Student Profile: Chris Mielke, PMP

I’m currently a Program Manager for a company called Epic Games, Inc. We’ve made video games since 1992 for the PC, Xbox, Playstation and mobile phone platforms. I’ve been a project manager for the same amount of time for various industries.

I actually started working on the application 6 years ago before coming to Epic Games in 2007, but it was derailed with the move and immediately producing a new product. This year I became a Program Manager and my supervisor is a PMP who suggested I go and actually get the certification to help him build a PMO within Epic Games.

The most difficult part of my studies was knowing the Tools, Techniques, Inputs and Outputs. The other part was knowing how much information to memorize – there’s so much information on the Internet on what to study and what is relevant. Isolating what you need to know from conjecture was not an easy task.

I learned about the PM PrepCast through forums online that mentioned it was a great tool for the money. The PrepCast really helped since I could listen to it at work while I completed other tasks.

The PrepCast is a pretty well made tool, so I needed to think about this question in regards to the exam. One of the items I needed to supplement through video was watching how a forward and backward pass was done for a PDM – I watched several YouTube videos on this before I was comfortable with it. I also think the different individuals associated with project management theories (Maslow, etc.) could be further expanded upon to educate the viewer before they take the exam.

My #1 recommendation for those studying for the exam:
The keys for me were – allow yourself enough time and (if you have the resources) buy what materials you need to make sure you pass the first time (sample tests by reputable sources, flashcards, PM PrepCast, etc.).