PMI-PMP® EXAM CHANGES 2021 EXPLAINED IN 5 MINUTES

 

PMP® - Project Management professional, a globally recognized certification offered by PMI is expected to undergo a major change. We know that PMI’s announcement about the PMP exam change has created quite a stir and birthed a lot of questions, queries and curiosity in the minds of candidates preparing for the PMP® exam. 

 

In this blog post, we’ll quickly take you through the updates and changes ensuring all your doubts are cleared and questions are answered.

 

First things first, if you are someone who has already started preparing for the exam or planning to start, there are certain important things for you to know.

 

What to do if you have started preparing or currently planning to prepare for the PMI exam?

 

• Finalize the dates and schedule your exam at the soonest. It is advised to schedule the exam at least 3 months in advance.

Update - PMI has launched the online proctored testing (OPT) option for PMP exam candidates allowing them to take the PMP exam online from their homes during COVID-19 lockdown. 

• Apply for the exam and make the payment immediately. If you start filling out the form, PMI allows you 90 days to complete the application and submit it.
• From the date of application, you are allowed 1 year of time to schedule and take up the exam.
• In the case of the first failed attempt, one has to re-take the exam and the eligibility of the candidate to retake the exam expires within 1 year. It is advised to plan the exam schedule accordingly i.e. considering the possibilities of a re-exam.

 

Want to know more? Continue reading. We’ve included every detail that there is to know about the PMP exam change.

 

 

PMI COVID-19 Exam Update and Important Dates 

 

• PMP Certification Exam is changing on 2nd January 2021
• Earlier, PMI informed us that the new exam content will reflect starting on 1st July 2020 but PMI released a COVID-19 Update informing that due to COVID 19 situation, the new PMP exam change is postponed to 2nd January 2021. Candidate can apply for the current PMP exam with the existing syllabus and take up the PMP exam until 31st December 2020. 
• New Update from PMI - 31st December 2020 will be the last day to take the current version of the exam.
• In addition to this, PMI launched the online proctored testing (OPT) option. Candidates can now take the PMP exam online from the convenience of their home. You can schedule the PMP exam if you haven't already or reschedule the PMP exam you've applied for to take up the PMP exam online (current version) until 31st January 2020 and get certified.

 

 

Now, coming to the main topic, let us see

 

What is changing in the PMP® exam with the new PMI update and why is it changing?

 

It’s a well-known fact that PMP is the most popular and widely recognized certification in the field of project management. With the evolving market, the trends are changing and so are the requirements. To combat this situation and to keep up with the latest methods, project management professionals need to adopt new approaches, gain new skills and be more knowledgeable now more than ever.

 

Hence, this new change in the PMP exam is to ensure professionals gain the required knowledge and be able to adapt to the latest trends. This exam change focuses on three major domains—People, Process and Business Environment.

 

The idea is to ensure the following skills are imbibed in the project management professionals.

 

• Great leadership skills to effectively manage, improve and lead the team
• Proficiency in technical aspects of the project management
• Alignment with the project goals and driving expected results

 

The new changes in the exam will include the below approaches,

 

Predictive (approximately 50%)

Agile/hybrid (approximately 50%)

 

This is to ensure the existing domains are more in sync with the real-life practices in project management. 

 

NEW PMP EXAM CONTENT OUTLINE:

Below are the various domains and proportion of questions expected from each domain,

Domains and % of questions:

1. People - 42%

2. Process - 50%

3. Business Environment - 8%

Total = 100%

 

How to prepare for the new PMP exam change?

 

Along with the announcement made about the new PMP® exam change, PMI has also released the new syllabus update. Yes, the change in the exam has also caused a change in the syllabus. It was to ensure that the exam content is in alignment with the syllabus. The updated exam content outline was released last year i.e. in June 2019. You can download the new updated PMP syllabus using the link below.

 

Download PMP Exam Content Online

 

Go through the PDF to understand the framework and know what you can expect in the PMP® Exam.

With the new changes in syllabus and exam, preparing for the exam can be a little difficult. Taking up PMP training from a recognized training provider will really help you pass the exam in just one go. We at Sprintzeal have trained over 100,000+ professionals. With the guidance of our industry expert trainer, you can surely finish learning the syllabus, take up the exam and get certified before the change comes in effect. You can take up the training in three modes – classroom training, live online training, and online training.

 

If you are looking for PMP® classroom training in your city, check out our schedules and batches to find the one nearest to you. You can choose to get training on weekdays or weekends, based on your convenience.

 

Should you take up the PMP® certification training?

