Sprint 0CAPM study wall · reviewed October 30, 2026
CAPM certification prep, pinned up one topic at a time
The CAPM® certification (Certified Associate in Project Management) is PMI®’s exam for people who know project management from study rather than from years on the job: PMI asks for no project experience, only a secondary diploma or its equivalent and 23 hours of project management education finished before test day. Swimlane Prep is an independent study wall for that exam. It pins up a practice board, a timed sprint, a guide to all four outline domains and the exam facts, each traced to a PMI document and dated.
The CAPM practice app is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. There is no Android version, so on an Android phone or a laptop the practice board on this site is the free route, with no account and no sign-up.
- 13study topics on this site
- 45cards on the practice board
- 1timed sprint
- 4outline domains
Four domains, pinned up as 13 topics
Domain 1 · Fundamentals and core concepts · 36% of the outline (2023 ECO)
- Topic 1ALife cycles & portfoliosTemporary or ongoing, single or coordinated: where projects end and programs, portfolios and operations begin.
- Topic 1BPlans & registersWhat the management plan holds, how baselines get set, and what closing a project involves.
- Topic 1CRisks & issuesSomething that may happen, is happening, is assumed or is fixed: four entries, four different logs.
- Topic 1DRoles & leadershipSponsor, project manager, team and functional manager, plus leadership styles and the ethics questions.
- Topic 1EMeetings & problem solvingMeetings with a purpose, and the facilitation tools that turn a room of opinions into a decision.
Domain 2 · Predictive, plan-based methods · 17% of the outline (2023 ECO)
- Topic 2APredictive processesWhen a plan-driven approach earns its paperwork, and where quality, change control and procurement fit.
- Topic 2BWBS & critical pathTurning work packages into a schedule, then pulling it back in when the date will not move.
- Topic 2CCost & schedule varianceEarned value from a status report: which figure goes first, and what an index below one is saying.
Domain 3 · Agile frameworks · 20% of the outline (2023 ECO)
Domain 4 · Business analysis frameworks · 27% of the outline (2023 ECO)
- Topic 4ABA roles & communicationThe people a business analyst serves, and how to pick a channel each of them will actually read.
- Topic 4BRequirements & tracingGetting requirements out of people, writing them so they can be tested, and tracing them to delivery.
- Topic 4CRoadmaps & releasesRoadmaps as forecasts, releases as decisions, and how prioritization shifts from plan-driven to agile.
What the CAPM exam covers
PMI builds the exam from its CAPM Examination Content Outline, 2023 Exam Update, which splits the work into four domains: Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts at 36%, Predictive, Plan-Based Methodologies at 17%, Agile Frameworks/Methodologies at 20% and Business Analysis Frameworks at 27% (CAPM content outline, checked October 30, 2026). PMI publishes weights for the four domains only, so each topic on the notes above names the domain it belongs to and carries that domain’s weight, not a share of its own.
Business analysis carries more than a quarter of the outline, which tends to surprise anyone who expected a project exam to stay with schedules and budgets. Requirements, user stories, traceability and product roadmaps sit in that domain, and the CAPM study guide gives that domain its own run of topic pages.
The sitting itself lasts three hours and mixes multiple choice with drag-and-drop, hot spot, animation and comic-strip items, per the same outline. The full breakdown, including the one break and the unscored pretest items, is on the questions and time page. What you need before you apply is on the CAPM requirements page. The fee is $225 for PMI members and $300 for everyone else (PMI store, checked October 30, 2026; U.S. pricing, and PMI notes that prices vary by region), and the CAPM exam cost page covers the retake fee and the membership arithmetic.
Three ways onto the wall
Step 1
Take a reading
Start with the untimed CAPM practice test. It mixes all 13 topics in close to the outline’s domain weights, and the table at the finish shows which topics cost you points.
Step 2
Work the weak lanes
Each topic page in the study guide sets out the ideas first and ends with its own cards, close calls included, such as a risk against an issue or a burndown chart against a burnup.
Step 3
Rehearse against a clock
When the finish table stops showing a gap, sit the timed CAPM mock exam. It holds every verdict until the end and reports a raw score by topic with no pass line, because PMI publishes none.
Everything else on the wall
- Practice testMixed questions from every topic, with a topic filter and a note under each answer choice.
- Study guidePMI's 2023 outline laid flat: the four domains, the topic pages under each with their own boards, then the exam facts and comparisons, all in one place.
- Mock examSet the clock, answer without hints, then see a raw score broken down by topic.
- FlashcardsBoth sides printed: formulas, terms and the concept pairs that get swapped under time pressure.
- Study planWeek-by-week plans of different lengths, paced by the outline's domain weights.
- Exam costWhat PMI charges members and non-members for the exam and a retake, and what moving a booking costs.
- Becoming a project managerRoutes into project management without a track record, and where an entry credential fits.
- CAPM vs PMPThe entry credential and the experienced one, compared row by row from PMI's own pages.
- Prep optionsCourses, a practice exam, Study Hall, the outline's reading list and the free boards here, side by side.
Asked before anything else
Is Swimlane Prep part of PMI?
No. The site is written and run independently of the Project Management Institute, and PMI has not reviewed it. The names PMI, CAPM, PMP and PMBOK appear here only because they name the exam and the documents it is built on. Applications and payment go through PMI’s own CAPM certification page; exam seats are booked with Pearson VUE, PMI’s test vendor.
Does practicing here count toward the 23 hours of education?
No. PMI’s content outline lists the kinds of providers whose learning counts, among them PMI chapters, employer programs, training companies, universities and distance-learning courses that end with an assessment (CAPM content outline, checked October 30, 2026). This site and its app are not among them, so time spent here does not count toward the 23 hours. The requirements page lists the provider types.
How much of the exam is predictive and how much is agile?
PMI does not say. The 2023 outline states that predictive, adaptive and business analysis approaches are not confined to any one domain and that the mix may vary by exam form, so a percentage split quoted elsewhere did not come from PMI.
The CAPM practice app
The app is on iPhone and iPad. On Android or a laptop, the practice board on this site is the free option.