Overview & Exam Focus Domain 1 · 36%
Domain 1 is the foundation of CAPM. Expect questions on terminology, governance, stakeholder engagement, life cycles, development approaches, PMBOK® 7 principles, and key distinctions like quality vs grade and EEFs vs OPAs.
Memory hook: EEFs are conditions you adapt to; OPAs are assets you reuse.
Principles signal: If a question emphasizes value delivery, tailoring, or stewardship, link it to PMBOK® 7 principles.
Process Groups (big picture)
PMBOK® 7 — 12 Principles
1. Stewardship — be a diligent, respectful, caring steward.
2. Team — create a collaborative project team environment.
3. Stakeholders — engage stakeholders proactively and effectively.
4. Value — focus on value; deliver benefits to stakeholders.
5. Systems Thinking — recognize, evaluate, and respond to system interactions.
6. Leadership — demonstrate leadership behaviors.
7. Tailoring — tailor based on context.
8. Quality — build quality into processes and deliverables.
9. Complexity — navigate complexity through experimentation and iteration.
10. Risk — optimize risk responses; be proactive.
11. Adaptability & Resilience — adapt to change to maintain performance.
12. Change Management — enable change to achieve the envisioned future state.
Exam tip: Principles are behavioral guides, not processes. If the question is “what should the PM do first” in a context-heavy scenario, think principles.
Core Concepts
Project vs Operations
Projects are temporary and unique; operations are ongoing and repetitive. Project closure transitions outcomes back to operations.
Portfolio / Program / Project
Portfolio aligns to strategy; Program manages related projects to gain benefits; Project delivers outcomes.
Life Cycles & Development
Predictive (plan‑driven), Iterative, Incremental, Agile (adaptive), Hybrid. Choose based on uncertainty and feedback speed.
Tailoring
Adjust processes, artifacts, and cadence to fit context. Balance control with agility to maximize value.
Organizational Structures
Functional → Matrix → Projectized (PM authority increases left→right). PMO: Supportive, Controlling, Directive.
Governance
Policies, phase gates, steering committee, escalation paths, metrics, assurance.
Exam tip: If the scenario emphasizes strategic alignment, think portfolio/program context and benefits realization.
Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs) vs Organizational Process Assets (OPAs)
EEFs — factors you cannot directly control
- Internal EEFs: Culture, structure, governance, PMIS/tools, infrastructure, resource availability, geographic distribution, risk appetite.
- External EEFs: Market conditions, economic environment, legal and regulatory requirements, industry standards, political climate, social and environmental factors, technology trends.
Exam tip: Law/regulation/market → EEF. If it’s about constraints or conditions, think EEF.
OPAs — assets you can tailor and reuse
- Processes & Policies: SOPs, templates, guidelines, governance frameworks, quality standards, risk policies.
- Knowledge Bases: Lessons learned, historical data, checklists, risk breakdown structures, repositories, metrics libraries.
Exam tip: Templates/checklists/history → OPA. If it aids how you work, it’s often OPA.
Stakeholders & Governance
Stakeholder Types
Internal: Sponsor, PM, team, functional managers, PMO. External: Customer, users, suppliers, regulators, community.
Stakeholder Analysis
Power–Interest Grid: Manage closely; Keep satisfied; Keep informed; Monitor. Track current vs desired engagement.
Engagement
Plan strategies and communications; build trust; adapt via feedback. Maintain a Stakeholder Register.
Stakeholder Engagement Spectrum
Assess current vs desired engagement; plan moves across the spectrum.
Exam tip: Early stakeholder engagement reduces change resistance and cost. Keep the register updated.
Quality, Grade & Cost of Quality (COQ)
Quality vs Grade
Quality = conformance to requirements / fitness for use. Grade = feature set/category. Low grade can be acceptable; low quality is not.
Cost of Quality
Prevention & Appraisal vs Internal & External failure. Investing in prevention reduces rework and warranty costs.
Exam tip: Inspecting quality in (QA) is cheaper than discovering defects later (QC finds them).
Initiating Processes (with ITTO) Charter & Stakeholders
Develop Project Charter Initiating
Authorizes the project and the project manager.
Inputs (📥)
- Business case; Benefits management plan
- Agreements & contracts
- Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs)
- Organizational Process Assets (OPAs)
Tools & Techniques (⚙️)
- Expert judgment
- Facilitation & workshops
- Data gathering & analysis
Outputs (📤)
- Project charter (objectives, success criteria, high‑level risks, summary milestone schedule, budget)
- Assumptions & constraints log
Identify Stakeholders Initiating
Establishes who is affected, interested, or can influence outcomes.
Inputs (📥)
- Project charter, business documents
- Agreements, procurement docs
- EEF & OPA
Tools & Techniques (⚙️)
- Stakeholder analysis & mapping (Power–Interest)
- Expert judgment; Data gathering
- Representation (personas, journey maps)
Outputs (📤)
- Stakeholder register (roles, interests, influence, engagement approach)
- Change requests (if engagement approach impacts plans)
Exam tip: Charter authorizes the PM. Stakeholder register is created in Initiating and updated throughout.
Process Grid (49 Processes) — Map of PG × KA
Reference view from PMBOK® 6th (still tested conceptually). Numbers indicate how many processes live in each Knowledge Area (KA) and Process Group (PG).
Count of processes in the cell
Exam tip: Remember hallmark outputs: Scope baseline (Create WBS), Schedule baseline (Develop Schedule), Cost baseline (Determine Budget), Accepted deliverables (Validate Scope), Approved change requests (Perform Integrated Change Control).
Visuals Gallery
Triple Constraint
Process Groups (flow)
Org Structures (authority)
Glossary — Must‑Know Terms
Quality
Degree to which a set of characteristics fulfills requirements. (Conformance/fitness)
Grade
Category assigned to deliverables having the same functional use but different technical characteristics.
Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs)
Internal/external conditions that can influence, constrain, or direct the project.
Organizational Process Assets (OPAs)
Plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases specific to and used by the performing organization.
Project Charter
Document that formally authorizes a project; provides the PM with authority to apply resources.
Stakeholder Register
List of stakeholders including assessment information and engagement strategies.