 

Yes. To avoid hassle and failing in the exam, it is advised to take up PMP® training. Mind you, it is effective only when you get trained from a recognized training provider. Talking of which, we are a R.E.P of PMI. This means we are a Recognized Education Provider of PMI offering the PMP® certification training to professionals all across the globe.

 

Now, you must consider taking up PMP® training from Sprintzeal

• If you are a working professional with hectic work-life aiming to get certified at the earliest
• If you have applied for the exam and the application is expiring soon
• If you are taking a re-exam and looking to clear the exam this time
• If you need PDUs. Did you know a candidate must have 35 PDUs to apply for the exam? Get 35 Contact Hours training certificate from Sprintzeal (REP ID - 4719) to apply for PMI Exam.
• If you are aiming for a promotion and need a certification to add efficacy to your proposal
• If you are making a huge career change and want to get certified for better career scope and hike in salary

All in all, if you are really keen on getting PMP® certified regardless of when, how and why, you should go for it and start reaping its benefits. Our training program comes with

Get full details of our instructor-led PMP® training, and you can even request a call from our experts to help you with your concerns and queries. Continue Reading

11 BEST BUSINESS BLOGS 2021 (UPDATED)

 

Most Popular Business Blogs for 2021

 

Business blogs are the best way to ensure you stay abreast of the changing trends and evolving market around the world. There are tons of business blogs on the internet. But, it gets difficult to decide which of them to follow for quick news every morning. Moreover, there are blogs that are specific to the business type and offer in-depth knowledge about certain topics. It’s wise to make the most of such blogs, especially if you’re an entrepreneur. We know that, as an entrepreneur, one wishes to get as much help as possible with the new business. Hence, what better way than learning from the experts themselves?

As blogging is a platform where one shares personal experiences, you can get some great lessons from the experiences and failures of those who are succeeding in your field of business.

Here’s the list of best business blogs we think you should follow,

 

Hubspot

Founded by MIT graduates Brain and Dharmesh, who met in 2014, this blog takes a very unique approach towards the idea of sales and marketing. It focuses on advanced tactics to achieve growth in business and explores why the old traditional methods of sales aren’t effective anymore.

This blog helps you take a fresh approach in order to get guaranteed sales. Regardless of what business you’re into, blog posts on Hubspot will help you a great deal.

 

Small Business Trends

As the name suggests, this blog is a paradise for those running small businesses. The posts on this blog are timely and informative. It also helps individuals that work in fields like freelancing and contract projects. In addition to that, several experts and a strong editorial staff are working on the blog, to make sure you get the best information available.

 

Business Insider

Business Insider is one of the fastest-growing business blogs today. It has international editions and posts in various languages. In addition to that, it provides news related to various subjects like entertainment and politics from all around the world. It is more like an all-rounder.

Plus, it launches an annual franchise like Digital 100 and has its own technology website called TechInsider; which is another gemstone.  

 

TechCrunch

Founded in 2005, this blog covers almost every aspect of technology and its trends. Right from breaking news, alerts, new launches and startup tips to gadget reviews, TechCrunch has it all. It is one of the most fun and creative blogs online today. Furthermore, it conducts great events throughout the year which makes things exciting for the readers.

 

Forbes

Forbes welcomes you with inspiring quotes every time you visit the site. With its amazing insights and posts, it’ll have you hooked onto the blog in no time. One of the best business blogs on the internet, the information shared here is genuine and highly useful. Be sure to check out the posts from the editor’s pick section, they’ll blow your mind.

 

Entrepreneurship Interviews

To all the Entrepreneurs out there, this can be your common platform to engage with each other. It gives an opportunity to share your experiences and is all about business lessons from real-life stories. It’s like a reality show for the Entrepreneurs and the kind of information shared in the videos is truly inspiring.

 

99U

This one is for the creative minds. 99U is a blog that focuses on empowering the creative community and shares some great content. It helps people hone their creative skills.

99U showcases interviews with various creative artists and takes you through their journey in a very skilled way. Also, articles here are thought-provoking and truly inspirational.

 

Crazy Egg

If you run an online business and spend your time looking for ways to grow your business, this is just the right blog for you. Not to mention, it focuses on helping businesses get great conversions. Plus, it gives insights on topics like content marketing, customer satisfaction, optimization of business, etc.

 

Entrepreneur

Are you new to the business world? Starting a venture of your own? This blog can be your go-to master. It focuses primarily on helping Entrepreneurs run their business smoothly. From topics like investment, sales, human resource, marketing and productivity to legal issues, Entrepreneur has it all.

