Hi everybody. I passed my PMP 10 days ago. I scored above average in all domains. Here is my lessons learned and advice:
4. Prepcast simulator was the thing that put all of what I studied in prespective and gave me a reality check on my knowledge. I started doing questions per knowledge area. 30 Qs at time with 60-70 % pass. 10 days before the exam, I started doing random 60 questions at a time. I got 60-70 % as well. I did not take any full mock exams! I did not pass the 70% average! I wanted to take a full mock but I did not have the time (I had a emergency to deal with just before the exam). Prepcast is very important as it does give you as reality check and put things in perspective for you. It is also a great study material since it has full explanation of the answers. I think PMP exam Qs are a little easier and little shorter than prepcast.
5. During the exam. As always, you won’t be sure most of the time that you picked the right answer. Got to go with your gut feeling (assuming you fully understand the Qs and answer choices).
6. Questions format were mostly traditional (choose one out of 4). There were about 6-8 matching. One fill in the blank (choose the letter choice that spresents a graph), a few where you click on a part of a graph (it was about burn up/down)
7. Question types in terms of focus: Mostly agile, some hybrid. A few traditional waterfall. Agile is mostly agile, no particular framework. Some focused on scrum. So focus on on the underlining principles of generic agile like roles of the agile team, mindset, principles. Very little to no direct questions on other frameworks like XP, scrumban, crystal, etc. So, do not bother memorizing specific principles of all agile framework except the generic PMI agile principles and scrum. But definitly understand the underlying principles of other framework but don’t memorize every detail. No direct ITTOs questions, and very few indirect questions on ITTOs. Understand what knowledge areas do, what processes do, every terms in the PMBOK, and what ITTOs do. I did not find knowing the order of ITTOs helpful much. I used an excel sheet that had all the ITTOs, and put short notes on what they mean and revised them regularly. Very little math ..only one or two CPI, SPI Qs.
8. Don’t waste time switching between books. Use a book like Rita, Andrew Ramdyal, Joe philips Udemy BUT always have the PMBOK next to you and make sure there is nothing cut or missing from these books.
9. Last advice is that don't focus on memorizing. It's all situational questions on real life case scenarios a lot. You need to understand the agile mindset. Time management is key. Keep it a priority. You gotta read fast, think fast, decide fast. Prepcast is good tool for that.
Good luck!
