Many exam takers perceive ITTO questions as the most difficult on the PMP exam. There is a lot of confusion among PMP exam candidates about whether they should memorize all the ITTO or not. In addition to that, shady advice by some PMP trainers and experts has magnified the confusion.
In this article, we will answer a few common questions that the PMP candidates have asked. Then we will discuss a seven-step method to master the ITTO questions and greatly enhance your chance of getting the answers to ITTO on the PMP exam right.
Common queries about ITTO on the PMP exam
PMP aspirants have asked several questions related to ITTO. The following are a few of the common ones that PMP aspirants ask about the PMBOK ITTO on the PMP exam.
Should I memorize ITTO for the PMP exam?
This question is the most frequently asked about the ITTO. A brief answer is, No. However, there is a caveat. If memorization means cramming without understanding what goes on in the process and what role ITTOs play, then the answer is outright no.
Nonetheless, when PMP aspirants understand the purpose of each process, the process flow, and the primary inputs and outputs, we can say that they have memorized the ITTO. So, the main point is to become so well familiar with the process that you can recall the main inputs and outputs of the process. We will discuss it in more detail in the seven-step process.
Why is it so hard to answer ITTO questions on the PMP exam?
It is difficult for those candidates who have not prepared well. The discussion under the previous question covered the meaning of prepared well. When you do not understand the project management processes and their interactions, you will find it difficult to answer not just the ITTO questions but most of the other ones too.
Is it true that there are too many ITTO questions on the PMP exam?
Since January 2021 exam changes, the PMP exam takers have reported minimal ITTO questions, some even saying there were no ITTO questions. Previously, the number of questions that directly ask about ITTO on the PMP exam has ranged from 4 to 16. So an average of 10 direct ITTO questions covers only 5% of the PMP exam.
When the exam-takers know and understand ITTO concepts, they will be able to answer many more questions correctly. Therefore, you cannot adopt a strategy that you will ignore ITTO questions for the exam. It’s all about understanding the process flow.
Is there a shortcut to memorize ITTO for the PMP exam?
Focus on understanding the project management framework and process flow. You will have to put in the hard work, but you will do it smartly using the 7-step method presented below.
The following video summarizes this post in light of latest feedback from the PMP exam takers in 2021.
The 7-step to master the ITTO questions on the PMP exam
With all the above answers in mind, we can see that PMP aspirants need to take an organized approach to understand the process flow and take on ITTO questions, if there are any.
The following are seven steps that have worked quite well for previous PMP candidates. You will master the ITTO and process flow by deploying these techniques and will have an improved chance of scoring correctly on the PMP exam.
1) Thoroughly understand the main objective of a process
You must know the purpose and the main objective of a process. Though there can be several benefits or secondary objectives of running a process, there is one primary reason why the project carries out the process. Once you know that purpose, you will find it easy to relate to inputs, outputs, and tools & techniques.
For example, PMBOK states the objective of the Define Scope process as…
“Define Scope is the process of developing a detailed description of the project and product. The key benefit of this process is that it describes the product, service, or result boundaries and acceptance criteria.”
Without the knowledge of ITTO, can you guess the main output of this process?
- Requirements documentation
- Scope management plan
- Project scope statement
- Work breakdown structure
Think of the words – a detailed description of the project and product.
The project scope statement is the right choice because it contains details of the project and product scope. To describe the product, you must know what the requirements are and how you can go about delivering on those requirements. Therefore, requirements documentation and scope management plan will be an input but not the primary output. Then you can create the work breakdown structure only after you have established the scope. So it is neither an input nor an output.
So knowledge of the main objective of a process helps in identifying the right choice.
2) Identify the primary inputs and outputs of the process
Next are the key inputs and outputs of the process. Here we are specifically talking about those inputs without which the project team cannot carry out the process and those outputs that fulfill the primary objective of the process. Every process among the 49 processes has one or two key inputs and at least one primary output.
For example, PMBOK states that…
“Develop Team is the process of improving competencies, team member interaction, and the overall team environment to enhance project performance.”
So to achieve all those benefits, what do you need from the following? Select one or two choices.
- Stakeholder engagement plan
- Resource management plan
- Project team assignments
- Requirements management plan
One clear choice is the ‘Resource management plan’ that describes how the project manager will develop the team. This process is not about stakeholders or project requirements, so both options A and D are wrong.
Improving competencies cannot be achieved without knowing ‘Project team assignments,’ so obviously, that is a prime input.
You should take the time to review and identify one or two key inputs and outputs. This identification effort will put you on the path to memorize some of the ITTO.
3) Know the process’s place in the project management mapping
PMBOK Guide 6th Edition, Project Management Institute. All rights reserved.