 

Millo

A hub for freelancers, Millo is the blog that covers almost every aspect of the freelancing profession. It helps the readers grow by providing great information on a regular basis. The information is shared in the form of blog posts, podcasts, newsletters and guides which makes things easy and interesting for the readers.

 

Smart Passive Income

Smart Passive Income is a blog focusing majorly on the financial aspects of a business. Pat Flynn, founder of the blog shares invaluable financial advice from his experiences. He strives to help his readers create a strong online presence for their business.

With blog posts, podcasts, online courses, he teaches how to make the most of business by generating passive income.

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ITIL FRAMEWORK AND CERTIFICATIONS GUIDE 2021

 

ITIL FRAMEWORK AND CERTIFICATIONS GUIDE 2021

ITIL Framework Introduction 

 

ITIL (an acronym for Information Technology Infrastructure Library) certification course familiarizes candidates with the basic concepts, methods, and terminologies of IT industry services in its foundation level of training and goes more in-depth emphasizing the methods and advancement in techniques as the certification level increases.

It showcases a candidate’s competency and knowledge in the field of IT services focusing mainly on the ITIL incident management and business area. This certification course is widely adopted because of the multiple benefits if offers on implementation at workplaces. Today, there are millions of professionals who are ITIL certified and the number only seems to be growing with time.

Many certifications offer the course in five key levels and the candidates can choose the level of training based on their requirements and qualifications. Moreover, it’s a globally recognized framework that is accepted worldwide.

 

ITIL Framework History

 

ITIL was formed in the year 1980s. The aim was to improvise/understand the concept of usage of IT services and resources in order to achieve better results in business. This task of developing the ITIL framework was taken up by the CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency) and was widely adopted by several large firms in Europe in the 1980s. Within a short span of time, it grew popular in countries like the UK and was being used worldwide.

Later in 2001, the updated version of ITIL was released which contained revised and more concise information making it one of the most used approaches in the IT industry. The third edition was released in 2007 and was focused on the concepts of IT integration.  And, the latest edition of ITIL certification available is 2011.

 

Why Should you Consider Getting ITIL Certification?

 

With the increase in requirement for high quality, trusted and reliable IT services, ITIL has become a top choice for several organizations.

Here we have listed out major benefits of getting ITIL® certification,

 

• Contribution

With this skill set, you will be contributing immensely to the organization you work for. The knowledge you acquire from this certification course can be used to grow both as an individual and an employee since it boosts your career in all the right ways.

 

• High paying salary

Whether you are an experienced professional or a fresher if you are looking for a job that pays you handsomely then one sure way to get it is ITIL. Yes, getting certified increases the chances of landing you a high paying job immensely.

 

• Adaptability

One of the most important advantages of ITIL certification is adaptability. It keeps you current with the emerging trends and adds value to your work with the knowledge you gained. Many organizations appreciate employees who keep themselves abreast with the technology trends.

 

• Secured future 

Sure, certification cannot secure an individual’s future completely; there are several other factors that come into the picture but ITIL is a globally recognized and widely used method, it is safe to say that the value of this certification is not expected to diminish with time.

 

• Flexibility

Considering the fact that more than 10,000 organizations have adopted ITIL worldwide, it is no surprise that the growth for professionals with ITIL certification is booming. They are sure to have a myriad of job opportunities in the market making them a valuable asset to an organization.

 

• Builds trust

Being a customer-focused sector, ITIL can actually improve your relationship with the customer/client by building a strong foundation of trust. It helps you understand the concepts of service management deeply and ensures you apply it to improvise on your interaction with the customers.

 

Get  ITIL V4 Foundation Certification with Sprintzeal's Online, Live Online, and Classroom Training 

 

ITIL Certification Levels and Courses

 

As mentioned earlier, ITIL provides variations in the levels of training depending upon the qualification and complexity.  Here are the 5 levels of ITIL certification courses available,

 

• ITIL Foundation

The ITIL Foundation course enables the candidate to understand the basic concepts, terminologies, and methods related to ITIL. It basically gives an insight into the procedures and relations in-service support and delivery sectors. This acts as a prerequisite for the other levels of ITIL. You can take up the ITIL® V4 Foundation Training near you and get certified from AXELOS.

 

• ITIL Practitioner

This level of the course focuses majorly on applications of ITIL methods in various situations and scenarios. It teaches us to align business and information technology in order to increase efficiency and results.

 

• ITIL Intermediate Certifications

This level follows a modular structure. It provides a wide approach to IT service management. It is more detailed than the foundation level as it expands on various concepts of the framework. This course is further divided into two categories; Service capability and service lifecycle. Continue Reading

 

DELPHI TECHNIQUE AND ITS ROLE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Importance of Delphi Technique in Project Management 

 

The Delphi Technique helps to arrive at a common solution for a described problem. For instance, the project manager here is quantifying risk for her project and requires expert advice. To come to a well-thought decision, he/she can use the Delphi Technique.

