Yesterday (20 July 2021), I cleared my exam with 'Above Target' in all three domains. I wanted to share my experience and learnings with all of you. My eligibility was expiring and I decided quite late to take up an exam. I had just 1.5 months. These helped me. It may/may not work for everyone here. Feel free to take cues and tailor it to your needs.
Exam Pattern (what my set of questions had)
1. 80-90% Agile and Hybrid questions; very few Predictive questions; No ITTOs but know what document does what.
2. Multiple choice, Multiple Select, Drag and Drop, Hotspots
3. Only 1 EMV formula question
4. No 'Least Likely to choose...' type of questions. Questions were pretty straight forward.
5. Most questions:
- What will you do in this situation? - Choose the option that logically will help you, the project, and the other person/situation in question. At times question stem helps greatly. Example: What process will you choose in this situation? Here 'process' is important. It helps you narrow down from the answer options.
- What will you do first in this situation? - Key word: First. This can get tricky as mostly we tend to choose Analyze/Evaluate kind of answers. Example: Sometimes we don't have to assess the impact at all. We may outright reject it also (like gold plating). So, read the question carefully.
6. Most important concepts:
- Servant Leadership
- Virtual Teams & Communication Types -
www.pmi.org/learning/library/best-practi...l-project-teams-6038
Personality Type
- Tuckman Ladder -
www.projectmanagement.com/b...velopment-...-the-Project-Manager
- Difference between Product Owner, Scrum Master/Agile Coach, Development Team (Point 5 below - Scrum Guide will help clarify this)
- Conflict Resolution -
www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-man...lict-resolution-2035
Exam Preparation (how I did)
1. I started with Simplilearn self-learning tutorials. Noted down all points.
2. I attended Tim's live classes.
3. Read Rita and PMBOK 6th edition simultaneously. Example: If I read the Integration chapter, I follow it up with PMBOK section on Integration. You may not enjoy but I was engrossed. It made my basics strong.
4. (Optional) At the end of each chapter, I took a few sample questions from this website. It has around 2500 questions on each topic. It is free and a good way to start answering questions. I didn't do it extensively. Just enough to get around a few questions right in a row. I just took this to see if I understand the concepts. Website Link:
lovepmp.com/docs/question/pmp-questions/
5. I read the Agile Practice Guide completely. Initially, I did not understand much. So, I read the Scrum Guide. I recommend to read both 2020 and 2017 versions. They are less than 20-page PDFs. I highly recommend it for every one. This is the base for every question on Agile/Hybrid. Website Link:
scrumguides.org/
6. (optional) I enrolled into Prep-Cast. I used this only to fill my knowledge gaps. The reference material that they post with each questions helped me gain more knowledge. It is expensive but I would suggest you to try their 7-day trial. Website Link:
www.project-management-prepcast.com/pmp-...e-pmp-exam-simulator
(Free Tab on top). There are many free simulators too.
7. Be sure to go through the most recent community threads. They have lots of information and links to many free materials/sample questions.
Exam Experience
1. I took a center-based exam at Pearson.
2. Exam is divided into three parts. Total exam time is 230 mins. At the end of each 60 questions you will have to submit them. You can't revisit. The two 10-min breaks in between are optional.
3. After first 60 questions, the system prompts you to review and submit. Review time is included in the 230 mins. Timer is running. So, don't take your sweet time to review. I reviewed only the flagged questions that I had marked. Hardly 1-2. Exam time runs still you submit your questions. After that prompts to continue exam or take a break starts.
4. Once you submit your set of 60 (1-60, 61-120, 121-180) questions it will ask you if you want to take a break. If yes, your 10-min break time starts. Be sure to take this time to refresh or clear your mind. And, return within 10 mins to resume test. Next set of questions will resume and your exam time continues.
5. Be sure to tell yourself during breaks not to to bother about the submitted questions. Start afresh.
6. I wasn't allowed to carry anything inside the exam room except my passport. However, you can access your locker for eatables. I ensured I quickly visited the rest room, drink some water, sit for 2-mins to reaffirm myself and return. In the second break, I ate some dry fruits too just to avoid hunger.
7. I was asked to wear a mask throughout the exam. Mask, specs was all checked before entering the exam.
8. I didn't do any brain dump at the beginning of the exam. I didn't need it too esp formulas. If you want to, it has to be done only after your first question pops-up. So, I didn't want to waste my time. You can please do if you feel you will forget any formula. I had only 1 formula question. So, I was ok.
Parting Note
My overall experience was exhaustive as I didn't have much time. I struggled my way through figuring out a study plan. But I would say take up as many servant leadership questions as possible. Highly recommend that. While answering questions, I answered them the way I would handle so that my team benefits, my project benefits, my organization doesn't have any impacts (like compliance issues). You will get most of the questions right. It has nothing to do with memorization. All the very best!
