First time I took the CAPM certification exam and (under surprising and adventurous circumstances) I managed to pass it. I took the exam at a testing center and somehow ended up taking the new CAPM exam when I was supposed to have taken the previous version (pre-July 25th).
I didn't realize this until I was almost halfway completed with the test. The exam questions began taking on an appearance totally different from what I was used to with the PM PrepCast practice quizzes/exams. Once I realized this, and recovered from the initial shock, I decided to complete the exam, accept the results (assuming I would be taking the exam again), and see what I could do afterward to retake the exam at little to no cost due to this oversight.
To make matters worse, I didn't manage my time well during the exam. I was forced to move as quickly as possible through most of the second part of the exam so that I could completely answer all of the questions. I had very little time remaining to review any of the questions I had flagged in the second part of the exam (though, in reality, I didn't mark any after I had realized I was running short on time). Expecting a failing grade, imagine my shock and relief when I received the message stating I had passed the exam. Not only had I passed, I received 'above target' on three of the four areas (PM Fundamentals, Predictive PM, & Adaptive PM) and 'target' on the remaining area (Business).
In my opinion, that test was difficult, especially under the circumstances. I believe it wouldn't have been so difficult if I had taken the previous version or was prepared to take this version. How I managed to do so well on it, I may never know, but I hope to impart my lessons learned to those preparing to take this exam (especially to those taking it in this transitory period).
1. Ensure you take the exam you are prepared to take. If you are taking the exam at the testing center, make sure you let them know, beforehand, which version of the exam you need to take.
2. Monitor the test clock periodically during the test and realize that the time shown is for the entire exam. For some reason, I didn't take this into consideration and spent too much time flagging questions and reviewing them during the first part of the test. with that said,
3. Follow the PM PrepCast advice to judiciously flag a very limited number of questions during the exam, so that you don't waste too much time going back over them. Looking back at my exam, I would have flagged more questions during the second part of my exam for review than during the first part. This may not be true for your exam, but basically speaking, the more time spent flagging and reviewing questions during the first part of the exam, the less time you have to dedicate to questions in the second part of the exam. In my opinion, this makes the exam even more challenging since you cannot go back to the first part of the exam once you finish it (for either a break or to continue on to the next part of the exam).
For those preparing to take the exam, I wish you success and, hopefully, a less surprising and adventurous exam experience than the one I just experienced. Cheers.