 

Delphi Technique Explanation Using Scenarios

 

1. When there are several experts and their advice, despite being helpful, varies from that of one another to a great extent.

 

2. When experts are put up at different geographical locations and cannot come to a common place for discussion or finding a common solution.

 

The Delphi technique is used to attain expert advice on various technical issues, project-related issues, risk assessment, management issues, and scope related queries, etc. by the means of group decision making.

 

In the first scenario, using the Delphi technique, one can come to a common solution. The process includes collecting Delphi from each of the experts, evaluating the advice to find commonness in them and eliminate the ones that don’t match with the advice from all. For example, if there are 10 insights, we pick the three top-most insights that seem to be common in the case of all the experts. Then, these 3 insights are further sent as an inquiry and experts are asked for advice. Based on their choices, the insights are further evaluated and zeroed down to one single solution.

 

In the second case, typically, conducting a poll anonymously and gathering information is done. This is to get the best advice without the involvement of external factors or feelings of fear, judgment or ego, etc. It ensures that the common consensus is attained with equal involvement of advice from all the experts from various parts of the world.

 

The Delphi technique is often referred to as the “Wide-Band Delphi Technique”. To estimate the future results and outcomes, to make estimates in various areas of business, this technique is preferred.

 

For instance, cost estimation can be made for a project using the Delphi technique. However, in order to come to a conclusion or solve a problem, a well-defined and informative question has to be framed. The procedure becomes simple the question is properly structured.

 

To get advice/input from a group of experts, it is essential to have clarity about the issue that is to be discussed. Only then the experts will be able to give thorough guidance on how to proceed and process the issue.

 

The procedure goes like this,

 

A common mediator or coordinator is assigned the work of collecting information. Someone who is well acquainted with the concepts of the issue being dealt is preferred.

 

The question/issue is circulated to the experts and their inputs are requested whilst maintaining anonymity. This avoids any feelings of an outcast, inferiority or superiority.

 

The evaluations are collected. After eliminating the odd ones and picking the common inputs, the same are circulated for the second round of evaluation. The experts give their opinions on them and this procedure is repeated until a consensus is reached. 

 

Despite having thousands of tools available online, having expert advice beats every other means of making decisions. Hence, delta techniques are considered to be one of the most trusted and reliable approaches to decision making. Continue Reading

TOP GOOGLE CHROME EXTENSIONS FOR ONLINE MARKETERS IN 2021

 

TOP GOOGLE CHROME EXTENSIONS FOR ONLINE MARKETERS IN 2021

Top Google Chrome Extensions for Online Marketers in 2021

 

It’s no secret that Google Chrome is the most popular and commonly used browser. To enhance the user experience and provide more benefits, it has extra features like extensions and tools. There are thousands of extensions available in the Google Chrome web store that help you do things more efficiently and contribute to your productivity.

Here we are listing the 20 most popular Google Chrome extensions that are beneficial to online marketers, SEO professionals, and anyone working with the digital field,

 

Ad-block

 

Undoubtedly the most used extension on chrome, Ad-Block comes in handy during various situations. Annoying Ads can be everywhere and this extension is a one-stop solution for them all. It filters content for you and blocks unnecessary display of ads that pop up on your screen every now and then.

Basically, it is a time saver and strives to contribute to your productivity.

 

OneNote web clipper

 

There are times when we come across information that seems really important and interesting but later gets lost in the long list of bookmarks. With the OneNote web clipper, you can clip specific information and access it with ease from any device. Plus, it also provides options like edit and share. Such features make it a great choice for online marketers.

 

Last pass

 

The biggest, most hectic, and tedious task for online marketers, SEO analysts or digital marketers is “remembering email Ids and passwords”. Since publicity is majorly done online, these are the prerequisites to carry any marketing campaign or finish a task. To make things easy for you, the Last pass offers help. With this extension, you no longer need to worry about forgetting passwords or jumble around with reset passwords and OTPs. All you need to remember is the master password, using which you can log in to the Lass pass portal and the rest will be taken care of.

 

Any.do

 

Used by over 10 million people, this is one of the best extensions to boost productivity. For marketers, keeping track of various schedules, tasks and files become burdensome which can, in turn, affect their efficiency at work. To combat this problem, one can use the Any.do extension as it helps manage various tasks and to-do lists with ease.

