How many communication channels exist among n people?

n(n - 1) / 2. Ten people have 45 channels. Adding a person increases complexity quickly.

Quality assurance vs quality control

Quality assurance checks that the processes are right and being followed (prevention). Quality control inspects the deliverables against requirements (detection).

Name the four dependency types between activities.

Finish-to-start (most common), start-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-finish (rare).

What is a sunk cost, and should it drive a continue/stop decision?

Money already spent that cannot be recovered. It should not drive the decision; compare only future costs and benefits.

Risk and procurement (6)

Five strategies for negative risks (threats)

Escalate, avoid, transfer, mitigate, accept.

Five strategies for positive risks (opportunities)

Escalate, exploit, share, enhance, accept.

Risk transfer vs risk mitigation

Transfer shifts the impact and ownership to a third party (e.g. insurance, fixed-price contract) but the risk still exists. Mitigation reduces the probability or impact.

Risk vs issue

A risk is an uncertain future event that may affect objectives. An issue is a problem that is already happening and needs to be resolved now.

Residual risk vs secondary risk

Residual risk remains after a response is applied. Secondary risk is a new risk created by implementing the response.

Which contract type puts the most cost risk on the seller, and which on the buyer?

Firm fixed price puts most cost risk on the seller. Cost-plus contracts put most cost risk on the buyer. Time and materials shares it.

People: teams, leadership and stakeholders (5)

Tuckman ladder: the stages of team development

Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning.

Five conflict resolution techniques

Collaborate/problem-solve (win-win, usually preferred), compromise, smooth/accommodate, force/direct, withdraw/avoid.

What does a servant leader do?

Focuses on serving the team: removes impediments, facilitates, coaches and empowers, instead of directing every decision.

Levels of stakeholder engagement in an assessment matrix

Unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, leading. Compare current vs desired engagement to plan actions.

Power/interest grid: how do you handle each quadrant?

High power, high interest: manage closely. High power, low interest: keep satisfied. Low power, high interest: keep informed. Low power, low interest: monitor.

Agile, predictive and business environment (8)

Predictive vs agile approach: the core difference

Predictive plans scope, schedule and cost up front and controls change. Agile delivers in short iterations, welcomes changing requirements and adapts from frequent feedback.

What is a hybrid approach?

A mix of predictive and agile practices, for example a fixed-date plan overall with iterative delivery of the product inside it.

What is velocity in agile?

The amount of work (often story points) a team completes in an iteration. It is used to forecast how much of the backlog can be done.

Kanban work-in-progress (WIP) limits: purpose

Limit how many items are in a stage at once to expose bottlenecks, improve flow and reduce multitasking.

Who prioritizes the backlog, and why does it get refined?

The product owner orders it by value. It is refined continuously because requirements are discovered and change as the team learns.

What is a Change Control Board (CCB) for?

A formally chartered group that reviews, approves, defers or rejects changes to the baselines after impact analysis.

Why do projects deliver benefits and value, not just outputs?

A project is justified by the business benefits it enables. A project can finish on time and budget yet fail if the benefits are not realized, so benefits are tracked after delivery.

Compliance in project work: what should the manager do?

Identify the applicable laws, regulations and organizational policies, plan how to meet them, and monitor and report on compliance throughout the project.

What this set covers

Domains touched

People, Process and Business Environment (names from the outline revised for July 2026; weights not reproduced here)

Heaviest topics

Earned value formulas, schedule math, risk responses, agile vs predictive, stakeholder engagement

Best used for

Memorizing formulas and discriminating between look-alike terms before practice exams

Not covered

Scenario-style questions, the full PMBOK content, and PMI-authored material; pair this with the official outline and practice questions

How to study this set

PMP prep is half vocabulary and half judgment. Cards build the first half: formulas, definitions and the differences between similar terms. Pair them with scenario questions for the judgment half.

1
Day 1
Go through the earned value group once and write each formula on paper from memory before flipping. Formulas must be exact, so say each one aloud.
2
Days 2-7
Review daily. Work three EVM numeric examples by hand to anchor CPI, SPI, EAC and TCPI, then return to the cards you missed.
3
Weeks 2-3
Add risk responses, agile terms and conflict techniques. For each card, invent a short scenario in which that answer is the best choice.
4
Final week
Shuffle all groups, then turn every wrong practice-exam answer into a new card that states the rule in one sentence.

Spaced repetition schedules each card to come back just before you would forget it, so reviews get shorter as your recall gets stronger. Cards you miss come back sooner.

Common mistakes to avoid

Mixing up CPI and SPI or the formula order

Both are EV on top. CPI = EV / AC, SPI = EV / PV. Writing AC / EV flips the meaning, so below 1.0 would wrongly look good.

Using the wrong EAC formula

The correct formula depends on the assumption in the question: typical variance, atypical variance or a new bottom-up estimate. Read the wording before picking.

Treating an issue as a risk (or the reverse)

If it has already happened it is an issue to resolve, not a risk to analyse. The exam often tests which register or process applies.

Answering with predictive habits in an agile scenario

Do not jump to a change request or formal sign-off when the scenario describes an agile team. Look for collaboration, backlog changes and retrospectives first.

Make your own from your notes

A starter set is a head start, not your whole course. Your class notes, slides and textbook are what your teacher actually tests, so turn them into cards too.

Put the formula name on the front and the formula plus one line on how to read it on the back; avoid pasting whole tables.
For process terms, write the front as a contrast ("crashing vs fast tracking") so the card tests the difference, not a single definition.
Turn scenario questions you got wrong into cards that state the principle, not the original wording.
Do not copy text from the PMBOK Guide or paid prep books into cards; summarize concepts in your own words.

Generate cards from a topic or notes Turn a PDF into flashcards

PMP flashcards: questions

What are the PMP exam domains?

The PMP exam content outline is organized into three domains: People, Process and Business Environment. PMI revised the outline for exams from July 2026; the three domain names stayed but the weights changed, so read the current outline on pmi.org rather than relying on older figures you may find online.

Do I need to memorize the earned value formulas?

Yes. Exam questions may give you numbers and ask for a result, so the formulas should be automatic. Practise them with small numeric examples, not just the cards.

Are these flashcards official PMI material?

No. They are an independent study aid written in our own words. PMI, PMP and PMBOK are marks of the Project Management Institute, which does not endorse this set.

Do the cards cover agile as well as predictive?

Yes, at a starter level. The exam mixes predictive, agile and hybrid scenarios, so practise recognizing which approach a scenario describes before choosing an answer.

How many cards should I review per day?

A sustainable range is 15 to 30 new cards per day, with older cards returning on a schedule. Cut new cards on days when reviews pile up.

Sources and review

These cards are an independent study aid, not official exam content, and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any exam body or publisher. They were written by hand and checked against the sources below on 2026-10-17. Always confirm details with your course materials and the current official documents.

PMI: PMP certification and exam content outline — Official home of the current outline. Our direct fetch of pmi.org was blocked, so the domain names were cross-checked against third-party summaries instead; the formulas and concept cards are written from standard project-management knowledge. Always confirm domains, weights and tasks there.
Pocket Prep: 2026 PMP Business Environment domain — Fetched. Third-party summary used only to confirm that the three domain names continue in the 2026 revision, that weights changed and that Business Environment grew. Not an official source.

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