PMI’s four domains and the topics under them
| PMI domain | PMI weight | Tasks | Topics on this site |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts | 36% | 5 | 1A Life cycles and portfolios, 1B Plans and registers, 1C Risks and issues, 1D Roles and leadership, 1E Meetings and problem solving |
| II. Predictive, Plan-Based Methodologies | 17% | 3 | 2A Predictive processes, 2B WBS and critical path, 2C Cost and schedule variance |
| III. Agile Frameworks/Methodologies | 20% | 5 | 3A Agile fit and frameworks, 3B Iterations and backlog |
| IV. Business Analysis Frameworks | 27% | 6 | 4A BA roles and communication, 4B Requirements and tracing, 4C Roadmaps and releases |
The 13 topics and their domains
| Topic | Outline domain | Cards on its page |
|---|---|---|
| Projects, programs, portfolios and life cycles | Domain 1 (36%) | 18 |
| The PM plan, milestones, registers and closure | Domain 1 (36%) | 20 |
| Risks, issues, assumptions, constraints and benefits | Domain 1 (36%) | 20 |
| PM, sponsor and team roles, leadership and ethics | Domain 1 (36%) | 23 |
| Meetings, focus groups, stand-ups and brainstorming | Domain 1 (36%) | 23 |
| Predictive fit, process groups, quality and integration | Domain 2 (17%) | 22 |
| WBS, work packages and the critical path | Domain 2 (17%) | 22 |
| Predictive controls and earned value | Domain 2 (17%) | 18 |
| When to go adaptive: Scrum, Kanban, XP and SAFe | Domain 3 (20%) | 25 |
| Iterations, backlogs, prioritization and agile tracking | Domain 3 (20%) | 25 |
| Business analysis roles and stakeholder communication | Domain 4 (27%) | 22 |
| Elicitation, user stories, traceability and acceptance | Domain 4 (27%) | 25 |
| Roadmaps, releases and BA across methodologies | Domain 4 (27%) | 23 |
What the outline says, and what it leaves open
PMI publishes weights for the four domains and says each CAPM exam includes all tasks for a domain, with coverage held to the domain percentages (CAPM content outline, checked October 30, 2026). It publishes nothing finer, so the 13 topics here carry no weights of their own: each topic page names the PMI domain it belongs to, and that domain’s weight is the only figure that applies.
The outline is also explicit that predictive, adaptive and business analysis approaches are not confined to any domain or task, and that the number of items of each kind may vary by exam form. So there is no published predictive-to-agile split for the CAPM. A Scrum scenario can turn up in a card about stakeholder communication, and a work breakdown structure (WBS) can turn up in a card about planning an iteration.
The reading list behind it
The outline names seven references and says every item it covers can be found in at least two of them. PMI describes the list as a courtesy only.
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), seventh edition
- Process Groups: A Practice Guide (2022)
- The PMI Guide to Business Analysis (2017) and Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide, second edition (2024)
- Agile Practice Guide (2017)
- The Project Management Answer Book, second edition, and Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme, Hybrid, eighth edition
PMI released the eighth edition of the PMBOK Guide in November 2025, with six principles and seven performance domains, per its PMBOK standards page (checked October 30, 2026). The CAPM outline still lists the seventh, notes that there are noticeable differences between the outline and that edition, and had no announced replacement on PMI’s CAPM page (PMI CAPM page, checked October 30, 2026).
A route through the guide
Step 1
Get a baseline
Run the mixed CAPM practice test once, untimed, and keep its table by topic. It tells you which rows of the domain table to open first.
Step 2
Read by weight, fix by score
Domain I holds more than a third of the outline, so its five topics deserve the first weeks. After that, let the low rows in your practice table set the order, not the page order of this guide.
Step 3
Settle the look-alikes
Each topic page separates the ideas most easily confused, such as a project against a program or a definition of done against acceptance criteria.
Step 4
Drill the vocabulary
Earned value formulas, artifact names and Scrum events stick faster on the CAPM flashcards than on a second read of a page.
Step 5
Put it on a calendar
The CAPM study plan spreads the 13 topics over four, eight or twelve weeks.
Step 6
Check the logistics early
The length, clock and break of the real sitting are on the questions and time page, and the facts list below covers fees, retakes and online testing.
Every topic page
Exam facts, each with its PMI source
- How much does the CAPM exam cost?What PMI charges members and non-members for the exam and a retake, and what moving a booking costs.
- What is the CAPM passing score?Why there is no number to quote, and what the score report shows instead.
- How many questions are on the CAPM exam?Question count, the clock, the break and the item types, each read from PMI's outline.
- Can you take the CAPM exam online?Taking the exam from home through Pearson VUE: what changes online and who cannot use it.
- How many times can you take the CAPM exam?Attempts per eligibility year, the wait after the last one, and how to book again.
- How hard is the CAPM exam?What PMI's outline says about the questions, which is more useful than anyone's opinion of them.
Eligibility, applying, renewal and pay data
- How to become a project manager, and where the CAPM fits inRoutes into project management without a track record, and where an entry credential fits.
- CAPM requirements: what you need before you applyDiploma, education hours, minimum age and no experience: the eligibility rules, sourced.
- How to apply for the CAPM exam, from application to test dayFrom the application form to a booked seat, including the audit some applicants get.
- How CAPM renewal works: the cycle, the PDUs and the deadlineKeeping the credential active: the cycle, the PDU categories and the payment deadline.
- CAPM salary: what the BLS reports for project management specialistsGovernment pay data for project management specialists, and why there is no CAPM-only figure.
- Entry-level project management certifications, compared on requirementsSeveral first certifications side by side on what each asks of you before and after.
The CAPM next to other options
- CAPM vs PMP: which PMI certification matches where you are nowThe entry credential and the experienced one, compared row by row from PMI's own pages.
- CAPM vs the Google Project Management Certificate: an exam or a courseAn exam you sit against a course series you finish, and how one feeds the other.
- CAPM vs CSM vs PSM I for people who work on Scrum teamsA broad project management exam next to two Scrum-only credentials.
- CAPM exam prep options, compared on what can be checkedCourses, a practice exam, Study Hall, the outline's reading list and the free boards here, side by side.
Sources for this guide
- PMI: CAPM Examination Content Outline, 2023 Exam Update (PDF) www.pmi.org — domains, weights, tasks, approach mix, references
- PMI: Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) page www.pmi.org — the outline currently linked; no change announced
- PMI: The Standard for Project Management and PMBOK Guide www.pmi.org — eighth edition, November 2025