 

Grammarly

 

Our very own helpful grammar Nazi is undoubtedly a must-have extension. It automatically detects spelling errors, punctuations, word choices, and many other grammar-related errors. The premium package offers extended help with writing styles, verb forms and many more. It can be used to make sure your documents or any kind of content are error-free.

 

MozBar

 

A treat for all the SEO analysts, digital marketing professionals and others, this one will help you a great deal with link strategies. It brings you advanced metrics and saves you a ton of time. Plus, it mainly focuses on providing SERPs analysis, link profile analysis, and site research.

 

Focus

 

Getting distracted by various things online is a common scenario in work life of a professional working in the digital field. This can lead to serious damage due to a lack of concentration and efficiency at work. The focus is an extension that focuses on helping you stay productive and avoid getting distracted.

 

One Tab

 

We all know that, more often than usual, the culprits of RAM decay are “multiple open tabs”. But considering the number of sites, one has to deal with in the digital marketing profession, using multiple tabs is inevitable. To help resolve this issue, One tab extension saves these multiple tabs as one single “lightweight” tab whilst keeping the information safe and intact.

 

Liner

 

Content marketing has become a crucial part of online marketing which requires proper research to be effective. While researching a topic, we often wish there was a way to underline the important part that can be referred to later. Liner fulfills this need. It acts as a highlighter using which we can save the best parts of an article we read and it also allows us to read the highlighted parts anytime from anywhere.

 

SEOquake

 

SEOquake is an extension that provides organic research data and insights on listings based on the search results. It saves you the pain of manual retrieving of data from pages you collect as results of SERPs. It gives all the analytical data in just one single click.

 

Check My Links

 

Broken links can break businesses. Yes, this applies to all the online businesses (sometimes, to offline businesses too, although in a different sense ). However, if the audience gets served with a broken link, you may instantly lose the audience and income as well. To help you be cautious about this issue, check my links extension ensures from time to time that none of the links provided by you are broken.

 

Link Clump

 

This simple extension works wonders. While researching something, we tend to go through various websites by opening several links using the ‘open in new tab’ option. This might seem to take forever and leaves us drained. But, with link clump, one can make things simple and easy. All you need to do is drag and select the links you wish to open and the rest will be taken care of. The best part is that it saves a lot of time.

 

One-click Extension Manager

 

This one helps you manage all the extensions on chrome efficiently without risking any of your data. Plus, it saves up a lot of RAM by collectively cleaning up/managing several extensions in one place.

 

Handle

 

With our hectic work schedules, we often fail to prioritize our tasks, let alone attend/complete them on time. With Handle, this problem can be eliminated. This extension handles your to-do lists and manages e-mails, messages, etc. quite efficiently. This saves you a great deal of time and effort.

 

Full Page Screen Capture

 

We often wish we could capture the information that is on our screen. This extension enables you to take a screenshot of the screen even if the area that needs to be captured exceeds in size when compared to the default window size.

 

Momentum

 

Looking for some motivation while working? Look no further. Momentum provides just the right motivation you need with an exotic view of the splendors of mother nature. Plus, it also has a to-do list that can be used as a reminder. This can be saved as your default tab.

 

JSON Formatter

 

The sole purpose of this extension is to simplify the complicated API related information for you. If you are someone who often works with API’s, this one is for you. It converts complicated responses into readable information for you.

 

Datanyze

 

This extension provides unique information like the changes applied in sales and marketing processes. It helps in lead generation by keeping up with the technology changes and by analyzing millions of websites available online. This is one of the best extensions that benefit SEO professionals to a huge extent.

 

Buffer

 

Social media marketing is a great way of publicizing your products and services. But, managing all the accounts and keeping track of the posts shared on each platform can get difficult at times. With the buffer, you can manage and even post information collectively to all your social media accounts from one place. Plus, it gives you statistics and performance information of the posts shared.

 

Save to Pocket

 

As marketers, we often come across a lot of information that may seem really important. We wish there was a way to save it for future reference and guess what? There is a way. With the ‘save to pocket’ extension, you can quickly save the posts and other forms of information you find interesting. It collects these posts and saves it for you to refer to whenever you need them.

 

There are innumerable ways to conquer the digital world and reap benefits from it, of which, usage of these helpful extensions is one. Moreover, these tend to increase the growth of digital marketing and the job market related to it. With such growth, making a career in this field would be a great decision.

If these digital marketing techniques interest you, there are easy and quick ways to enter this field. The best way is to get certified by taking up a certification course. One of the most trusted institutes providing training in digital marketing is Sprintzeal as it has trained 10,000+ individuals around the world.  

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