Today is the day - my day!
I can conclude with the CAPM examination preparation, could save the extra money for a 2nd attempt and can bring some of my student papers to the bin because what I have learned is the 5th edition and this is old now. So, after the exam is before the exam like always...
My CAPM preparation history and how I successfully and finally managed the preparation of 5 years of studying beside and during (Shhh...) my official work:
- in 2013-04-08 or 5 years ago I started reading once the 4th edition and then because PM knowledge changed once the 5th edition (far too much time passed)
- I made detailed notes of Cornelius' video podcasts and wrote almost everything down by pen (> 300 pages waiting to be recycled now)
- after going through all videos I used a speech recognition tool to transfer all notes from the analog version to generate an electronic detailed file (000_CAPM.txt --> 11500 lines or 858 Kbytes --> far too much!!!)
- after 3 years and having digitalised all I compressed the detailed notes (001_CAPM_short.txt --> 4100 lines or 259 Kbytes --> still too much!!)
- after 4 years I received my 35 hours certificate to apply for CAPM certification (final 35 hours test)
- 1 month before the final exam I created a very short overview of the processes (002_CAPM_very_short.txt --> 1200 lines or 90 Kbytes --> still too much!)
- that's why I created a A0 graphical chart (portrait format, very big) similar to table 3-1 but with all ITTO's included by using the free yEd Graph Editor
- I also started going through all 750 exam questions spending 47 hours in total by having a test that included max 10 questions (see Cornelius' exam simulator --> very, very good). I more failed than passed the preparation tests (41 % success rate) because I did not know the concept. But I went through all answers and was a good source. (very good!)
- minus 3 weeks before the final exam I moved my scheduled date by 8 days because I felt not ready (cost of change: 70 $ + tax <-- it was fine for me because I wanted to feel like doing something good to me lowering the stress level of not having done all I wanted)
- I made notes to the A0 graphical portrait chart explaining why this ITTOs exist to memorise it a bit better and not to learn it from heart because I just was not capable of memorising all of them especially generic inputs like EEF, project document updates etc. So, I followed Cornelius' advice.
- minus 1 week I did not meet anybody. I was at home just doing 3 preparation exam tests (1. 86%, 2. 84%, 3. 76%) which helped me a lot because I could get used to the time pressure of the running clock. The rest of the 2 preparation exams I skipped because of not destroying my gained CAPM self-confidence.
- I also created an excel document where I copied all ITTO's of my A0 graphical portrait chart to play the "fill in the gaps" game (I could not find a good tool which allowed me to use the drag function; an analog version by writing the ITTO's down and using a scissors was too time consuming). I played with the digital version once only because I had less time before the final exam.
- I did still my regular sport activities and drank a lot of sugar free fruit tea (at least 2 litres per day). Do not forget to move your body and make breaks.
- the CAPM exam questions are quite similar to the exam simulator (mostly ITTO, less situational questions like in the exam simulator)
My lessons learned:
- never give up and do small portions because you will make it one day
- don't write down everything from the podcasts
- work mainly with Cornelius' exam simulator by going through all 750 exam questions and answers
- have a much better preparation time management than me
Thank you Cornelius Fichtner, his PM HelpDesk team, my family and my friends in Europe, Mexico, Nepal, India and New Zealand!
Greetings from Munich, Germany
