I passed it on Feb 13, 2018. Above target in all domains. It did not seem easy though..........
I have been involved with SCRUM projects for many years and have served in a SCRUM master role for the past 6 months. I have attended 2 SCRUM training classes, 1 last year and 1 two years ago.
I started studying Mike Griffiths PMI-ACP Exam Prep back in early November. I read through each chapter then took the chapter quiz. Any questions answered incorrectly, I researched that section of the book extensively. By the end of the 2nd week in November I was passing the quizzes easily. I thought this would have me pretty prepared for the exam, but something inside told me to find some online quizzes just to confirm.
I'm glad I did.
I used a couple of free exam question sites and started noticing that some of the answers were not correct and many had mis-spelled words and that just made the sites seem bogus.
I used Cornelius' podcast for PMP learning and PDU points so my browser pointed me to his site for the ACP prep. I signed up for the full package. Before I listened to 1 ACP podcast I took a practice test. I made a 63. So, for the rest of November and December I watched all podcast. Then in January, I took the 2nd practice exam. I made another low score.
So, for the next 6 weeks I was able to use the site to create 10 question quizzes pulled from 1 domain, so that I could ace the domain before moving on. Any questions I missed I would research extensively. I also logged 14 pages of notes with information I felt I needed to learn and review often.
1 week before the exam I was able to take the practice exams with missing 0, to at most 5 questions out of 120 and that was due to not paying attention, which gave me another lesson for the exam. I worked to memorize agile manifesto, values of SCRUM, values of XP, etc. I also retook Mike Griffiths' Exam Prep quizzes as a refresher.
Day of the exam
My exam time was 1 PM. I ate a big lunch at 11 and arrived to the testing center 1 hour before the exam and they took me right in. I went through the practice session, just in case there was something I needed. It was smart that I did, since it showed me how to mark and highlight questions. I am not sure why, but I had to read most questions up to 3 times. I did not feel anxious, so I am not sure why I could not immediately comprehend the question after 1 read, but it did not get better as I went along. It got to a point where I was actually worried I would run out of time. I am very good at time management, so I was able to push myself to ensure that I was answering 1 question within 1.5 minutes and pushed myself to beat that. There were a few that took longer and those I had to mark and come back to at the end of the exam. I finished all 120 questions with 15 mins left. I went back to all my questions that I had marked (about 20) and spent more time on them. I finished those with 4 minutes remaining.
I clicked finish with these thoughts in mind
1. I only knew 100% certainty the answer to only 5 questions
2. I cannot believe I did not 100% know the answers to the other 115 questions
3. I cannot believe I am about to not pass this exam.
A survey came up after clicking Finish. I was going through it I had resigned myself to the fact that I was just not going to pass this test this time around. When the results finally came I was extremely relieved that I had passed and was shocked that I passed with above target in all domains. Like I had mentioned, I only knew with 100% certainty the answer to 5 questions. All others I went with the answer that just seemed like the best answer out of the 4. Sometimes all seemed right, sometimes no answer seemed right. But I went with my gut that had logged many hours of studying and that apparently worked.
The questions are mostly situational as it relates to an agile experience. I had very few questions on specific types of Agile methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, XP. Nothing on DSDM, ASD, Crystal.
I fully credit the PM Prepcast practice exams/questions with being able to pass this exam. I am confident it trained me to think situationally to be able to choose the best answer.