As we have discussed above that each process serves a purpose. Overall, the 49 PMBOK processes represent project management information flow. So the knowledge of where each process belongs in the relationship between process groups and knowledge areas can enhance the comprehension of information flow.
For instance, in the above figure, a process ‘Manage Project Knowledge’ is under the executing process group. It also belongs to the Project Integration Management knowledge area.
We can establish two things from here. One, as the integration management process, this process must be taking information from several others, and two, as an executing process, this process is probably carried out continuously throughout the project.
4) List all occurrences logically for common artifacts
In the 49 processes, several inputs and outputs occur multiple times. Though it seems impossible to remember them, that is not true for all. You can develop schemes and logical arguments to map them.
PMBOK Guide 6th Edition, Project Management Institute. All rights reserved.
For example, the artifact ‘change requests’ appear 28 times among the 49 processes. We can create a schematic to understand that. A change request is an output of every single monitoring and controlling process. The only process where it differs is ‘Perform Integrated Change Control,’ where it occurs (see the above figure) as an input. Also, the output here is an Approved Change Request. The reason is that all change requests are evaluated and then approved or rejected in this process.
Since the Approved change request is an output, it must be an input somewhere. There are three processes where it is an input.
- Direct and Manage Project Work – implement it.
- Control Quality – check if it was implemented correctly.
- Control Procurement – verify if the seller has implemented it.
Continuing with the same thinking, you can point out which of the planning and executing processes may create a change request as output and why.
Once the above information is known to you, you cannot miss an ITTO question about change requests.
5) Recognize limitations based on the type of process
The above three steps will lead you to this one and make it easy to establish some critical information.
Based on the type of process, certain things are impossible to be input or output. So you will identify what cannot be an input or output.
PMBOK Guide 6th Edition, Project Management Institute. All rights reserved.
For example, change requests cannot be an input to the ‘Develop Project Management Plan’ process. There is no plan and no baseline at this stage, so there is nothing to change. Similarly, a change request cannot be an input to any planning process for the described above reason.
The data flow diagrams (as shown above) in the PMBOK guide are an excellent source for these last three steps. These diagrams visually show where the inputs are coming from and where the outputs go.
6) Recognize various types of tools & techniques
This step is optional. Focus more on understanding at a high level when and how various tools and techniques are used. There are two types of T&T. One is the specific tools & techniques of process and knowledge areas, and two is the T&T groups commonly used in many processes.
a) Process and knowledge areas specific tools & techniques
These are T&T only used in one knowledge area and sometimes in one or very few processes. These are specialized techniques serving a particular purpose.
For example, only one process uses the rolling wave planning technique. This process is the Define Activities process. Another is the ‘Decision Tree analysis’ technique. ‘Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis’ in the Project Risk Management knowledge area is the only process employing this technique.
b) Tools & techniques grouping
Six T&T groups occur in the 49 processes. These are:
- Data gathering
- Techniques for data analysis
- Data representation
- Decision making
- Communications skills
- Interpersonal/team skills
Next, you can list the techniques that occur in each of these groups. Then explore further to identify which processes use the listed T&T.
For example, the data gathering T&T group is used in 13 processes. The following techniques appear under this group.
| Brainstorming | Focus groups |
| Interviews | Checklists |
| Benchmarking | Questionnaire and surveys |
| Check sheets | Statistical sampling |
| Market research |
Do you know which process uses statistical sampling? Hint: only one process area uses it.
Similarly, which process uses market research? Also, in this case, there is only one process that uses this technique.
Thus, by separating T&T into two categories, exploring the groups, you will cover most of the tools & techniques. Remember direct your energy to understand T&T application in the process.
7) Use the process of elimination to get rid of 1-3 choices
The process of elimination is an effective method to reduce the number of choices on a multiple-choice question. As such, there is no specific step by step method defined as the process of elimination. However, there are a few steps PMP candidates can take to improve the outcome.
First, the respondents must understand the question. All the previous steps discussed above will help in this regard. Thus if the exam-takers know the objective, key inputs and outputs, the position, and the impossibilities of the process, they may be able to eliminate a choice or two right away.
Second, if the question is asking about inputs or outputs, look for tools & techniques in the four choices. If you find one, eliminate that choice. Similarly, going the other way around, find an input or output among tools & techniques questions.
Third, check if any of the four choices seems unfamiliar. A term that looks similar to ITTO may occur as a choice. So, if you see an unknown word, it likely does not belong in there.
Conclusion
Now we sum up the discussion we had above. There are several misconceptions PMP aspirants have about ITTO on the PMP exam.
Understanding, preparing, and somewhat memorizing ITTO will require effort. There is no need to cram the ITTO tables, but you still have to practice and remember them well. You can take the seven-step method provided in the above discussion to prepare for the ITTO questions on the PMP exam.
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